Makiko Abe

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

HTC is now just　10days away!✨ On campus, the committees are getting excited and have been busy holding meetings and preparing for the celebration.From today, we will start the countdown  to HTC on SNS📢 We hope that you will join us getting excited in the following two weeks, through exploring what is going on at ARI!👏 ▶ 🌾Harvest Thanksgiving Celebration (HTC), ARI’s largest annual event to give thanks for a bountiful harvest, is coming again this year!We will entertain you with international cuisine, cultural stage performances and hands-on activities!Dates: October 18 … Read more

On a sunny autumn day, there was some smoke coming from the mountainside… Participants were practicing charcoal and wood vinegar making. Even though the weather had cooled down, sweat was beading on their foreheads as they worked hard to build a fire. Dragonflies are flying around in the fields managed by groups of the participants. Next to red beans and soybeans whose leaves have turned yellow, Chinese cabbage, radish, and mizuna are being planted, steadily preparing for the winter season.

One of the most important skills for a team leader of any organization is proper project planning. Considering all necessary resources — including time, money, and labor — and any possible risks that may occur. But even before that: what is the problem your community faces? How can you solve it? And in how much time? Answering these questions, and making plans from start to finish, was the theme of a 3-part class taught by ARI staff. Using lessons inspired by those taught at the Japan International Cooperation Agency, ARI … Read more

Preamble In 2025, marking the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the Asian Rural Institute hereby reaffirms its commitment to peace. As the number of war survivors and atomic bomb victims dwindles each year, the responsibility for those living today to convey the horrors of war and nuclear weapons to the next generation grows ever more important. The awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Hidankyo) in 2024 symbolizes the importance of this task. Furthermore, violence and conflict … Read more

On September 16, the 54th anniversary of ARI’s founding, a commemorative service was held at ARI. Following a program featuring stories from the early days by Mrs. Shinko Takami, a wife of one of the founders, Toshihiro Takami, the ARI Peace Declaration was presented by our director, Osamu Arakawa. After lunch, we held a community event at a nearby park, where we divided ourselves into groups to express peace through music, poetry, dance, and drama. To deepen mutual understanding and our friendships, we also enjoyed playing games together. The Asian … Read more

“Peace from Food” Summer Campaign Donation Benefits — Available until September 21!

“Nutritious meals nourish both body and soul.”So says Debora, an ARI graduate who now volunteers. She repeated these words carefully and emphatically, time and again.For Debora, eating is not merely an act of survival. It is a vital practice that cultivates inner peace. In a painting she created, vibrant fruits like mangoes, bananas, and dragon fruit—grown in her homeland of Indonesia—are vividly depicted.Being nourished—it nurtures not only the body but also the soul, and it creates connections between people. This simple yet truly vital lesson is what we are learning … Read more