Hello friends,

Our dear friend Shig Matsukawa was recently diagnosed with liver cancer and is beginning a 6-month regimen of chemo treatments. Shig has had a transformative impact on New York's community gardens and the environment. He is a renowned expert on the Bokashi method of recycling food waste into beautiful, microbial rich, living soil that is used throughout our neighborhood.

Shig is involved with many New York City environmental organizations being a teacher and advocate for the Bokashi method. It's thanks to his initiative that the composting program at Down to Earth Garden with help from El Sol Brilliante diverted 69.81 tons of food waste from 2009 to 2025. Come on, this is impressive! It’s food waste that would have otherwise been discarded as landfill. Shig has been a selfless contributor to our community for decades and we want to return the favor by being there for him now.

We know Shig needs help with transportation back and forth to chemo appointments, alternative therapies, and nutrition among other things. Please help him get through the next six months with the support that he needs for a healthy and successful recovery.

Shig does everything as a volunteer. We are incredibly grateful and want to show him how much he means to us. Please join us in raising money to help him through this difficult time. Thank you so much for giving what you can to someone who's given so much to our neighborhood!

– The El Sol Brillante and Down to Earth community

PS - if you’re interested in learning about Bokashi you can watch Shig’s online tutorials here!