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St. Olaf College Students Explore Environmental Learning and Community Life at ARI

In wintertime, the ARI campus typically gets quiet. Participants have returned home, the farm fields are frozen, and ARI community members recharge while preparing for the next class.

This year, however, the ARI community was abuzz with a different type of learner: college students from St. Olaf College, based in Northfield, Minnesota, USA. Undergrads specializing in environmental science and Japanese area studies, the students came for a winter session special class on environmental issues in Japan, and ARI played the host for two weeks of the course.

St. Olaf students learned about the history of ARI as an institution and its environmental philosophy grounded in sustainable, regenerative farming. They got hands-on experience exploring soil health, such as when they made their own natural fertilizer, bokashi, a technique they hoped to apply on the St. Olaf campus when they return.

The students also visited the Nasu region to study elements of Japan’s environmental history. ARI staff brought them to important sites along the Nasu canal, which first opened the region to agricultural development over 150 years ago, and to several regional farms of varying sizes. The students learned the background and current status of Fukushima prefecture and the impacts of the nuclear power plant meltdown, and heard about the history of organic agriculture in Japan.

Their stay at ARI was not simply a study trip, however. The students joined in all aspects of the ARI community life, including helping cook meals and assisting with farm work. They cleaned carrots, treading on wheat, and more. They enjoyed the ARI life so much, they ended their two weeks stay by hosting a pizza party in the ARI dining hall, Koinonia!

ARI is deeply grateful to St. Olaf for visiting our campus and breaking bread with us as part of their studies.

If you’re interested in planning a study program at ARI for you or your students, contact us today!

To our dear supporters who walk alongside us: Report on the conclusion of our Winter Fundraising Campaign

Thank you for your warm support for our Christmas & Winter Donation Campaign!

The Winter Campaign at ARI has now come to a close. We would like to express our deepest gratitude for your heartfelt donations and words of encouragement.

The contributions we received will be carefully used to support the activities of rural leaders from Asia, Africa, and beyond, as they learn together and work toward self-reliance.

This winter has been a poignant reminder that our journey toward “That We May Live Together” is made possible only through your steadfast support.

In the coming academic year, we will continue to move forward, step by step, on the path to peace rooted in the soil. We look forward to your continued support.

As an open place of learning

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!

Thank you for joining ARI Friends Day 2026!

On January 17th, we successfully held ARI Friends Day with the generous support of many people. Thank you very much to everyone who attended!

Training Assistants Veh and Jeremiya hosted a talk session, where they shared stories of their powerful work and passion within rural communities in their home countries. Many attendees also enjoyed the cakes they made and sold as the culmination of their training.

Many first-time visitors participated in Tree Climbing®, immersing themselves in nature within our forest. We extend our heartfelt gratitude to Jun Tree Service for this programming.

Current working visitor Frisly Soberanis screened the short documentary film “Ways of Knowing” for which he was producer and editor. The film depicts the indomitable spirit of the Navajo people who persevered against the effects of uranium mining by the U.S. government and others on their sovereign land.

Finally, the Ohinata Marche team enlivened the Koinonia Hall with their wonderful products.

It was a day that truly highlighted our connection with our friends who support us in many different ways. We will continue to cherish and nurture these encounters and connections with you.

New Year mochi pounding

On January 19, ARI community held its New Year mochi(rice‑cake)pounding. Students from St. Olaf College, who are currently training at ARI, joined in as well. Taking turns with the kine (mallets), everyone warmed up as they pounded the rice, and then enjoyed the freshly made mochi together.

“People & Places:Tomoko’s Report”

St. Olaf College’s (Minnesota, USA) fifth January special program at the ARI, since 2016, began on January 13 with 20 St. Olaf students and two faculty members. Focusing on the theme of Japanese food, agriculture, environment, and sustainability, the program involves living at the ARI while fully utilizing its curriculum and environment. This includes visits to farms and facilities, as well as field studies such as learning about the Nasu Canal.

On 17th January, the group travelled to Fukushima Prefecture to learn about the realities of the effects of the Nuclear Power Plant’s accident following the Great East Japan Earthquake and the path to recovery in the affected areas. The guide was Dr. Hideki Ishii of Fukushima University, who provided explanations and answered questions meticulously. The photograph shows the front of Futabaya Ryokan (Inn) in the Odaka of Minamisōma City. We had lunch there and heard from the landlady, Ms. Tomoko Kobayashi. Accompanying this tour I was struck anew by how unique the scars of the Great East Japan Earthquake in Fukushima Prefecture are, and the path the people have since followed. It was a day that also deeply impressed upon me how that journey continues, day after day, to this very moment.