“I wanted to do something to protect the deer, which is the symbol of Nara,” he stated.
The baggage are constructed from rice bran and milk cartons.
Courtesy Bunyodo
In July 2019, nonetheless, an area welfare group stated 9 deer had been discovered lifeless, with plastic baggage of their stomachs, and known as on guests to not throw away plastic baggage within the park.
Matsukawa wished to give you a unique answer to the issue, and teamed up with an area paper producer and a design agency to work on the venture.
These plastic baggage have been pulled from the abdomen of a lifeless deer.
Courtesy Bunyodo
Between them they developed “Shikagami,” or deer paper, which is constructed from rice bran and milk cartons.
“We learned rice bran are mostly wasted in the process of rice polishing,” stated Matsukawa. “So this paper helps to reduce that waste as well.”
Matsukawa has had the luggage examined and says they’re secure for human consumption.
“We do not have the data to back up that this paper is not harmful to deers, but I believe this is safe for them as well as for human beings,” he stated, laughing.
The baggage have since been examined at native banks and the Todaiji temple, Nara’s foremost vacationer attraction. The temple and banks purchased 4,000-5,000 of the luggage for 100 yen (round 95 cents) every as a part of the pilot venture.
The worth will fall if extra companies join to make use of the luggage, stated Matsukawa, who goals of changing plastic baggage throughout town to stop extra deer from dying after consuming them.
“The news about the death of deer by plastic bags creates a negative image, as though the park is a cemetery for deer,” he stated. “The paper bags can protect deer, as well as the brand image of Nara with deer.”
Just 45 minutes from Kyoto by prepare, Nara is a well-liked vacation spot for guests to Japan.
