If you’re new to Nagoya and in need of community, you might want to try picking up some trash.
In fact, community service is how many new residents have started their lives in Nagoya since 2019, when the international social group Small World first started holding monthly pick-ups. In Japan’s fourth-biggest city, a center of industry and jobs that attracts workers from all over, Small World is one of the biggest and most diverse social groups in the city, with a network of over 3,000 people. While known more broadly for being a place to meet international and Japanese folk alike, the organization has a decisively environmental mindset.
“Whatever event we’re doing, we try to leave as little of a footprint as we can,” says Matt Chima, an English teacher from the U.K. and one of the group’s organizers. “We use reusable or biodegradable products and serve vegetarian food at our social events.” In addition to trash pick-ups, Small World runs Clean Cuisine, a vegan food event, and promotes climate events and marches in Nagoya.
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