Daiwa House Industry Co., Ltd. is engaged in various initiatives throughout Japan as part of the SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals).The company's Cultivation Business Development Office is working on community symbiosis activities aimed at social inclusion through the cultivation of mini Phalaenopsis orchids in Miki City.In other words, it is a way of thinking that everyone, "old and young," "men and women," "both able-bodied and disabled," should join forces and live together while supporting each other in the community.
Specifically, the Cultivation Business Development Office will cultivate mini Phalaenopsis orchids and use them for community symbiosis activities. Currently, elderly people who are local residents are employed to support the cultivation business. However, from the next fiscal year, we are improving the environment so that people with disabilities can also work.
In the fall semester of 2020, our students received the cooperation of the company's cultivation business development office and conducted service learning (hereinafter referred to as SL).This SL is a type of experiential learning that allows students to learn by using local resources and contribute to the community at the same time.After learning about the background and initiatives mentioned above in the preliminary study, I was allowed to carry out the local activities.
The activities are as follows.
《Lecture on Daiwa House Industry Co., Ltd.》
・ Cultivation work (work with part-timers employed by our company)
・Garden maintenance
・Preparation for the workshop
・Arrangement workshop (Target: Neighborhood residents)
・Hearing survey of workshop participants
・Career warm-up course
・Arrangement workshop
In post-learning, we created a video summarizing these results and made it available to SL staff and students.
And in the class summary, the students' awareness became clear.Although the university is located in Miki City, they were able to learn about the history of Miki City, its relationship with Daiwa House Industry Co., Ltd., and the fact that it is an area with a high rate of aging.Also, SDGs and social inclusion were terms that were unfamiliar to first-year students, but they seemed to be able to deepen their understanding.
He also said that he was made to think about what companies should be in the future and how human society should proceed.
(Professor, Department of Business Administration Toshimune Hirosawa)
