長野県指定伝統的工芸品の小沼箒は、飯山市小沼地区において冬（農閑期）の仕事として明治初年に生産が始まりました。経済状況やライフスタイルの変化とともに生産は減少し続けており、後継者の育成が課題となっています。
この箒づくりを後世につなぐことを目的に、環境創造コース3年ほうき班は課題研究に取り組んでいます。研究は原材料の栽培から箒の製造・販売までを対象としています。
梅雨の中休みとなった6月13日、同班は原材料であるホウキモロコシを播種しました。品質のよい材料の効率的な確保をねらい、株間（播種の間隔）を変化させて播種しました。今後、生育状況や生産物の品質などを比較検討するそうです。
Onuma brooms, a traditional craft designated by Nagano Prefecture, originated in the Onuma district of Iiyama City in the early Meiji era (1868-1912) as a winter occupation (during the off-season for farming). As economic conditions and lifestyles have changed, production has continued to decline, and passing down the skills to new generations has become a challenge.
Third-year students group from the Environmental Creation Course studying Onuma broom making is engaged in a project study to hand down this tradition to the future generations. The research covers the entire process from cultivating materials to producing and selling the brooms.
On June 13th, a sunny day during the rainy season, the group sowed broom corn, the material for the brooms. The seeds were planted at different intervals to test which methods are effective to yield high-quality materials. Later, the students will compare the growth conditions and evaluate the quality of the products made from their crops.
