Suzu Choong

We have had the honor of inviting Ms. Keiko Holmes from Agape World to our campus at Tochigi to present her message on peace and reconciliation to the ARI community. As the Japanese coordinator for Agape World which is an organization dedicated to promote reconciliation between Japan and her former World War II prisoners of war (POWs), Ms. Keiko is no doubt a well-fitted speaker for this topic. Her presentation to the ARI community was full of personal stories which touched the hearts of all who listened. We marveled at … Read more

Participants of ARI successfully completed their study tour around Western Japan, where they break out of their usual classroom setting and come face-to-face with real persons and communities. 5: Minamata After a short midway break in Osaka, Participants took a ferry to Minamata and visited multiple sites to learn about the history of the Minamata Disease and its painful impact on the people in the community. They visited Minamata Disease Museum, the former Chisso company, the Hyakken Drainage site, and the eco-park made on the landfill (reclaimed land) area where … Read more

We are midway through the final study tour for our Participants this year – The Western Japan Study Tour – where Participants embark on a twelve-day long trip to visit several places across 7 different prefectures. Through this tour, Participants learn about various issues related to development in Japan, from the possible impacts of development projects on trees in nearby campuses to social welfare projects that seek to help the elderly. 1: Machida First stop was Noden (Theological Seminary of Rural Studies) at Machida where we heard from the current … Read more

ARI staff traveled to Ft Myers, Florida to attend the ECHO International Agriculture Conference. We spoke with like-minded rural development experts from around the world, and hosted our own workshop on Participatory Learning and Action (PLA). We had a great time and hope to see you at a future conference, whether in Florida, Chiang Mai, or elsewhere!

In October 2023, ARI and AFARI staff joined the ECHO Asia Agriculture & Community Development Conference 2023 in Thailand, where they met with nine ARI graduates as part of an AFARI-organized graduates’ regional convening. They enjoyed four days of sharing ideas and technologies for small-scale farming, and saw many practical farming demonstrations at the ECHO Asia Seed Bank & Small Farm Resource Center. ARI is thankful for the opportunity to participate in this conference, and for AFARI for sponsoring ARI graduates’ registrations, lodgings, and food costs. We look forward to … Read more

Mr. Hideo Koide from Neu Frank in Nasu returned shortly after the first class to continue teaching us how to process meat and produce bacon, jerky, tea ham (chashu), and meatloaf. On a sunny afternoon, Participants quickly assembled in the kitchen, eager for the lesson of the day. Mr. Koide started explaining the processing for each item, bowls of seasoning and ingredients laid out before him. Participants immediately got to task and worked hand in hand to prepare jerky and tea ham: chopping up garlic and onion, mixing various ingredients … Read more

Late last month, the executive director of American Friends of Asian Rural Institute (AFARI) Sherry DeLeon flew in to visit the ARI campus. She not only prepared several classes for Participants on the topic of Fundraising, but provided consultations for all interested community members on grant proposal writing and the like. She thoroughly enjoyed the ARI life and meeting Participants, volunteers and staff members from all walks of life. We want to take the opportunity to express our thanks to Sherry and AFARI for continuing to invest in the mission … Read more

This afternoon, the ARI participants gathered in the kitchen for a meat processing class! Our guest lecturer, Hideo Koide, works with his sister at the hand-made sausage shop Neu Frank in Nasu. He has been coming to teach this class at ARI for ten years. He began today’s lesson by showing a chart of the different cuts of pork. Then he turned to the cutting board, bringing out and naming each slab of meat as he worked. Everyone was watching closely, eyes trained on Koide-sensei’s hands as he turned and … Read more

On a sunny Monday morning, the entire ARI community got their hands dirty to harvest sweet potatoes for the next year. Everyone enjoyed the treasure hunt of digging into the soil to find sweet potatoes of many shapes and sizes. Our sweet potato harvest this year totaled a record-breaking amount of 1.73 tons! We thank God for the plentiful harvest that our hands could collect, and we remember the efforts of each of us in planting and growing the sweet potatoes. Can’t wait to enjoy the delicious sweet potatoes in … Read more