(This article is based on an orginal story by Takao Hirao translated from Japanese and edited by David Tharp)

There is a “Pilgrim Road” on the island of Shikoku in southwestern Japan. This highway has been used for centuries by religious devotees to pay homage at 88 shrines and temples throughout the island.

Along this route, in Ehime Prefecture, just outside Matsuyama City there is a new bread factory under construction. It is actually an expansion of a smaller existing bakery business.

Bakery To Triple Bread Making Space

While this may not seem like big news in itself, the fact that the bakery is recruiting and offering jobs to the disabled is a significant aspect of the way this business is run.

The bakery offers work assistance to disabled persons under the age of 65, to enable them to gain experience in a regular business operation, and to learn new skills. This bakery construction is supported by a grant from The Nippon Foundation due to its stance on social welfare and hiring the disabled.

The job assistance part of the bakery operation is called the “Kutani Work House,” and is run by Masao Kuraoka, who wishes to give the disabled a chance to earn some extra money towards their living expenses, while giving them ideas to set up their own business in the future.

The new bakery under construction

The new bakery, with triple its previous space and baking capacity, will open for business in September. Many people in the local community are looking forward to the opening and hoping for its continued success.

At present, the Kutani Workhouse bakery employs 40 people who make the bread, put together the folding boxes for the bread, print calendars for the business, and do other jobs such as prune the weeds and grass around the premises.

The bakery and the workhouse are the result of the Persons With Disabilities Act, a law passed in 2006 which commits the national and local governments to support the disabled in gaining more independence in their lives by employing them in job assistance programs.

As the old bakery business expanded its customer base, it became obvious that it was necessary to increase its working space and purchase a larger bread-making machine.

The present Kutani Workhouse bakery offices are located in this building

“Kutani Bread” is gradually becoming a household name in Ehime Prefecture. Currently, it supplies 200 high schools and the Ehime University Coop with bread from Monday to Friday every week.

In addition, orders for bread are starting to come from 100 other organizations in Matsuyama such as homes for the elderly, kindergartens, and hospitals.

The average day for making the bread orders starts at 6:30am when the ovens are warmed up, the dough is prepared, the bread is shaped, baked in the oven, and then actually shipped off to clients around 3:30PM.

The bakery produces many types of bread products – “anpan” which is made with sweet bean paste, curry flavored bread, regular white bread and other varieties. They also produce 10 different kinds of cookies. These breads and cookies sell for prices between 70 to 100 yen.

Weeding and cutting grass on the bakery’s premises with the help of a “double cab” van provided by The Nippon Foundation

With the installation of larger equipment at the new facilities, it is expected that sales channels will increase in parallel with production capacity.

The success of this business is due in large part to the support of The Nippon Foundation, which has extended grants to the bakery to buy new equipment and expand its facilities two years running.

Part of this support includes the donation of a “double cab” van which can seat six employees. It is used for transporting employees and equipment and bakery goods. The van also comes in handy for outdoor gardening work around the bakery’s premises, which took longer to complete previously without this added mobility.

The new single-story bakery facilities will have a total floor space of 889 square meters. It will be partitioned into separate areas for the making of bread, and a delicatessen shopping area.

Until now, the average job-assistance salary per person has been about 8,000 yen a month, but with the expanded facilities it is hoped this can be raised to 30,000 yen person.

A partial view of the new bakery’s facilities

The new facility has yet to be named, but in the meantime the bakery continues to turn out the bread of life for the people of the area.