Companies, public institutions and residents gathered at a vineyard in the sweltering heat to help a farm struggling with a labor shortage during the busy farming season. The Yeongjong-gu Volunteer Center in Incheon carried out a grape-bagging volunteer activity at a farm in the Muui-dong area on July 2 to help ease the shortage of rural labor.
 [The Korean Today] Grape-bagging volunteer activity held at a Muui-dong farm © Reporter Kim Mi-hee |
The activity was arranged to support local farms grappling with a labor shortage during the peak farming season while also spreading a culture of sharing throughout the community. The aim is to provide practical help at rural sites facing the combined challenges of an aging population and a shortage of workers.
About 20 people took part in the volunteer work, including the Hanbit Volunteer Corps of Incheon Airport Energy Co., executives and staff of the Yeongjong Urban Infrastructure Project Division and the Yeongjong Park Project Division of the Incheon Facilities Management Corporation, and individual volunteers. Participants eased the burden on the farm by covering grapes with bags to prevent pests and diseases and improve quality, and by tending to the crops’ growing environment.
In particular, the activity is seen as a case in which companies, public institutions and volunteers worked together to support a local farm, offering a model of volunteer service grounded in public-private cooperation. Focusing on the grape-bagging work, participants pitched in to provide practical help to a farm struggling with a labor shortage during the busy season.
 [The Korean Today] Yeongjong-gu Volunteer Center helping with rural labor in Muui-dong © Reporter Kim Mi-hee |
Park Gap-cheol, head of the Hanbit Volunteer Corps of Incheon Airport Energy Co., said, “Although it was a hot day, it was a meaningful time because we could provide practical help to a local farm,” adding, “We will continue to take part in sharing activities together with the community going forward.”
Kang Min-seok, head of the project operations team at the Yeongjong-gu Volunteer Center, said, “We are grateful that companies, institutions and residents joined forces for farms struggling with rural aging and labor shortages,” adding, “We will continue to actively seek out sites in need and carry on our sharing activities.”
[ Reporter Kim Mi-hee: incheonsouth@thekoreantoday.com ]
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