This year’s training program is now coming to an end. Last week, Acivo (Class of 2000), a graduate from Nagaland, India, conducted classes for participants.
The lecture content was highly practical and based on her own experiences. For instance, she discussed income generation. In fact, many graduates often face this challenge to generate income immediately after graduation. Living in villages in developing countries, where ties with family and relatives are strong, they always bear responsibilities and the associated expenses, such as supporting their families and sending siblings and children to school. Meanwhile, their income is often insufficient.
Acivo emphasized the need for ingenuity in how to effectively invest small amounts, such as turning available 500 yen or 1,000 yen into 3,000 or 4,000 yen.
During the class she shared the methods and practices that she has been using in her home community: leveraging her personal connections for bartering rice and corn, providing her homemade Bokashi fertilizer in exchange for labor, and adding value to readily available food items by selling organic vegetable-based lunch boxes and sweets. Many participants were particularly interested in her method of baking cakes using a firewood stove—even without equipment like an oven—which is especially useful in rural areas. She even conducted a baking practice session for those who wanted.
Acivo graduated from ARI over 25 years ago and also served as a staff member for many years at ARI.
She stated that the most important thing to become a good leader is to become a good follower.
“Even with just one skill you learned at ARI, you must never give up because you failed a few times. My husband, who is also an ARI graduate, teaches people how to make Bokashi and other things over video calls. And yet, they can learn and practice it. Participants who have come to ARI in Japan and have the opportunity to learn on site should all the more never give up.”
Her words, spoken precisely because she is a graduate, are powerful and profoundly convincing.
