Happy New Year! After our students completed their programs and returned to their home countries late last year, the campus has become quiet. However, there are no holidays for the lives on our farm. ☀️ Currently, our small team of
Peace from Food Summer Donation Campaign – Special Gift
Until Sunday, September 21, anyone who signs up as a new monthly supporter through the campaign site will receive a limited-edition T-shirt
This year’s design features a corn motif on a golden harvest background. It’s an original design that reflects the season here at the Asian Rural Institute.
Its natural tone makes the T-shirt easy to wear in everyday life and is suitable for all ages!
Available sizes: S, M, L, XL
In the photos…
We invite you to join us as a monthly supporter and help us cultivate “Peace from Food” together.
Learn more here:
https://ari.ac.jp/donate/peace2025?ari=news
※ For those who are already monthly supporters, the T-shirt is also available at ¥1,500 + shipping.
Please contact us at:
[email protected]
Please note: We are unable to ship internationally.
Once a week, as a special feature, we will share messages from supporters of ARI.
In this fifth installment, we introduce a “Food is …” message from Mr. Toru Sakawa of the Natural Farm Ureshipa Moshiri
“Food is… Source of Life”
As organic farmers, we strive to work alongside our crops and livestock, allowing each to fully express their innate power and shine with life. We believe that receiving these vibrant beings as the “nourishment of life” gives us more than just physical nutrition. We believe that their radiant life force becomes the energy that allows us to live with love and peace, and to be our true selves.
Natural Farm Ureshipa Moshiri: https://www.instagram.com/ureshipa_moshiri/
Ureshipamoshiri is an Ainu word that means “the natural world itself… the real world where all living beings nurture each other.”
For 30 years, we have been practicing permaculture, organic farming, and agroecology in the mountains of Iwate, aiming to create a farm where we can truly feel the connections of “nurturing each other.” Forty years have passed since I first encountered the Asian Rural Institute in high school, and I continue to seek what I can do to “live together.”
As organic farmers, we strive to work alongside our crops and livestock, allowing each to fully express their innate power and shine with life. We believe that receiving these vibrant beings as the “nourishment of life” gives us more than just physical nutrition. We believe that their radiant life force becomes the energy that allows us to live with love and peace, and to be our true selves.
Peace from Food Donation Campaign
August 1(Fri) – September 21(Sun), 2025
Campaign site: https://ari.ac.jp/donate/peace2025/en?ari=news
From August 1, Asian Rural Institute is running the “Peace from Food” Donation Campaign.
Throughout the month of August and September, we are sharing voices from our community members and supporters on Instagram and Facebook Stories, centered around the theme “What does food mean to you?”
All past stories can also be viewed on our Instagram Highlights.
Each year’s Rural Leaders Training Program hosts new participants, with unique backgrounds and incredible dreams of rural transformation. Our staff visit ARI graduates in the field, seeing the fruits of their labor. Now, the work of our participants and graduates from 2024 is available to read in our 2024 Annual Report.
Learn more about our most recent year of successes and challenges by following the link below. Available in English and Japanese.
Downloads – Asian Rural Institute
Today was our 54th Foundation Day. We will report on it later, so please look forward!
Sharing a meal around the round tables at Koinonia Dining Hall is a precious time here at ARI. We share the fruits of our daily labor at every meal, express gratitude for each other’s work, and celebrate the bountiful harvest.
Would you like to join us at our table and share moments of fellowship?
During the campaign period, those who make a donation to ARI via the special campaign page can participate free of charge in a mini eco-tour program with lunch, held in September 27 (Sat) or November 22 (Sat).
(Please note that transportation costs to ARI are the responsibility of each participant.)
For details, please visit the special campaign website: https://ari.ac.jp/donate/peace2025/en
“Nutritious meals nourish both body and soul.”
So says Debora, an ARI graduate who now volunteers. She repeated these words carefully and emphatically, time and again.
For Debora, eating is not merely an act of survival. It is a vital practice that cultivates inner peace.
In a painting she created, vibrant fruits like mangoes, bananas, and dragon fruit—grown in her homeland of Indonesia—are vividly depicted.
Being nourished—it nurtures not only the body but also the soul, and it creates connections between people.
This simple yet truly vital lesson is what we are learning from Debora.
Interviewed & Written by Konoha Yamanaka (ARI Volunteer)
Click here to read the series of articles
“Peace from Food” Cooking for Peace Vol. 1
“Peace from Food” Cooking for Peace Vol. 2
“Peace from Food” Cooking for Peace Vol. 3 ← Now, you’re here.
We have uploaded more details about the Harvest Thanksgiving Celebration (HTC) on the following page. Please check it out!
Here is the information on the above page.
Dates: October 18 & 19 (Sat & Sun) 10:00-15:30
Theme: Sowing the seed of love for a peaceful tomorrow
Time Schedule:
10:00 Entry open
10:15-11:15 Harvest thanksgiving worship
11:30-15:30 Food stall, stage performances, games, etc. open
Shuttle Buses:
Departure from Nasushiobara Sta. West Exit (bus rotary): 09:45
Departure from ARI: 15:30 and 16:30
Parking: Karino Kominkan (Tsukinukizawa 231, Nasushiobara, Tochigi)
Shuttle buses are available to the venue.
* Please bring your own tableware.
Cooking together, sharing laughter, and working hand in hand—
a meal made with many hearts brings more than just nourishment.
This month, the FEAST members, who regularly prepare delicious meals for the Koinonia Dining Hall,
are leading an art project called “Cooking for Peace”
Through their artwork, they express the idea of peace through food.
Each piece reflects a unique perspective—please take a moment to explore their creations!
https://ari.ac.jp/peace-from-food-cooking-for-peace-vol-1/?ari=news
Once a week, as a special feature, we will share messages from supporters of ARI.
In this fifth installment, we introduce a “Food is …” message from Rev. Jeffrey Mensendiek, at J. F. Oberlin University.
“Food is… Life with Dignity”
For me, food is life with dignity. Food brings security and is a fundamental source of peace.
At Asian Rural Institute, we have been offering the Dignity Workshop for eight years as part of our curriculum for participants. The workshop is led by Associate Professor and University Chaplain Jeffrey Mensendiek of Obirin University, who is also the translator of Donna Hicks’ book Dignity: Its Essential Role in Resolving Conflict (published in Japanese as 尊厳のリーダーシップ by Shobunsha).
Dignity Workshop held at ARI: Japanese-Language Dignity Workshop – Asian Rural Institute
Peace from Food Donation Campaign
August 1(Fri) – September 21(Sun), 2025
Campaign site: https://ari.ac.jp/donate/peace2025/en?ari=news
From August 1, Asian Rural Institute is running the “Peace from Food” Donation Campaign.
Throughout the month of August and September, we are sharing voices from our community members and supporters on Instagram and Facebook Stories, centered around the theme “What does food mean to you?”
All past stories can also be viewed on our Instagram Highlights.
Watch all our online events again!
Join the ARI life with family and friends!
We're looking for on-campus volunteers
Tsukinukizawa 442-1
Tochigi, Nasushiobara
329-2703 JAPAN
[email protected]
+81-287-36-3111 (tel)
+81-287-37-5833 (fax)
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