The Latest

On 16 September, ARI celebrated its 51st anniversary

Last Monday, ARI had a special program to celebrate its anniversary day.

In the morning, a commemorative service was held at Oikos chapel and through Mrs. Shinko Takami, wife of our founder, Rev. Toshihiro Takami, we learned of the many wonderful character encountered and God’s guidance in their lives.

Some former staffs from the neighborhood also gathered at the service, and it was a time to realize that ARI is today based on the efforts and prayers of our predecessors, and that we have been part of that flow.
After the worship, we moved to the chapel garden to have a ceremony to remember Ms. G.DeVries who devoted her life for the work of ARI as a missionary.
We dedicated a plaque with her name in front of her memorial tree (cherry blossom) and thanked God for her service at ARI.

After enjoyed delicious lunch, community members participated a fun volley ball tournament that strengthened community bonds!

Director’s Report: ARI Hosts Dignity Education Workshop Led by Professor Jeffrey Mensendiak

Director’s Report:
A research project team on Dignity Education led by Associate Professor and Chaplain Jeffrey Mensendiak of Oberlin University visited ARI for three days from September 9. (Dr. Emi Hasegawa, Dr. Akiko Asai, and Dr. Misako Takizawa are the other team members.)
Rev. Mensendiak, who translated a book on dignity (Dr. Donna Hicks’ book “Leading with Dignity”) into Japanese, developed his own dignity workshop, and has been conducting the workshop for ARI participants for the past 4 years. This year, in addition to the workshop to the ARI participants, a workshop in Japanese was held for the general public.
When we look at various problems in the world and the entanglements in human relationships through the glasses of “dignity,” we can see that dignity is undermined everywhere, and we can understand how important it is for us to recognize and enhance dignity. ARI would like to put more effort into promoting dignity education.

Participants went to study tour to rural communities in Tohoku area

On 26 – 31 August, participants went on a study tour around Yamagata, where they split into two groups and visited JA, city halls, farmers and schools in two areas, Okitama and Shonai.

These regions have a long history of local leadership and government involvement in promoting producer- and consumer-friendly organic farming. Participants learned various things, from predecessors’ philosophy to systems of JA to protect farmers, as well as gender issues for women in agriculture.

In between observations and sharing sessions, participants helped each other  to cook and clean, and also enjoyed interacting with the local people through singing, dancing and eating together.

On the first day, the bus broke down and they were stuck on a highway for five hours, but everyone was protected and they were able to complete their six-day trip safely.

We would like to express our sincere thanks to all the people who warmly welcome our participants every year. Thank you very much!

ARI staffs visited graduates in Zambia and Malawi!

From 1-26 August, two ARI staff members travelled to Zambia and Malawi to visit a total of 23 graduates.

At the end of the trip, they attended an ECHO conference in Malawi.

ECHO is an organization that works in South-East Asia and East and West Africa to tackle hunger by helping small-scale farmers become self-sufficient by providing training opportunities in sustainable farming methods that are adapted to local conditions.

In connection with ECHO, AFARI (American Friends of ARI) organized and sponsored a gathering of ARI graduates at the conference, where they had the opportunity to reflect on and deepen their learning at ARI by interacting with other graduates and peers from the same region and learning new skills.
Many thanks to AFARI for also helping sponsor ARI’s travel costs.

Specific activities of graduates from Zambia and Malawi will be reported in the next post.

Please look forward to it!

Director’s Report: ARI Featured in Japan Times – Stories of Change Across the Globe

Director’s Report:
An article about ARI was featured in the Japan Times on September 2.
It is titled “Over half a century, seeds of change grow at a Tochigi farm”
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2024/09/02/our-lives/asian-rural-insititute-tochigi-namibia-cambodia-germany/
The article describes what this year’s participant from Namibia (pictured) is learning, how the lives of the German volunteers of 2003 and the Cambodian graduates of 2010 have been changed by coming to ARI, and the significance of ARI’s training programs.
Medeleine Cuckson, the author of the article, is a British national who stayed at ARI for a three-week Christian group leadership training in July and is now working in Romania helping Ukrainian refugees.

Director’s Report: ARI’s 2023 Annual Report Released – A Journey of Learning and Sustainability

Director’s Report:
ARI’s Annual Report for 2023 FY was finally completed last month. It can be downloaded from ari.ac.jp/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/cmyk-Annual-Report-JP-2023-online.pdf (available only in Japanese yet)
The picture on the cover is by Ms. Han Sakawa, a year-long volunteer of 2023. For the last week, the Participants were divided into two groups, one in the Shonai region and the other in the Kawanishi region of Yamagata Pref., and spent the last two days visiting a natural farm, Ureshipamosiri, in Towa-cho, Hanamaki, Iwate Pref. Mr. & Mrs. Sakawa, the couple who started the farm are Han’s parents, and Mr. Sakawa himself is a former ARI volunteer, too. Through their lectures and receiving ARI Participants to their farm ARI, they have shared with us their rich insights and experiences of the practice of “subsistence farming based on permaculture which is a design method for creating a sustainable human living sphere in harmony with the natural environment around us.”

Former ARI volunteers’ activities in Uganda were featured in the local newspaper, Shimotsuke Shinbun

On 16, 17 and 20 of August, Shimotsuke newspaper published a series of articles entitled ”JICA, From the Land of Africa – Report on a Visit to Uganda”.
The article was in three parts, covering support for infrastructure development, agriculture and education.
Miki Kanai (currently a JICA staff in Uganda), an ARI volunteer from 2020-21, was interviewed as one of those who had learned agriculture in Tochigi. She says, “I want to spread the cultivation of rice using organic fertilisers in Uganda where there are many farmers”.
Although not featured in the article, a graduate of the ARI in Uganda also got interview from the reporter.