From Landmines to Herbs

　Shinoda Chihiro makes soaps,/hand creams,/and other products from herbs/in Cambodia.// She runs a shop/which sells those products.// Her business creates jobs/for Cambodians.// How did she start such a business?//
　While she was in college,/Shinoda majored in marketing.// In 2004,/she took part in a volunteer activity/in Cambodia.// She was fascinated/by the people/who were smiling all the time.// She wondered/what she could do for them.//
　In 2008,/Shinoda moved to Cambodia.// She wanted to start a business/and collaborate with people there.// Several months later,/she came across a traditional herb sauna.// Herbs are very popular/in Cambodia.// She thought/that she could use them/to make new products.//


　To start her new business,/Shinoda had to obtain many things.// First of all,/she needed land/on which she would grow herbs.//
　In Cambodia,/much of the land/used to be full of landmines/because of war.// A landmine is a bomb/buried under the ground.// It explodes/when people step on it.// Some people are killed,/and others are seriously injured.// Cambodia and many countries/are working together/to eliminate the landmines.// Even after getting rid of the landmines,/how to use the land/is another issue.// Ironically,/the land has rich soil/because no one has used it/for a long time.//
　Learning this fact,/Shinoda wanted to grow herbs/on the land/with local farmers.// Then,/she made a plan/to change former landmine fields/into herb farms.//


　What Shinoda needed next/was knowledge/about the effects of herbs.// Looking for information about herbs,/she met a Kru Khmer.//
　A Kru Khmer is a traditional therapist/who uses herbs to cure diseases/in Cambodia.// Shinoda wanted to learn about herbs/from the therapist,/but he refused to teach her.// He suspected/that she would take his job.// However,/Shinoda,/who was strongly determined,/did not give up.// She kept explaining/that she wanted to create jobs/for Cambodians.// Finally,/he understood her plan/and taught her/about the healing effects of herbs.//
　With this knowledge,/she started her business.// For her products,/she used herbs/grown in the former landmine fields.// She was able to put her plan/into practice.//


　In the early days of Shinoda’s business,/not everything went well.// For example,/the soaps were not produced/as she expected.// They came out/in random sizes and colors.// The Cambodian workers/did not mind these kinds of irregularities.// Shinoda explained many times/that customers would not accept the soaps/as products.// Finally,/the workers were convinced/of what she said.//
　Today,/cooperating with Shinoda,/the Cambodian workers learn about business.// Shinoda also learns from them.// She says,/“I want to have an equal relationship/with Cambodians.// We are not in a position/to help or be helped.// My dream is/to change places/called ‘landmine villages’/into ‘herb villages’/with local people.”// Shinoda’s herbs bring more smiles/to Cambodia,/where her journey continues.//