On 27 March the four concerned parties: Marshal Office of Wielkopolska Region, Krotoszyn Municipality, Las Kalisz Ltd. Co., and Village Housewives’ Association in Kobierno, signed a letter of intent, thus making the first step in implementing the Japanese good practice of sewing small promotional gadgets in wild boar leather. Last year’s visit to Japan inspired Tomasz Tarnawski - the CEO of the venison meat producer company Las Kalisz Ltd., to bring the practice to Krotoszyn.

A group of local entrepreneurs from Krotoszyn, Poland, visited in May 2023 the towns of Shimane Prefecture within the framework of a trade mission, organized jointly by the partner cities’ governments of Krotoszyn and Okinoshima with the support of Misato City. Among activities highlighting investing opportunities in Japan, the Polish businessmen familiarized themselves in Misato with a small local group of women called Aozora Craft. Misato, a town of just four thousand people, was recently dealing with unemployment and an invasive species – the wild boar. To deal with the problem, a branch of the AZABU University from Sagamihara in Kanagawa Prefecture was established in the city. The head of the facility, Professor Yusuke Eguchi, advised catching wild boars in traps since access to forests in Japan is severely limited, and it would be difficult to hunt them. A local company, Ohchi Yamakujira Ltd., took care of slaughtering and processing the carcasses. City restaurateurs created a menu in which they replaced traditional beef or fish with wild boar meat. The city commissioned a small group of pensioners to hand-sew small utility items, such as pencil cases or purse tassels - in boar's hide. Leather was provided free of charge by Akane Kuroda – the CEO of Ohchi Yamakujira.

Las Kalisz Ltd. decided to adopt the practice. The procedure in Krotoszyn would be the same: Las Kalisz Ltd. will supply members of a hand-stitching group the wild boar leather for free, and the group will transform it into good-quality handicrafts. The company is known for its creative promotion and support for education with the aim of popularizing the consumption of venison meat. The goal now is to show “that every element of a wild boar can be useful and have meaning” stated Tomasz Tarnawski, CEO of the company. The beginning of the sewing business is expected after a summer leathercraft workshop organized and fully financed by the Marshal Office of Wielkopolska Region with the support of the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Areas. The first batch of the hand-made products is anticipated to be sold during the World Sumo Championship in Krotoszyn in September.

Source: Krotoszyn Town Hall

Letter of intent signature in Kobierno, Krotoszyn Municipality. Fourth from left: Franciszek Marszałek Mayor of Krotoszyn, in the white shirt - Tomasz Tarnawski CEO of Las Kalisz Ltd

Published: June 2024