Ame-Kaze-Taiyo

Ame Kaze Taiyo, Inc. is a Japanese social enterprise founded in the wake of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, born from volunteer connections between Tokyo consumers and Iwate Prefecture coastal producers during disaster recovery. The company creates active interaction between urban and rural communities across Japan, reweaving the relationship between consumers and producers, cities and countryside, and humans and nature. Its flagship service, Pocket Marche, launched in 2016, is a direct-trade marketplace connecting urban consumers with rural food producers. Backed by JAL Ventures, the company addresses depopulation and aging in rural Japan while giving city residents a deeper sense of purpose and community through regional exchange programs.