Rumiano Cheese has handcrafted a new cheese using salt from Rikuzentakata, Iwate Prefecture. The two cities developed ties after a Rikuzentakata boat washed ashore in Crescent City after having been swept out to sea by the tsunami triggered by the Great East Japan Earthquake. This city-to-city friendship has gone from strength to strength, and Rikuzentaka and Crescent City have launched a youth exchange program using the proceeds from the cheese sales.

In April 2013, a muddy, heavily barnacled boat washed ashore in California’s northernmost port town of Crescent City. The boat turned out to be that of Takata High School. It was the school’s training vessel, “Kamome.” It had been adrift for more than two years as it meandered its way from Iwate Prefecture across the Pacific Ocean to Crescent City. Students from the nearby Del Norte High School spruced the boat up, and it was returned to Rikuzentakata in October that same year.

All profits from the sale of Kamome Cheese goes to fund four exchange scholarships, for two students in Crescent City and two students in Rikuzentakata to visit opposite sides of the world for a cultural experience made possible by your purchase.