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11 Second Reads

Cultivating the Next Generation

Cultivating the Next Generation

In Morning Gathering this morning I learned many things from our Participant, She Rah, from Southern Shan State in Myanmar.

  • I learned that she is from the Lahu Tribe and to greet a person in her language you say ha leh daw sha pi, which means I hope you have a happy life.
  • I learned that no matter what kind of plans you set in your life, they be changed in an instant, especially if your country has a coup d’etat and the military takes over the democratically elected government.
  • and I learned about Abundant Life: that abundant life is not about having everything, but about appreciating and finding joy in what we already have.

…but there is one thing I already knew about her.  That she is the daughter of Donald, an ARI graduate of 1997.  That her father created a farm and training center, called Practical Field Study Farm, to support his family and teach the farmers of his community.  And that She Rah has followed her father’s footsteps to ARI to prepare herself to succeed his work of serving their people.

The mission of ARI is being taken up by the next generation and this fills me with promise.

– Na She Rah, 2026 ARI Participant, Myanmar

Morning Gathering, June 2026

in 11 Second Reads, Myanmar, 2026
$5 for nails

$5 for nails

Below is a convo I had with Savoeurn just a couple months after he got back from ARI.  I loved how happy and sincere he was about using local resources – a principal we strongly teach and practice at ARI, and one he has definitely taken to heart! Way to go, Savoeurn!

Savoeurn: This is my chicken pen. I started with 12 layers and 15 ducks and 50 chicks.  I just made the pens after I came back from Japan. I collect the left-over rice from the kitchen and from the restaurant where they sell rice in the market.

Me: Great!  LOCAL RESOURCES!  I’m so proud of you! The pens are also from local wood, huh.  Nicely made!

Savoeurn: Yes, all are local resources, but I spent $5 to buy the nails.

– Savoeurn Sav, 2025 ARI Graduate, Cambodia

in 11 Second Reads
“I call this institute [ARI] a place of unlearning, learning, and re-learning…

“I call this institute [ARI] a place of unlearning, learning, and re-learning…

…because while I learned many new things, I also had to look back at what I had learned in the past, question its relevance, and restructure that acquired knowledge, so it could truly apply to the present world.” 

– Sushme “Sush” Marak, 2024 ARI Graduate, Meghalaya, India

quote from article, My Days of Learning at the Asian Rural Institute

published in Hill Myrna Magazine, January 2026

in 11 Second Reads
“ARI is not a place that gives us ‘answers’. It is a place that gives us ‘questions’ ー important ‘questions’ we must pursue throughout our lives.”

“ARI is not a place that gives us ‘answers’. It is a place that gives us ‘questions’ ー important ‘questions’ we must pursue throughout our lives.”

– Koshi Ito, 2006 ARI Graduate, Japan

Morning Gathering, December 2025

in 11 Second Reads