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11 Second Reads

$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