<aside> 📌 currently, we are about 3 months in our renovation. we have had a total of different 25 volunteers come and help onsite in komoro: some were here for day trips, and some came for a month, with the average stay time around 2 weeks

during this time, we were able to:

• clean out and organize items from the entire house
• create an art installation piece and do a japanese prayer / ritual for the house
• present our findings at a conference in kyoto
• clear out the outdoor sheds
• chop down bamboo and clear the backyard
• help local neighbors and attend community events
• got another $15k from crowdfunding to fund rest of renovations
• categorize pieces for our incoming auction
• teardown the walls of the 2nd floor to reveal the original kominka base
• get rid of a loooot of trash

// follow up community group meeting here: Renovation Meetings

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Renovation Progress

(1) House Cleaning (1 month)

• onsite volunteers: michelle, ellen, yuji, kiba, derrek, megumi, lim, lauren
• we bought the akiya that was packed to the rim with things. we took time to clean out everything, and kept the items generally in 3 categories: ones we could auction off, ones we could use for the new iteration of the home, and ones that we could feature in our art installation or historically significant ones
• fun facts:
  • we cleared out ~120 futons
  • ~30 to 40 trips to the dump so far, with likely $1,000 to $1,500 in disposal fees

(2) Art Installation (2 weeks)

• onsite volunteers: michelle, arbor
• we created 2 different installations (sound, light) as part of arbor’s proto artist residency. this was a way to honor the old objects in the home and storytell to create awareness around the akiya situation in a way that honored / respected the abandoned objects using the concept of tsukugomi: everything at the end of the day has a soul

(3) Minka Summit Presentation (1 week)

• presenters: arbor, michelle. other attendees: arno, lim, iban, caterina, chappie
• we presented our community, progress of the first akiya, and the organizational structure that made it possible to do something like this. we had a total of 7 attendees from our side at the conference, and took the time to develop connections with a network of people also interested in japanese architectural renovation, and regenerative communities.