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Hechima (Loofah)
へちま
Hechima, nature's bounty,
can make your daily life
ecological and sustainable!
Story
Producing with a wish of a farmer who has cultivated Hechima for 40 yeras.
Loofah (hechima) has been used by Japanese people for long time since it is gentle to the skin and body.
However, today, such charms of the loofah have been forgotten.
A farmer wishes that people living today's lifestyle know the charms of loofah, use it, and pass it on to the next generation!
The loofah was born out of such a wish, the farmer who has lovingly and carefully grown sponge cucumber (hechima) in Toyama for 40 years.
How to use?
For food, for washing tool and for skincare
In Japan, we call both of sponge cucumber and dried cucumber (loofah) "Hechima".
Raw sponge cucumber is used as an edible ingredient in simmered, grilled, and miso soup. Its leaf is used for tea, and its water can be used as bauty lotion.
100% natural, ecological and sustainable!
Also, dried cucumber can be used for 3-6 months as a durable sponge.
Then after using it, you can put it back into the soil instead of throwing it out as trash.
Where and how to cultivate?
In Imizu City, Toyama Pref.
Imizu City in Toyama Prefecture is surrounded by 2,000-~3,000-meter high mountains, and clear snowmelt water soaks into fields.
Pesticide-free for 40 years.
Our farmer has been growing sponge cucumber (hechima) carefully and lovingly from seeds collected on his own farm without using pesticides ever since he began cultivating 40 years ago, out of a desire to deliver safe and healthy loofahs (hechima).
In addition, the many beneficial microorganisms in the rich nature of Imizu City help the growth of the cucumber, resulting in high-quality loofahs.
A Year of Hechima Cultivation
January - February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September - October
November
Loofah field is covered with snow.
Sowing seeds and growing seedlings. (Approx. 5000 - 6000 pots.)
Field Preparation : spreading compost and tilling
Seedling transplantation
Vines grow on.
Vine growth increases.
Flowers bloom and cucumbers grow.
Harvesting cucumbers and collecting its water.
Winter is coming and the harvest is in its final stage.
Handcrafted one by one in the farmer's workshop
For 40 years, they have been growing hechima with pesticide-free from seed, cultivating, harvesting, processing, and selling their hechima products.
Products
100% natural hechima (loofah) products can make your daily life ecological and sustainable!
Let it return to the soil after use.
HC001
Sponge
(kitchen)
HC002
Soap dish
(kitchen, bathroom)
