Download (PROK) Empty Bowls at the Table of Life

Life Revitalisation Campaign
of the
Ecology Community Movement Center (ECMC)
Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea
(PROK)
The campaign’s aims
 being aware of a global table community
 thinking of those facing empty bowls
 emptying our bowls in respect of those
who filled them
The campaigns projects
 study group on ecology and humanity
 learning and discussing about food issues, ethics, our
responsibility and possibilities
 sharing food from own vegetable garden
 church gardening competition
 eco-travel to Korea’s rural areas
 organic food cooperative to foster rural urban
direct transaction and producer-consumer
interaction
study group and table community
gardening and awarding ceremony
eco travel
PROK food cooperative
 PROK cooperative initiated in 2013 by
 PROK rural ministers association (RMA)
 rural development institute (RDI) and
 PROK women’s association
 aim to establish direct links between rural producers
and urban consumers
 production aims on organic, integrated, low or no
pesticide farming
 first items were organic rice, sticky rice, brown rice
and beef
organisation of PROK cooperative
 members pay a fee to become part of coop
 money is used to set up urban-rural direct
transaction system for food items
 cooperative establishes contact to rural
producers, receives orders from urban
consumers and distribute the products
 overcome producers’-consumers’ demands
discrepancies: gross market system,
distribution through churches, small scale
packages for private consumers
public relations activity
 “Table Community” event in production areas: meeting
of producers and consumers to build relation and trust
 “Revive the Life” academy in Seoul: inform consumers
about “table of life” issue and PROK cooperative
 advertising in local churches in Seoul and surrounding,
at rural minsters and women’s association meetings
and among ECMC members
 distributing gifts for Easter Sunday (eggs in 2013, rice
in 2014)
 introduce each item to the consumers, develop “recipe
of the month” with coop food items, publish a booklet
with producers stories and best practice examples
current situation (by July 2014)
 ECMC has role of incubator for two years
 962 members and 47 producers
 357 PROK churches (46 in Seoul)
 ordering by phone or text message, online
shopping possibility in preparation
(blog open: www.prokcoop.or.kr)
PROK COOP market at Jeonju Ahn-di-ok church (July 2014)
PROK COOP booth at PROK 99th General Assembly (Sep.
23~26th 2014)
The 1st PROK COOP producer-consumer consultation (July 14th
2014/Duck-chon church)
future plans
 plan to encourage ministers to tackle
“revive the life” topic in the sermon
 every week in another church
 plan to sell products before production
 “my tree”, “my field”
 plan to offer rural life experiences
 consumers give a hand at harvest, in villages or
in farm houses
 plan to open an offline store in Seoul (2015)
Thank you for your attention!