(Nambu, Aomori, Japan)
In the northern part of Japan, there is a town called Nambu. One of the specialties of the region is Nambu Sembei or wheat crackers. The crackers are made of wheat flour, salt, baking soda, and water. They taste simple, but they are delicious. Local people have enjoyed the crackers for a long time in various ways. They eat them as a snack during a break while they do agricultural work, or cut them into pieces and put them into soup, which is called Sembei Jiru. But is that all there is for the local people to do with Nambu Sembei?
Local people like the fringes better than the round-shaped crackers because they are chewier. They love the chewy texture of the fringes. Among the local people, the fringes are more popular than the round-shaped crackers. Amazing! This is a wonderful example of optimum utilization of resources. If you look around in your house, garden, and community, you might be able to find something marketable whose value you are not aware of yet.