The "Family" Relationships beyond Households in Depopulating and Aging Villages for the Elderly

青河村和新田村位于静冈县藤田市冈部镇朝新区。这些村庄位于山区，面临着人口减少和当地农民老龄化的问题。然而，这些村庄出产的绿茶是日本最好的。这些村庄的年长农民生产绿茶的目标相同，都是为了生产出最优质的绿茶。他们还分享了“茶叶品质竞争的意识”和“最好的茶叶生产者的精神”。村子里有给帮扶的功能，有茶厂，所有符合条件的农民都可以用。这些系统在支持缺乏“足够劳动力”的家庭方面发挥了重要作用。

Aohane Village and Hinata Village are located in Asahina district, Okabe town, Fujieda City in Shizuoka prefecture. The villages are in a mountainous area and are facing depopulation and aging of the local farmers. However, these villages have the production of the best green tea in Japan. The elder farmers of these villages produce green tea with the "same goal to produce green tea of best quality". They also share "the awareness of the competition of tea quality" and "the spirit of the best tea producers". The villages have the function of "giving aids" and a tea making factory that is available to all qualified farmers. These systems play an important role in supporting the households lacking "sufficient workforce".