Transforming Okinawa into a coffee island renowned worldwide Hyakuna Coffee Project

BUSINESS SUMMARY

Our company was founded with the aim of making Okinawa a world-renowned Coffee Island, utilizing the expertise from the College of Agriculture in cultivation, breeding, soil, and fermentation, and from the College of Engineering in environmental control, structural design, renewable energy, and applied field knowledge. We have developed a "Weather-Resistant Integrated Control House" that addresses Okinawa's environmental challenges such as typhoons, prolonged rain, and salt damage, while promoting extensive labor-saving measures. We offer this at a low cost. By implementing cutting-edge Dutch-style smart agriculture in coffee cultivation, we aim to achieve an annual production of 1,000 tons by 2033.

THOUGHTS ON FOUNDING

It all began with a single researcher from the University of the Ryukyus, who started cultivating abandoned farmland in Nanjo City, Hyakuna, with the goal of growing coffee. And so, 60 local farmers and coffee enthusiasts gathered there established the "Hyakuna Coffee Project" (voluntary organization) with the goal of making Okinawa Prefecture a coffee island that the world can be proud of. I applied for the university's open call for entrepreneurial events and considered a business plan modeled after the Hawaii Kona district, one of the world's three major coffee-producing areas. Following the acceptance at the entrepreneurship event, I established my company in collaboration between the departments of agriculture and engineering. I want to make the coffee island in Okinawa Prefecture a reality.