Grape Haze cosmetics developed and sold by high school students

 Students from Rirasozogeijutsu High School in Makunimiya, Kimino Town, Wakayama Prefecture, use "grape haze" wax, which is widely cultivated in the town as a high-quality raw material for Japanese candles, and "ka", a town tree. Developed "Kinomi Nori", an organic cosmetic product that uses "ya)" as a fragrance. We started selling only 100 pieces. The students are enthusiastic that they can "liven up the local industry."

Grape Haze is a variety that originated in Wakayama, where Hazenoki was mutated. The name comes from the fact that the fruits are larger than normal poison ivy and grow like a bunch of grapes. Japan wax, which is obtained from the fruits of Hazenoki, is a raw material for Japanese candles and powders.

It was a natural monument designated by the prefecture before the war, but the designation was automatically canceled without an application for redesignation. In 2017, a student of the school discovered a log that was supposed to have died, and in January 2008, it was redesignated as a prefectural natural monument.

Students belonging to the school's club activity "Rira Factory", which works on community building, felt a sense of crisis that "the seniors who realized the redesignation will graduate and will be forgotten again". After discussing whether it could be used to increase the value of cosmetics, I came up with the idea of ​​commercializing cosmetics.

We asked Yoshida Wax Factory in Kainan City to make wax from the fruit. The company uses a traditional method to produce the highest quality Japan wax made from natural'boke's. In order to use it as cosmetics, it is necessary to make "white wax" from which impurities have been removed from the wax, and this time, the company has been producing white wax, which is dried in the sun for about two months, for the first time in 77 years. Revived.

The finished cosmetics have a citrus scent and are not sticky even when applied to the skin. Students are in charge of the illustration of the package. The product name was named "Kinominori" from "Ki" and "Kinomi" in Kimino, Kishu.

The students were delighted that "it was said that it would be difficult for high school students to make a product, but we were able to connect and realize various relationships," said Nonohana Fukasawa, who played a central role in commercialization. "I was able to do it with the cooperation of various people. It's still like a dream that it became a product. I'm glad I was able to complete it before graduation," smiles. Haruka i, a third-year student, said, "I would be happy if it spreads as a local industry as a result of commercialization."

Kazuaki Sakaguchi, director of the Special Forestry Department of the Prefectural Forestry Research Institute, also hopes that "completion is close to a miracle. The innocent thoughts of the students have moved adults. It will lead to the development of local industry."