Partnerships with Companies and HotelsStaff training, employee volunteering and novelties made from collected bottle caps

We run training and make things with companies and hotels in Karatsu

Karatsu Farm & Food is a non-profit based in Karatsu, Saga Prefecture, Japan. We work with companies and hotels on staff training, employee volunteering, and novelties made from collected plastic bottle caps. At Mercure Saga Karatsu Resort we ran a staff training session (14 people) and two workshops (163 people over two days, and 105 people). With Hitachi Academy Co., Ltd., 60 penguin keychains were made in January 2026, and at MINI Miyazaki we ran a workshop in the showroom (40 people). A total of 25,971 people have taken part in our activities, and we have run 159 SDGs workshops (as of April 2026).

Choose the option below that fits your enquiry. Everything is quoted individually after we hear what you have in mind.

For hotels and tourism: staff training and on-site workshops

We bring an injection moulding machine to the hotel and run staff training as well as workshops for guests and visitors. At Mercure Saga Karatsu Resort, on 1 July 2026, 14 staff members made coasters in three sessions as part of the hotel's company-wide training. The theme of the training was protecting the sea of Karatsu. The summer holiday workshop on 8 and 9 August drew 163 people over two days, and the workshop on 20 September drew 105 people.

Our work with Mercure Saga Karatsu Resort is described on this page (in Japanese). Figures on hotel staff training and sustainable tourism are in Hotel Sustainability in Numbers.

For corporate HR and training teams: paid training, and support through employee volunteering and donations

We handle enquiries from companies in two parts: training and support. Training is something we deliver for a fee. Support means joining our work through employee volunteering or donations.

Training (paid, quoted individually)

We offer making things with an injection moulding machine, the business card game on marine litter "CHANGE FOR THE BLUE IN KARATSU", and programmes with corporate universities. Hitachi Academy Co., Ltd. visited Karatsu in July 2025 to try moulding, and on 7 January 2026 its staff made 60 penguin keychains. So that the company can keep working in Tokyo, we built and provided a specially designed injection moulding machine (our work with Hitachi Academy, in Japanese). We also co-hosted the SPOGOMI × UNIQLO workshops (18 April 2026 at Youme Town Kurume and 9 May 2026 at Mina Tenjin).

Support through employee volunteering and donations

The Yokomakura nature symbiosis site (36.67 ha) in Ochi, Karatsu, is a satoyama that we look after with local residents. It was the first site in Saga Prefecture to be certified as a nature symbiosis site by the Ministry of the Environment, and it is registered on Protected Planet (ID 555781451). Companies can take part in its conservation through employee volunteering or donations.

The Ministry of the Environment issues a support certificate for nature symbiosis sites to companies that support a site. The fee is 99,000 yen (including tax) per application and is paid by the applying company. Support provided for payment, such as sales or contracted work, is not eligible (Ministry of the Environment, in Japanese). This means paid training is not covered by the certificate. Figures on the scheme are in ESG, CSR and CSV in Numbers.

Corporate donations can be made by bank transfer, and you can designate how the donation is used and receive a receipt. You can also donate online through Syncable.

For novelties and mementos: original products made from collected bottle caps

From plastic bottle caps collected in your company or at your event, we make keychains, coasters and other items with your logo. With MINI Miyazaki, we brought an injection moulding machine to the showroom for a workshop (BIG LOVE PROJECT, 40 people) to make MINI logo keychains, and later took in the showroom's Christmas ornaments and remade them into keychains. With Saga Ballooners, we made a new mould of the mascot "Baltan" in 2025 and produced coasters 9 cm in diameter.

For examples, see the pages on the MINI Miyazaki keychains and the Saga Ballooners coasters (both in Japanese).

Companies and organisations we have worked with

Donations and tax (for companies in Japan)

Karatsu Farm & Food is an ordinary specified non-profit corporation (NPO), not a certified NPO. For a company in Japan, a donation to us is treated as a general donation under the Corporation Tax Act and can be counted as a deductible expense up to the deductible limit (National Tax Agency No.5281, in Japanese). For donations through Saga Prefecture's furusato nozei (NPO support), see our furusato nozei page (in Japanese).

Where the figures come from

Figures related to corporate ESG, CSR and CSV are collected in the Karatsu Data Bank. See ESG, CSR and CSV in Numbers, Hotel Sustainability in Numbers and Donations and Furusato Nozei in Numbers.

FAQ

Q. What is the difference between training and support?

Training is a programme we design and deliver for a fee. Support means joining our work through employee volunteering or donations. The Ministry of the Environment's support certificate covers only support given free of charge, so paid training is not eligible.

Q. Can our company get a support certificate from the Ministry of the Environment?

Support given free of charge to the Yokomakura nature symbiosis site, such as employee volunteering or donations, can be the subject of an application. The company that gave the support applies, and the fee is 99,000 yen (including tax) per application.

Q. How much does it cost?

Training, workshops and novelties are all quoted individually after we hear about the content, the number of people and the quantity.

Q. Are you a certified NPO?

No. We are an ordinary specified non-profit corporation (NPO), not a certified NPO. For a company in Japan, a donation to us is treated as a general donation under the Corporation Tax Act and can be counted as a deductible expense up to the deductible limit.

Contact

Please use the buttons above or our contact page, or write to info@karatsu-f-f.com. We usually reply in English. If a call would help, please tell us your preferred language (a note on language).

Related links

▶ Precious Plastic Karatsu
▶ Nature Positive and the Yokomakura OECM site
▶ Regenerative tourism and corporate study visits
▶ Karatsu Data Bank
▶ 法人共創（日本語）