We are excited to announce that our Spring Used Book Market has officially begun! Come browse a huge selection of books and discover delicious products from ARI. Fri, April 17 – Sat, 25 *Closed on Sun, April 19OPEN11:00-16:00 On Saturdays
We are midway through the final study tour for our Participants this year – The Western Japan Study Tour – where Participants embark on a twelve-day long trip to visit several places across 7 different prefectures. Through this tour, Participants learn about various issues related to development in Japan, from the possible impacts of development projects on trees in nearby campuses to social welfare projects that seek to help the elderly.
First stop was Noden (Theological Seminary of Rural Studies) at Machida where we heard from the current manager of the Noden Farm, about how the farm has been doing. Participants learned from the Director and other staff members about the history of Noden. One of our Participants, Pierre, who gave the souvenir on behalf of the team to Noden, said, “It is wonderful to learn more about the place where ARI originated from.”
Next up, at Hamamatsu, we had a good time with students from Seirei Junior High school through dialogue, performances and cultural exchange. At the Seirei Museum, we learned about the roots of the Seirei mission in the biblical principle [Love thy neighbor as thyself]. The activities of the social welfare branch of Seirei, which include elderly care homes and day services, inspired participants to further dedicate their lives to the people in their communities and to those who need support. The path is certainly not easy and requires great sacrifice, but seeing the Seirei group and all the people they are able to reach out to, Participants found a sense of hope.
At Aino Gakuen High School at Mie, Participants were greeted by the school principal and learned about the school through a campus tour. With the skills on PLA that they learned in class throughout the year, Participants shared about their work and their background, and conversed with highschool students on various topics, e.g., how people feel about Prestige or Power, the lack of pride in the concept of ‘Rural’.
The following day, despite rainy weather, spirits were high and we enjoyed a wonderful morning gathering from Participant Meidin who shared about the need for comprehensive learning (not just knowledge but also practice) and how reflection can help draw out your passion. In smaller groups, Participants and Aino students discussed what issues they are facing. It was a big learning for students to share their feelings and get to know about conflict, addiction, low esteem of farmers and more in Participants’ countries. They were all learning more deeply about each other and even offering advice or help to those who were struggling.
At Osaka, Participants received a warm welcome and went through a short orientation by Osaka Minami YMCA. The following day, Participants visited multiple places (Okinawa Bunko, Kamagasaki, Ikuno Ward) to learn about urban and social welfare problems, especially discrimination (against Okinawans and Koreans-in-Japan) and homelessness issues. Everyone could connect with existing forms of discrimination in their own countries or communities. They realized that Japan is not just the image they had before coming. At a session in the community hall at Ikuno Ward, we heard some great sharing from our own Participants. Everyone, including ARI Participants, highschool students and YMCA members, even guide (Mr. Kim) appreciated today’s learning from each other.
At this halfway point of the tour, participants are already considering deeper societal issues of discrimination, injustice, and the need for education and servant leadership within the community. Over the weekend we visited church, college festivals and other sightseeing activities – recharging before getting back to more experiential learning in the second half of the study tour.
We are grateful to all our partners who make this tour possible and we hope that the participants gain a stronger perspective and understanding of the value of their work in serving rural communities in need!
ARI staff traveled to Ft Myers, Florida to attend the ECHO International Agriculture Conference. We spoke with like-minded rural development experts from around the world, and hosted our own workshop on Participatory Learning and Action (PLA). We had a great time and hope to see you at a future conference, whether in Florida, Chiang Mai, or elsewhere!
In October 2023, ARI and AFARI staff joined the ECHO Asia Agriculture & Community Development Conference 2023 in Thailand, where they met with nine ARI graduates as part of an AFARI-organized graduates’ regional convening. They enjoyed four days of sharing ideas and technologies for small-scale farming, and saw many practical farming demonstrations at the ECHO Asia Seed Bank & Small Farm Resource Center.
ARI is thankful for the opportunity to participate in this conference, and for AFARI for sponsoring ARI graduates’ registrations, lodgings, and food costs. We look forward to more interactions in the future.
Mr. Hideo Koide from Neu Frank in Nasu returned shortly after the first class to continue teaching us how to process meat and produce bacon, jerky, tea ham (chashu), and meatloaf. On a sunny afternoon, Participants quickly assembled in the kitchen, eager for the lesson of the day. Mr. Koide started explaining the processing for each item, bowls of seasoning and ingredients laid out before him. Participants immediately got to task and worked hand in hand to prepare jerky and tea ham: chopping up garlic and onion, mixing various ingredients and seasoning, boiling water, etc.
The class briefly left the kitchen when Mr. Hideo explained the processing of bacon with the sample which had already been dried and smoked outdoors early that morning. Participants clapped as they saw the bacon-smoking process complete, excited to be closer to the finishing line for bacon processing.
Re-entering the kitchen, Mr. Hideo gave Participants several interesting variations of seasoning for meatloaf, such as cheese and nuts! Participants got back to the chopping board in no time to prepare different types of meatloaf and send them straight into the oven. On the other hand, the smoked bacon was to be boiled and then cooled. Everyone worked on different stages of different processes, while Mr. Hideo looked on and readily answered any questions that the Participants had.
We are so grateful for Mr. Hideo’s generosity in sharing his time and knowledge with us, while being so open to hearing from the Participants about how they processed meat in their own culture. The ARI community sure was delighted to enjoy the delicious meatloaf for supper that evening!
Late last month, the executive director of American Friends of Asian Rural Institute (AFARI) Sherry DeLeon flew in to visit the ARI campus. She not only prepared several classes for Participants on the topic of Fundraising, but provided consultations for all interested community members on grant proposal writing and the like. She thoroughly enjoyed the ARI life and meeting Participants, volunteers and staff members from all walks of life.
We want to take the opportunity to express our thanks to Sherry and AFARI for continuing to invest in the mission of ARI and building this strong connection with us. Your partnership keeps us going!
Thank you to those who have supported ARI and recognize our social contribution and value.
Those who have newly found ARI and have come to meet us.
Those who always support ARI’s activities.
Thank you very much.
The donation will be used to improve our training environment.
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Thank you for watching over us and joining our crowdfunding journey to the end.
Your passionate support makes us gratefully feel the magnitude of the task we have undertaken.
If you found this crowdfunding campaign, but missed the opportunity this time.
Please join those who have already participated and lend a hand, and connect with ARI’s “Living Together”.
My comment on the nuance of the English version above (H3) is that, it may translate better the following way:
(I don’t accurately know the context or the way you want to use this, but my recommendation is below.
However, the above is also okay, so if you prefer to use the above that’s also okay. )
In response to your support, we will apply your kindness to the needs of grassroots leaders in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Pacific who will change the world starting from rural villages. Truly, we are grateful.
To those who watched over us and joined our crowdfunding journey to the end.
Your passionate support makes us gratefully feel the magnitude of the task we have undertaken.
To those who found this crowdfunding campaign but missed the opportunity this time.
You can join hands with those who participated and continue to support ARI’s mission of “Living Together”
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From where everyone’s stomach is full.
From those who are close to the soil and yet are in a weak position.
ARI works to enhance “peace from the soil,” a vision of world peace.
We will nurture servant leaders who will make it happen.
Please continue to support us.
We will announce information about gifts for donations received, online bring-your-own meals, campus tours, and lectures by January.
This sentence structure or flow is very Japanese… but I can’t currently figure out the English equivalent.
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lease pray for this year’s participants who will graduate in December and return home.
The participants will learn in Osaka and Minamata as part of the Western Japan Study Tour in November, and will complete their 9-month leadership training at ARI with a final oral presentation by early December.
They will graduate on December 9 (Sat) and return home on December 15 (Fri) and 16 (Sat) to face social issues from the field as rural leaders in their own communities in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Pacific.
Osaka and Minamata (Shizuoka, Mie, Hiroshima also…)
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Donors will have the opportunity to participate in the participants’ final oral presentations online.
There will be no Japanese translation. However, this is a great opportunity to hear their vision formed by their own words.
We hope you will listen to their presentations in English, and take in their thoughts on how they are changing the world from the grassroots.
Final oral presentations: Thursday, November 30 – Wednesday, December 6, 13:30-15:30
*Five days, excluding Saturdays and Sundays. Details will be provided separately.
Rural leaders change the world.
Servant Leaders” create self-sustaining communities and seek world peace through the practice of “Peace from the Soil”..
ARI’s network of 1,399 graduates from more than 800 sending bodies and communities in 62 countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Pacific, cultivated over 50 years, will change the world from the grassroots.
Join ARI’s circle to eat together, learn together, and rejoice together.
This afternoon, the ARI participants gathered in the kitchen for a meat processing class!
Our guest lecturer, Hideo Koide, works with his sister at the hand-made sausage shop Neu Frank in Nasu. He has been coming to teach this class at ARI for ten years. He began today’s lesson by showing a chart of the different cuts of pork. Then he turned to the cutting board, bringing out and naming each slab of meat as he worked. Everyone was watching closely, eyes trained on Koide-sensei’s hands as he turned and trimmed the meat with the sureness of longtime expertise. He showed how to slice off the fat, and participants jostled for a chance to try, nudging each other forward, cheering after each big slice. “Oohs” and “aahs” formed a common language for the group.
In groups, participants ground pork using hand cranks, diced vegetables, and mixed seasonings. Through it all, Koide-sensei walked calmly, hands clasped behind his back—literally letting the participants be the ones with hands on. Everyone was diligent in cleaning as they went, fluidly trading roles to make for a sustainable learning process.
Each group had the chance to be creative with their blend of spices. One group went heavy on chili powder, tingeing their mixture bright red (chili from the ARI farm has been very popular at mealtimes lately). Mixing by hand, the participants felt and smelled their way through the process.
Others stuck to observing. One participant, Otim, said he wasn’t sure what he wanted to put in the spice mix, as sausage wasn’t so common in his home country Uganda. “Right now I am just taking it all in with my eyes. I want to observe everything. For me I can develop my recipe later, after learning how to do it first.”
When it came time for Koide-sensei to show the final step, all phones came out to film the action, like a concert! The excitement carried on when each group went back to their station to make the sausage into links. Here at ARI, there is space to learn by mistakes—bursting a casing here, overfilling there—and enough raw material available to practice until perfect. By the hour’s end, there were piles of fresh sausage links everywhere!
Over the next few weeks participants will get to make a variety of pork products: bacon, jerky, tea ham, and meat loaf. The printed recipes can be taken home and reused. Who knows where in the world people will be eating ARI-style sausage this time next year?
On a sunny Monday morning, the entire ARI community got their hands dirty to harvest sweet potatoes for the next year. Everyone enjoyed the treasure hunt of digging into the soil to find sweet potatoes of many shapes and sizes.
Our sweet potato harvest this year totaled a record-breaking amount of 1.73 tons! We thank God for the plentiful harvest that our hands could collect, and we remember the efforts of each of us in planting and growing the sweet potatoes.
Can’t wait to enjoy the delicious sweet potatoes in the next few months!
Watch all our online events again!
Join the ARI life with family and friends!
We're looking for on-campus volunteers
