Makiko Abe

Blooming plum blossoms this week herald the coming of Spring.With the new season coming, ARI hosted two presentations for learnings by graduates of the 2024 program. First, Momoko, a graduate from Japan, reported on her one-month Asian Internship program in the Philippines, where she visited several graduates’ organizations in January and February. Her time with their communities gave first-hand experience in the major differences of development between Japan and other countries, including those of her classmates in 2024. She saw that despite economic challenges, they were able to mobilize local … Read more

The ARI community is happy to welcome two new Training Assistants TAs) who recently arrived to support this year’s Rural Leaders Training Program; Jeremiya (2019 ARI Graduate) from India and Veh (2018 ARI Graduate) from Malawi. They will spend the next year to deepen their knowledge through working at a particular section of ARI to tackle the problems of their community.TAs play a vital role in the ARI community, working alongside participants in farm work, food processing, and community-building activities. Their presence brings fresh perspectives, and we look forward to learning from and with them … Read more

In January, while the campus is closed, ARI staff convened with professional trainers to undertake an intensive 5-day course in non-violent communication.NVC starts with understanding ourselves. Trainers taught ARI staff the skills in observing our situation including others’ actions, savoring our feelings based on the situation, seeking and understanding our needs, then making a request of others to fulfill that need.ARI staff also practiced conflict resolution based on the skills of NVC, seeking to understand the feelings and needs of aggrieved members of the group. Even in a workshop-style safe … Read more

ARI Graduate Outreach staff Steven Cutting traveled to southern Africa last August, and the complete series finished publication two weeks ago.The series is a combination of humor and beautiful photos of 23 ARI graduates’ hard work at home. Stories from the 3 weeks of travel bring you right into their local life, with all the ups and downs of community leadership.Some of the people Steven met will be training at ARI this year. Perhaps, if you’d like to visit, you can read about them first, then meet them…! Want to … Read more