NPO AlonAlon-Produced "Aimowl Garden" in Fukuoka/Kitakyushu Achieves Remarkable Results in 18 Months Since Opening

NPO AlonAlon, which supports the economic independence of people with disabilities and engages in the cultivation and sale of high-quality phalaenopsis orchids, has produced a business model for "Aimowl Orchid Garden" in Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka Prefecture. This facility, a Type B employment support facility operated by NPO Aimowl Garden, has achieved dramatic results that overturn the common perception of disability employment in regional cities, just 18 months after its opening in December 2024.

Key Progress of "Aimowl" Achieved in Just 18 Months (See Attached Diagram)

AlonAlon's "Disability Welfare x High-Value Industry Standardization Model," cultivated in Chiba Prefecture, has been fully transplanted to Kyushu. In the short period of one and a half years since opening, the following achievements have been established:

Average Monthly Wages (Reiwa 7th Year): Approximately \u00a542,000 (approx. 1.7 times the national average of \u00a524,141)

Annual Phalaenopsis Orchid Shipments: Approx. 2,000 pots

Number of Users: 16

Partner Companies: 3

Former Users Employed by Partner Companies: 4

Through partnerships with leading Kitakyushu companies such as Takagi Co., Ltd., a circular model from Type B facilities to corporate employment has been realized.

Reasons for Aimowl's Short-Term Success: AlonAlon's Unique "Step-Up Model"

Typical disability welfare workshops (Type B employment support) often involve simple piecework, making it difficult to see a path toward skill development or general employment. However, as shown in the diagram above, Aimowl has "divided the production of phalaenopsis orchids, considered a craft, into 30 processes" and scientifically standardized them.

【Training & Skill Development】(Processes A-C) Users first start with the simplest tasks. By mastering the work and understanding quality standards, they acquire C-level technical skills. At this stage, a high average monthly wage of approximately \u00a542,000 is achieved.

【Employment & Step-Up】(Processes C-F) Users who have acquired C-level skills can find general employment as employees with disabilities at local partner companies, including Takagi Co., Ltd. (4 individuals have achieved this so far). After employment, they take on more advanced "intermediate to advanced level (Processes C-F)" cultivation management, shaping, inspection, and shipping, playing active roles as important members of the company (high-level production members).

This unique circular model of AlonAlon, where users "develop skills at a Type B facility and then step up by being employed at a corporate farm," has been realized in Kitakyushu in a short period, proving its high reproducibility.

Next Challenge: Roadmap to Average Monthly Wages of "Over \u00a560,000"

Aimowl is not content with its current achievements and is embarking on the following two specific measures to further increase wages, aiming for the average monthly wages of over \u00a560,000 achieved by Chiba's "AlonAlon Orchid Garden":

Improve Yield Rate (Productivity Improvement)

In delicate phalaenopsis orchid cultivation, the current "yield rate (good product ratio)" of 85% will be increased to "over 90%" through skill enhancement and strengthening of the management system. This will generate more high-value products from the same production resources.

Enhance Sales Capabilities (Maximize Profit Margin)

Strengthening initiatives to increase the proportion of "direct sales (EC and direct corporate transactions)" without going through markets or wholesalers. This will cut intermediate distribution costs and solidify the system for directly returning profits to user wages.

Comment from Satoshi Nabe, Director of NPO AlonAlon

"From welfare that 'takes care of' people with disabilities to 'business' that is chosen by the market. The new business model we have proven in Chiba has been demonstrated by Kitakyushu's Aimowl in the astonishingly short period of 18 months to be applicable anywhere in Japan, regardless of the region. Four users have taken flight as corporate employees, and local leading companies recognize their technical skills. If we improve productivity (yield rate over 90%) and strengthen direct sales, reaching average monthly wages of over \u00a560,000 is within reach. The success in Kitakyushu is not the end goal. AlonAlon will deploy this model to welfare service providers, municipalities, and companies across the country, increasing the number of regions in Japan where people with disabilities can earn a self-sufficient income."

NPO AlonAlon

AlonAlon aims to create stable jobs with a sense of purpose and fulfillment for people with intellectual and mental disabilities through a new business model of agricultural-welfare collaboration. Our goal is not to 'take care of' them, but to enable people with disabilities to acquire skills, grow, feel rewarded in their work, and ultimately gain the ability to be self-reliant even after their parents are gone.

Address: 3863-61 Nakahara, Misaki-cho, Isumi City, Chiba Prefecture, 299-4502 Taito Style D-02

Representative: Director Satoshi Nabe

Contact: Ikeda

TEL: 0470-62-6215

Inquiries: p-info@alonalon.or.jp

URL: https://alonalon.or.jp/

NPO Aimowl Garden

Address: 2-5-1 Ishidaminami, Kokuraminami-ku, Kitakyushu City, 802-0836

Contact: Maeda

Mail: info@npo-aimowl.or.jp

TEL: 093-967-6505

https://aimowl-garden.com/

https://www.aimowl.shop/