VISION

Inherit the 1000-year legacy of Soma clan to pass on for the next 1000 years

We will co-create a self-sustaining community “NOMA VALLEY”, where people, horses, and nature coexist harmoniously.

From this land, we aspire for genuine autonomy and coexistence

Fukushima prefecture’s
Namie Town , located in the former Soma feudal domain,
was struck by a devastating earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear accident in 2011.

It is here that we create NOMA VALLEY.

NAMIE　FUKUSHIMA　JAPAN
37.503972N　140.929806E

Namie Town is located in the coastal region of Fukushima Prefecture. It is a beautiful town surrounded by abundant mountains, rivers, and sea, with a warm climate.
Originally, the town was thriving with agriculture, forestry, and fishing industries, as well as a bustling population of around 21,000 people, with many restaurants and active commerce. In March 2011, a devastating earthquake and the subsequent nuclear accident led to an evacuation order for the entire town, making it uninhabitable.
Since then, decontamination, infrastructure restoration, and recovery of the town’s living environment have been underway. In March 2017, the evacuation order was lifted for some coastal areas, then, in March 2023 for some hills.
Currently, as of April 2023, approximately 2,000 people reside in the town. Although 80% of the town’s area is still designated as a difficult to return zone, residents and companies are actively engaged in various new challenges, showing signs of resilience.

MISSION

We create a self sustaining community that coexists with nature in the areas of the former Soma feudal domain in Fukushima Prefecture, which have long been under evacuation orders. We aspire to contribute to the recovery of the region by connecting the community with the world.

We aim to work with researchers and institutions to develop disaster prevention and
mitigation measures through community-based initiatives, establishing and
implementing a system for residents’ self evacuation during disasters in the region.

Our ultimate goal is to create a self-sustaining community that can serve as a model for the world. W e aim to support the recovery and development of other disaster-affected areas worldwide (first area expected to be post-war Ukraine), by sharing our knowledge and experiences of resilience and reconstruction.

COMMUNITY

The NFT collection ” Noma NFT ” is an NFT art designed to connect Samurai’s who resonate with NOMA VISION.

By owning this NFT, one can become a member of
NOMA VALLEY community from anywhere in the world, gaining the right to vote in decision-making and various benefits in NOMA VALLEY.

Utilities by Membership Rank

Click image to open expanded view

Through purchasing NFTs, NOMA VALLEY community members come together to collectively raise funds and decide on the community’s activities and necessary facilities through consensus-building. They then construct these facilities and carry out activities with their own hands.

Discussions and ideas are solicited from the NFT holder online community, and decision-making takes place through online voting by NFT holders. The decisions are then approved through in-person meetings under theparticipation of Soma Lord in NOMA VALLEY

Issuing NFTs creates a global digital population for the region, and with the facilities created through collective collaboration as a base, the community creates services that are available not only to members but also to others, thereby contributing to the economy of NamieTown and the region.

ACTION

NOMA VALLEY

In the town of Namie , Fukushima Prefecture, which was completely evacuated due to the nuclear accident, we aim to create a decentralized autonomous community called “Noma Valley”, where people, horses, and nature coexist.

We will issue NFTs to recruit members to create a new, autonomous community called Noma Valley, where humans, horses, and nature coexist, in NamieTown, Fukushima Prefecture, which was evacuated due to the nuclear power plant accident.

• The NFT art will design characters with a world view that blends the tradition of the Soma clan and the world of Ghibli’s “Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind”.

With the funds collected through the issuance of NFTs, the community will discuss and determine what facilities we need at the base in Namietown, and build them by our hands.

• Decision-making will take place through online voting by NFT holders, followed by discussions at an in-person gathering to approve the decision.

While creating the community based on the built facilities, we will also provide services for people outside the community to generate tourism in Namietown.

• Horse trekking, horse-drawn carriage tours, equine education, horse therapy, and horse cultivation and transportation experiences.
• Community /co-working spaces,, cafes, restaurants, and other services.

DISASTER PREVENTION

Implement community-based disaster prevention in the local area and provide support to disaster-stricken areas in the world through knowledge-sharing.

We will revive community activities at the level of neighborhood associations, where people regularly interact and establish communication and evacuation protocols in the event of disasters. By implementing community-based disaster prevention and mitigation practices, we aim to make residents the primary agents of disaster risk reduction in the area.

• We will collaborate with researchers and institutions studying disaster prevention in the region to advance the theory and practice of community-based disaster prevention, as well as model building. 
• Additionally, we will work with international disaster relief organizations to introduce knowledge and expertise on responding to large-scale disasters into the community.

Furthermore, we will utilize the knowledge and experience gained from community-based disaster prevention and mitigation to provide emergency support and community assistance to other areas in the world affected by disasters.

COMMUNITY SUPPORT FOR UKRAINE

Share the experience and knowledge of rebuilding divided communities in post-war Ukraine.

Fukushima residents who have experienced the long-term evacuation of the entire town and the division of their community can share their experiences and knowledge with people in Ukraine who will be working on post-war reconstruction, by directly visiting Ukraine and engaging in dialogue with the people there (after the end of the war).

• After the nuclear accident, many Fukushima residents visited Ukraine to inspect Chernobyl, and they have emotionalattachmentto and personal connections with the people of Ukraine.
• The people of Ukraine who have experienced the devastating effects of war and the division of their communities would be most inspired by the Fukushima residents who have successfully rebuilt their own community from the devastation.
• For the Fukushima residents themselves, sharing their experiences and supporting others can enhance their own psycological recovery and sense of purpose.

ORGANIZATION

LEADER

相馬 行胤
MichitaneSoma
“Tono” (Lord)
Managing Director

-Managing Director, Soma Aid and Rescue Team
-Head Rancher, Soma’s Ranch

MichitaneSoma is the 34thLord of the Soma Clan, which has 1000-year history and had governed the northern coastal areas of the current Fukushima prefecture.

Theareastillhosts a traditional festival named “Soma Noma-Oi” in which 400 mounted samurai warriors advance on the public roads, compete in a horse race , and engage in a battle to capture a raised divine flag. Thefestivaloriginates from the Soma clan’smilitary training, and is headed by a Soma lord.

Michitanealso manages an organization called Soma Aid and Rescue Team that aims to revitalize the disaster-stricken region through projects rated to horse that is a symbol of Soma’s history and culture.

Healsorunsamilk ranch in Hiroshima.

After the disaster,he hasmovedtoHiroshimaprefecture, but with the launch of Noma Valley, he will return to Fukushima, where hisownSoma Clan had governed.

高橋 大就
Daiju Takahashi
Managing Director

-Managing Director, ” Eat, and Energize the East (EEE)”
-President, NoMALab
-Global Executive Officer, Oisix radaichiInc.
-Director, Purple Carrot (USA)

Daiju Takahashi is Managing Director of Eat, and Energize the East (EEE), non-profit organization to revitalize agriculture, fishery, and food industries of Japan’s Tohoku region (mainly Fukushima, Miyagi, Iwate), devastated by the Tsunami and nuclear incidents on March 11, 2011. He has been working successfully on marketing and branding food products from the region, as well as building a strong network of farmers and fishers with entrepreneurship across the area. Daiju led a branding project to produce a mackerel can product named “Ça va?”, which became a mega hit and a role model for the region.

Since 2021, Daiju has been living in Namie-town, which is within 10km from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant that exploded in the aftermath of the Tsunami in 2011, and is engaged in community building and industry reconstruction of the town and the surrounding region with his new organization called NoMa lab.

At the same time, Daiju is Global Executive Officer at Oisix ra daichi Inc., a company running the biggest online grocery supermarket “Oisix” in Japan. He oversees its global businesses, in Hong Kong where the company runs “Oisix Hong Kong”, one of the biggest online grocery stores in Hong Kong, delivering fresh Japanese vegetables and fruits to Hong Kong customers’ doorstep; in China where the company runs “Oisix Shanghai”, an online meal kit delivery platform, which provides ready-to-cook meal to Shanghai customers; and the US, where it owns an online vegan meal kit platform named “Purple Carrot”.

Prior to the Great Earthquake in 2011, he was a manager at McKinsey & Company in Tokyo, focusing on marketing in industry sectors including agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and automobile.

Prior to McKinsey, he served for the Japanese government as a career diplomat for 8 years, and was stationed in Washington D.C. in the United States from 2003 to 2005.

Daiju holds a master’s degree in International Policy Studies from Stanford University.

SYMBOL

NOMA-eye crest

The NOMA-eye crest represents the “NOMA eye” which can see 350 degrees by aligning the perspectives of humans and horses (nature) and looks forward to the next 1000 years. At the same time, the concept and methodology of the crest, which depicts everything in the universe with only “circles” and “lines,” inherit the genes of the Soma clan’s 1000-year history (Nine-circle crest).