My encounter with kapok vol.2

"When you go through the tunnel,
It was snow, no, it was kapok.”

Such an encounter with kapok,
I am writing this right now, right after the crowdfunding release. (as of October 2019)

Thank you very much,
The brand “KAPOK KNOT” uses kapok.
Achieved goal within 9 minutes and exceeded goal 800% within 24 hours.
We received a great deal of support.
Here is the link:
https://www.makuake.com/project/kapokknot/

I was convinced.
“After all, the world needs kapok.”

It's still dark outside today on the morning of July 15th.

Wake up at 5am and head to the airport.

I headed there using a taxi dispatch app called Grab.
In Japan, uber and didi are becoming more and more used,
Indonesia is more developed than Japan.
The number of rides is overwhelming, and the bikes are grabbed too.
Kanto-kun, my friend of 10 years, will be attending me.
I am stationed in Indonesia.
He had become a man who suited Jakarta.

Creative Director Yuta, who will be accompanying me at 6:50, is upset,
We were the last passengers on board,
The plane took off safely.

8:45am Move from Jakarta to Surabaya in the east.
In terms of distance, it is about the same as Tokyo and Hiroshima.
First meeting with Andrew, the factory manager and a part-time worker.
Shake hands and exchange greetings.
Andrew was greeted by his father.
I heard later that he is 76 years old! He looks very young.

He speaks very well.
Especially when it comes to Kapok.
He speaks passionately and says a lot.
Indonesia has the worst traffic jams in the world and has a lot of air pollution.
The water level is rising by 2 cm every year.
Along with this, they are planning to move the capital from Jakarta.
that we should plant plants to stop global warming;
Because kapok grows large, it produces a lot of oxygen.
Kapok cotton can be used for pillows and cushions, the seeds can be used as animal feed, and the skin can be used as fuel, so everything can be used.
He taught me many other things.

About 2 hours from the airport.
We arrived at the factory while climbing the mountain.

Upon arrival, we immediately toured the factory.
The first step is to sort the kapok.

Break the shell and take out the cotton.
Separate the shell and cotton and put them in a bag.
His dexterity is as expected.
Skilled craftsmen quickly sort the items.
I tried it too, but the shell was surprisingly hard.
I had a hard time getting the cotton out from inside,
It took several times as long as them.
As expected.

Afterwards, blow up the kapok,
Follow the process of separating seeds and cotton.
Heavy miscellaneous items are removed,
Only pure cotton kapok is selected.
Because of its lightness, once it flies into the air, it does not easily fall to the ground.
I finally collect only the kapok that has fallen to the ground.

The result is a scene that resembles a ski slope with freshly fallen snow.
The sight that unfolded before my eyes felt truly beautiful.
Light and soft kapok spreads out in front of you at about human height.

``When we came out of the tunnel, it was snow, or rather, kapok.''

It was the first time I had seen kapok, and my companions were also surprised.

After that, we will start the second compression process.
The fluffy kapok is compressed for transportation.

First, the male workers put kapok into large bags.
At first, add the amount with your hands, and then push in with your foot halfway through.
Because my whole body is covered in kapok,
They are naked from the waist up and wear masks on their faces to prevent inhalation.

The kapok is then compressed all at once.
However, it is still too big for even two adults to hold.
From there, it is compressed one more time and is finally ready for transport.

In other words, there are three main steps.
① Remove the cotton from the fruit ② Separate the cotton and seeds ③ Compress for transportation
(To be precise, there is also a drying process and packing the seeds in between.)

The route through which the kapok flows is carefully thought out,
There was a lot of stock.
As long as you keep the kapok fruit,
Even the ones from last year were asked to be kept.

We thanked Andrew and Andrew's father.
They were very kind and taught me many things and told me their thoughts.

After leaving the factory, we headed to downtown Surabaya.
Had a late lunch with Andrew.
He is a very energetic person, and it is hard to believe that he is only 50 years old.
It refers to various things such as politics, environment, economy, education, and culture.
It was a very deep conversation with passionate talk about each of them.
He attended an American university and is fluent in English.
I was desperately trying to keep up.
,,, I tried to show off. To be honest, there were times when I couldn't keep up.

I was dropped off at the airport at 5pm,
Start your journey back to Jakarta.
I promised to meet up with Andrew again, and we promised each other our future interactions.

And about 3 months later,
I will release KAPOK KNOT on October 6th.
We hope that you will receive a great deal of support in the start dash.
At this point I don't know yet.