The Kiyosato Educational Experiment Project (KEEP) is an organization dedicated to education, outreach, and service to others. Paul Rusch founded KEEP in 1938 with the vision of a place for communal learning, enrichment, and development. Rusch envisioned programming around the concepts of Food, Health, Faith, and Hope for Youth. KEEP continues to honor that vision as we address the current needs of society. Today, as in the beginning, we offer innovative and thought provoking programs.

It all started when…

Paul Rusch returned to Japan after WWII, he found the people of Kiyosato eating potatoes and grains reserved for the animals, as the high altitude of the Yatsugatake Highlands makes growing rice impossible. Understanding the need for Kiyosato citizens to become self-sufficient, KEEP introduced dairy farming with imported Jersey cattle from American donors. The milk produced on the farm was distributed free of charge to local schools as part of KEEP’s outreach to the region.

The Farm School was started as an educational as well as agricultural opportunity, to teach local youth a trade in order to support their families. The Matsumoto Youth Camp was created as a place of respite for children who had lost parents in the war, to take them out of the post-war squalor of Tokyo and introduce them to the healing spirit of nature.

Today, KEEP’s Ohio Experimental Farm is a busy educational farm with programs for school groups, agricultural internships, and public classes for those interested in learning more about dairy farming. The farm is certified organic and promotes sustainable farming practicies. Our restaurants use KEEP Jersey milk products in their food preparation. The Farm Shop and the Jersey Hut sell KEEP’s milk, yogurt, ice cream, and other food products to visitors. Many people in Japan order items directly from the KEEP web site (Japanese only). 

Shokuiku is another way that KEEP attempts to educate visitors about food. Translated as “Food Education”, shokuiku is a national law enacted in June 2005 that KEEP’s programming actively supports. The Japanese government’s goal is to increase awareness of the relationship between food consumption and production and encourage healthy lifestyles. One example of shokuiku activities at KEEP are the place cards in dining areas that explain where and how the food served was produced. KEEP uses local produce as much as possible in food preparation.

Health is not merely the physical state of the body; health extends to spiritual and social issues as well. Health is not just the health of one person, but the health of the community, of humans and animals alike. To promote universal good health, KEEP encourages healthy lifestyles and promotes the protection of a healthy environment. KEEP visitors can reflect upon issues of health and wellbeing when:

– riding one of the rental bikes from Seisen Ryo

– exploring the walking and hiking trails

– camping at KEEP or staying at Seisen Ryo hotel and conference center

– learning about agriculture at the farm or in one of the farm’s educational programs

– participating in an environmental education program

– visiting one of KEEP’s three museums: the Paul Rusch Memorial Center, the Yatsugatake Nature Center, or the Yamane (Japanese Dormouse) Museum. The Yamane Museum is the only museum in Japan of its kind dedicated to education and preservation of this unique creature’s threatened habitat.

St. Andrew’s Church was built in 1947 and today has over 200 parishioners. The unique Anglican church showcases Japanese architecture and aesthetics: the floors are laid with tatami (woven straw) mats, the stones used for walls came from the nearby Kawabata Gorge, and shoji (rice-paper) screens cover the windows. There is a hiking trail with statues of the 12 Stations of the Cross through the woods behind the church.

Just as the church was used for community meetings in the early days of KEEP, today the church continues service to the community in many ways such as hosting music concerts for the public several times a the year. The Annual Church Bazaar in October is a popular community event. The church’s rector, Father Muto, is active in the Anglican Church of Japan’s national peace and reconciliation outreach work.

There are many places around KEEP to stop and reflect. One special spot created by volunteers in 1962 is the Lenox Chapel. The student volunteers who built the outdoor chapel were from Lenox School in Lenox, Massachusetts. The students were on an outreach program the school sponsored following the vision of the school’s motto “Non ministrari, sed ministrare”—“Not to be served, but to serve.” The Lenox School motto resonates closely with KEEP’s call to serve others. The school’s alumni association has photos of the chapel’s construction on their web site (click here). The chapel is used by individuals, groups, and occasionally wedding parties.

Current youth programs at KEEP encompass all forms of agricultural and environmental education. Year round programming is designed for all age levels. Students at the primary, secondary, and university levels take part in programs on the environment, farming, and the care of livestock in both day programs and overnight camps. One indicator of the programming’s impact is the high number of program participants who end up working in the field of environmental education or nature preservation.