Evan + Dani Benton

Hello! We’re Evan + Dani Benton. We’re re-planting our roots on Ōmishima island, in rural Japan. It’s been a very long journey to get here: we left our urban farm in New Orleans, Louisiana (2016-21), then found ourselves traveling and house-sitting all throughout Mexico (2021-23). Now we’ve received a Startup Business visa, and are working every day to renovate two former “akiya” abandoned houses into our home and guesthouse, while building our honey bee business, homestead, and family.

Dani and Evan Benton on a New Orleans Streetcar

Dani Benton has experience with Chickens

Evan Benton has experience with Honey Bees

We’re fortunate to have met in our Dallas, Oregon high school, and quickly became good friends. While we swore to keep in touch, it was not until nearly a decade later that we reunited in Portland, Oregon at where else but a punk rock show. We quickly reforged old bonds, and our two separate paths in life became one. That path has led us across the United States, then across the border to Mexico, and now, across the sea to Japan. Each move brings us closer together, and closer to home.

Dani and Evan Benton in New Orleans, Louisiana

Evan & Dani’s Combined Experience:

Benton Homestead: Urban Farm from 2016-2021 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA.
- Products: honey, chicken eggs, and homegrown pickled vegetables.
- Skills: beekeeping, chicken husbandry, garden soil health, vegetable production, lacto-fermentation, natural food preservation, composting, bio-char production, natural pest management, and sustainable practices, without chemicals.

AirBnB Hosts: 2017-2021 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
- Rating: 4.8 stars. We welcomed over 1,000 guests, earning the title of AirBnB “Superhosts”.

Evan Benton’s Experience:

Work Experience: 12 years’ experience practicing alternative medicine as a Licensed Massage Therapist.
- Additional Certifications: Craniosacral Therapy from Upledger Institute.
Education: Bachelors degree in Music, with a minor in Japanese, from University of Oregon, USA.
Life Experience: He previously lived in Tokyo and taught English for 1 year.

Dani Benton’s Experience:

Dani Benton Photography: Dani has been a self-employed photographer since 2009.
- Awarded Statesman Journal’s ‘Best of the Mid-Valley’ Photographer, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013.
- Published in Photographers’ Forum Magazine’s hardcover book ‘Best of College Photography’ 2009, 2011.
- Received an Honorable Mention and gallery display in ‘Oregon Salon of Photography’, 2011.
- Received Second Place in ‘The Everyman Pro’ International Photography Competition, 2009, 2010.

Work Experience: 5 years’ experience as a graphic designer.

Education: Associates degree in Visual Communications from Chemeketa Community College, USA.

Volunteer Work: 5 years’ experience volunteering in the community:
- President of the Dallas Arts Association;
- Vice-President of the Dallas Area Visitors Center;
- Secretary of the Polk County Bounty Farmers Market;
  - Helped to create the market, as well as facilitate weekly market operations for 18 months.
- Awarded ‘Junior First Citizen’ for volunteer efforts in Dallas, Oregon, USA.