At ARI, alongside the nine‑month Rural Leaders Training Program, we also welcome trainees from a variety of organizations, including sending bodies of overseas graduates and the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers.
One student from the specialized agriculture Ainō High School, Ōsuke, has been training at ARI since last spring. On January 27, he presented the results of his learning to the community. While living alongside people from diverse cultural backgrounds, he deepened his studies on the farm, focusing especially on pig raising.
Another long‑term farm trainee this year, Kōshi, is a Catholic priest and a 2006 graduate of ARI. At a traditional farmhouse in Shinshū, he provides a place for farm work and community gatherings. To independently manage his own farm, he returned to ARI to learn how to operate agricultural machinery.
ARI Farm Manager Sakurai said of trainees like Ōsuke and Kōshi, “Eating is at the core of human being. There is no greater joy than producing the food you eat yourself. I want people with passion to come and learn as much as they can.”
As an open learning community, ARI will continue to offer learning opportunities to people from all walks of life in the coming year. Contact us if you are interested in training at ARI!
