Playdough made from irregular potatoes comes in seven different colors in a can.
KAGOSHIMA, May 20 – Yukari Miyazawa, a 38-year-old resident of Okinoerabu Island in Kagoshima Prefecture, has started selling playdough made from irregular potatoes after learning that they are being disposed of.
“I hope people will have more interest in the issue of food waste through the product,” Miyazawa said.
Miyazawa moved to the island from Okinawa Prefecture in 2018 with her husband who was transferred there.
She learned that potatoes, the local specialty, are often wasted if they are damaged and are not suitable for shipping, and looked for ways to recycle them.
She found out that it is possible to make playdough by mixing starch extracted from potatoes with beeswax, and set on producing it last year, using irregular potatoes provided by JA Amami China, a local agricultural cooperative.
The product comes in 11 colors, all dyed using natural colorants derived from materials found in the island, such as red clay, green citrus fruits, mangoes, mulberries, squid ink and beets.
Since the playdough is additive-free and made entirely out of natural materials, it would be safe even if children put it in their mouths.
It can be modeled repeatedly because it will not harden completely.
Miyazawa, who makes the playdough with a couple of people at a local community center, says the product can also be used by adults to enjoy the fragrance or played by elderly people for rehabilitation.
The product, named Erabu Iro no Jagaimo Nendo, has been sold at an online shop Shimayadori since April. A can containing modeling clays of seven colors is priced at 3,200 yen, and a box with five colors is available at 1,500 yen.
They are sold at discount prices at souvenir shops and local specialty shops in the island.