Makiko Abe

This year again, the hard work of our farm staff and volunteers bore fruit, yielding plump, sweet potatoes. The total harvest amounted to a whopping 916kg!!We store the sweet potato in a dedicated storage at the perfect temperature, so that they will sustain the community through spring.

On the 28th of October, I was able to attend the Sri Lankan graduates gathering held in Negombo on the west coast of Sri Lanka. Eight board members and associates from AFARI (American friends of ARI) also joined us, so many graduates gathered from all over the country. Including 27 graduates from 1977 to 2018 (one from Bangladesh) and their families, plus us -participants from the US and Japan- the total attendance exceeded 70 people. Prior to the gathering, we conducted field visits to three graduate projects funded by AFARI. On the … Read more

From the 22nd to 24th of October, ARI staff Osamu Arakawa and Steven Cutting attended the ECHO Conference on Agriculture and Community Development in Chiang Mai, Thailand and met over 20 graduates in fellowship and knowledge exchange. Over the 2-day conference, experts, practitioners of the field, and interested people were able to attend workshops, plenary sessions, and direct demonstration on ECHO’s farm, deepening their understanding and sharing their knowledge about community development and agriculture practices. Osamu emphasized the importance and opportunities of collaborations between ARI and other networks, pointing out … Read more

We received wonderful photos taken by students at the Nippon Photography Institute in May. Each year, they visit ARI for a week to live alongside the ARI community and practice their photo-taking skills.Thank you so much for portraying ARI through your fresh, outside perspective!We look forward to your visit next year!

This month, ARI will publish the next issue of its English-language newsletter, Take My Hand. We’ll be looking at ARI participants and graduates working to nurture the next generation of rural leaders, thanks to the training they received at ARI. Want to know more about how ARI’s leadership model impacts future generations? Receive the next issue with a donation to ARI’s US partner, American Friends of ARI. Follow this link to donate!https://ari.ac.jp/en/donate-from-usa/

Finally, tomorrow begins the ARI’s biggest event, Harvest Thanksgiving Celebration (HTC).On the last day, we will bring you a message from our coordinators, who will oversee the event! 👐 Join us for a special Harvest Thanksgiving celebration (HTC) at ARI! It’s a time to celebrate the season’s bounty and the hard work of our community. Let’s enjoy a simple meal, share stories, and give thanks. Your presence would make it even more joyful. Please come! (Messaged by HTC Coordinator, Lily and Nao) ▶ Harvest Thanksgiving Celebration (HTC), ARI’s largest annual event … Read more

Finally, this weekend marks ARI’s biggest event, Harvest Thanksgiving Celebration (HTC)!We’ll share the key highlights from each respective committee! 👐 🍽Catch people’s stomach by diverse foodFood is life.  Our life needs spice. Food adds spice to our life, as spices add taste and flavor to the food. ARI is a diverse community. We have people from more than 22 countries living together under one roof. Which makes ARI a global village. So, we spice up our life with the diversity of people that live together. During this year’s HTC, we wish to bring before you a variety of diverse, tasty and … Read more

Next weekend marks ARI’s biggest event, Harvest Thanksgiving Celebration (HTC)!We’ll share the key highlights from each respective committee! 👐 “HTC (Harvest Thanksgiving Celebration)” is a day to share gratitude through music and celebrations from 20 different countries!Our committee is in charge of the worship and performance programs, and we’ve been preparing to create a heartwarming time for everyone. Come join us and celebrate together! (Messaged by Worship and Performance Committee, HAVANA) ▶ Harvest Thanksgiving Celebration (HTC), ARI’s largest annual event to give thanks for a bountiful harvest, is coming again this year!We … Read more

Next weekend marks ARI’s biggest event, Harvest Thanksgiving Celebration (HTC)!We’ll share the key highlights from each respective committee! 👐 We take care of the decoration, games and interaction. In terms of decoration, we are preparing it by collecting local resources, such as bamboos, cones, dry flowers, bamboo baskets, and origami. We have many fun games, like: Flip bottle game, Water rally, Cookie eating game, Goat milking, Blind hit and paper fishing. We also have a language cafe which is an activity where you can communicate and interact with people from different countries and also exchange culture by learning or communicating … Read more

As the community gears up for Harvest Thanksgiving Celebration (HTC), preparations are in full swing. At the same time, the selection process for next year’s participants is also underway. Staff members are divided into several groups, holding repeated discussions based on materials and interviews prepared by the admissions team to select candidates one by one. ARI Participants all agree that ARI’s selection process was truly challenging, requiring them to answer numerous questions. This process, demanding patience from both selectors and candidates, is the first step toward the success of the … Read more