Every October, ARI holds HTC (Harvest Thanksgiving Celebration). This year, it will take place on October 17th (Sat) and 18th (Sun). HTC is a day to share the joy of the harvest with everyone and God, and for the participants,
Thank you for your continued support!
We are excited to announce the main event schedule for Academic Year 2026 (April 2026 – March 2027). We look forward to sharing the joy of “Living Together” with you again this year through encounters with Rural Leaders from around the world.
AY 2025 is not over yet! Don’t miss these upcoming opportunities to visit ARI:
Jan 17 (Sat): ARI Friends Day (Next week!)
Feb 7 (Sat): JOCS Report Session (Details coming soon)
AY 2026 Annual Schedule
Spring March: Arrival of New Participants April: Opening Ceremony / Used Book Fair May: English Farm Camp
Summer August: Used Book Market
Autumn October: Harvest Thanksgiving Celebration November: Used Book Market / West Japan Caravan
Winter December: Commencement Ceremony January: ARI Friends Day February: Overseas Graduate Study Tour
Regular Programs
– Campus Mini Eco Tour (Bi-monthly from May) A guided tour of our organic farm and environmental initiatives.
– Chokotto (Casual) Farm & Forest (Monthly) Experience farming and forestry work. (*Sessions may be skipped in April or August due to heat. Details to be announced.)
The Asian Rural Institute (ARI) opens its doors to Japanese participants through the Rural Leader Training Program, offering a unique opportunity to learn together with people from around the world.
At ARI, participants learn side by side with farmers, social workers, pastors, priests, and others from around 15 countries across Asia and Africa. Through hands-on experience, participants explore servant leadership, sustainable agriculture, and community building.
Living and learning together for nine months while sharing differences and perspectives becomes a journey of self-discovery.
What is community?
Why does organic agriculture matter?
What does leadership mean?
What does it mean to live together?
The Rural Leader Training Program invites you to reflect on these questions and discover your own answers.
At ARI, people from diverse cultures, religions, and values come together to develop the ability to serve their communities as true leaders, learning to live together while respecting one another’s differences.
In this diverse learning environment, Japanese participants play an important role as representatives of Japan within the international community.
Why not challenge your own potential at ARI, a place that reflects the diversity of our world?
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Application Deadline: February 10 https://ari.ac.jp/jp-admission/
Campus Tour: January 24 https://ari.ac.jp/entry-form-eco-tour2025
If you would like to experience life at ARI firsthand, we warmly invite you to join our campus tour.
Visits on other dates are also available. Please feel free to contact us! Now Accepting Volunteers for 2026! – Asian Rural Institute
Why not enjoy your “first climb of 2026” in the rich forests of Nasushiobara at ARI?
On 1/17(Sat), during ARI Friends Day, we will hold a “Tree Climbing” experience where you can climb safely using specialized ropes and saddles!
The world viewed from the treetops is sure to be full of new discoveries! You will wear professional safety gear and receive a lecture on how to climb, so beginners can participate with peace of mind.
With the cooperation of the local “JUN TREE SERVICE Co., Ltd.,” professional Arborist® instructors will teach you carefully, so first-timers and children can take on the challenge safely!
This activity is part of the “Chokotto Farm Forest” program, which nurtures a sustainable environment and shared learning.
We have also prepared special “Wooden Name Cards” for all participants!
These are actually made from cedar trees grown right here in the ARI forest, crafted by local manufacturer in Nasushiobara. They were processed by Shimakura Sangyo, the manufacturer of “Kyogi” (thin wood shavings), which are also famously used for the packaging of Yokohama’s shumai dumplings. They are the only Kyogi manufacturer in Tochigi and one of the few left in Japan.
Excellent in breathability and antibacterial properties, this eco-friendly material returns to the soil. It recently became a hot topic after being adopted at the “Deeper Learning Japan” educational conference.
Come touch the local nature at ARI and play to your heart’s content in the winter forest!
“Let’s meet people, let’s touch the forest.” We are looking forward to seeing you there!
Date Jan 17 (Sat) – during ARI Friends Day
Create your application for Tree Climbing here: https://ari.ac.jp/friends-day-2026/
On January 17, as part of ARI Friends Day, ARI will host a screening of a recent documentary about Native American rights and protesting nuclear proliferation.
Ways of Knowing is a 25-minute immersive documentary about Navajo resilience to protect health, tradition, and land after enduring extensive uranium mining by the United States government, beginning in the late 1940s and lasting until the 1970s. Eight decades after the Manhattan Project which birthed the nuclear-industrial complex, Navajo and other Indigenous communities of the American Southwest continue to suffer from contaminated land and waterways, and scores of people sickened and killed by toxic exposure. But since long before this region became the epicenter of uranium extraction and nuclear weapons production, the landscape and its elements – including uranium – have been considered sacred.
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 dedicated volunteers is taking full responsibility for caring for the goats, pigs, and chickens. Even on this freezing New Year’s morning, we are deeply encouraged by the lively sounds of the animals and the devotion of the volunteers. 🐐🐖🐓
Though our numbers are few, the spirit of celebration is as strong as ever! At dinner last night, we all showed up in “secret costumes” and enjoyed a “mystery game.” It was a special time filled with laughter and excitement, wondering who would appear in what costume and using our wits to solve the game together. 🎭🔍
While our graduates are busy sowing seeds in their own communities, we are taking our first steps into the new year here at ARI with warmth and joy. We look forward to your continued support for ARI and our global family throughout 2026!
Since our last year-end update received so many “Likes,” we decided to add a special alternative version!
🎥 Year-End Update (1): “Gift of Hope” Reel + This Year’s ARI Song!
We have uploaded a new version of the “Gift of Hope to Bring Back to the Community” Reel to Instagram and Facebook, now featuring a special soundtrack. The song is “Monene,” an African Gospel song that became the “Song of the Year” for ARI. The participants sang it during their Study Trip and at the commencemnet ceremony to share with supporters. Please check it out on our Reels!
💻 Year-End Update (2): Messages from Graduates + New Year Illustration
On our Winter Donation Campaign page, in addition to the messages of gratitude from our graduates, we have updated the main illustration from the Christmas to a New Year version!
Both of these heartwarming illustrations were created by Ms. Kasumi Kataoka. She has been a long-time supporter of ARI, and we were so moved by the warmth of the Christmas cards she sends us every year that we asked her to create the main art for this campaign.
👇 Read the graduates’ messages and see Ms. Kataoka’s art here: https://ari.ac.jp/en/donate/winter2025?ari=news
Once again, thank you for walking alongside ARI throughout this past year! May the coming year be a wonderful one for all of you. 🥰
Thank you so much for supporting the Asian Rural Institute throughout this year!
For our final post of the year, we have two special updates for you.
🎥 End-of-Year Update (1) New Reels on Instagram and Facebook! We have posted a special compilation of the daily Stories we shared throughout December. This video brings together all the smiles of our 2025 graduates as they share “the gift of hope they want to take back to their communities.” Please don’t miss it on our reel!
💻 End-of-Year Update (2) Christmas & Winter Donation Campaign Page Updated! Our landing page now features messages of gratitude from our graduates to everyone who has supported them.
👇 Read their messages here: https://ari.ac.jp/en/donate/winter2025
May the coming year be a wonderful one for all of you🥰
On December 24, the online news site Catholic Japan News published an article titled “A Community that Cultivates the Soil and Shares the Table: Asian Rural Institute – Training Servant Leaders for Rural Communities.”
The piece warmly and carefully portrays the daily life of participants nearing graduation, their classes, and the final presentations at ARI, accompanied by photographs. It is written in a way that is accessible even to readers learning about ARI for the first time.
We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to the journalist who created such a wonderful article.
The full article is available on the Catholic Japan News website: https://cj-news.org/domestic/coexistence/4977/
The series we’ve been sharing every day on Facebook and Instagram Stories—featuring our graduates’ brightest smiles and the “gift of hope” they wish to bring back to their communities—comes to an end today.
We’ve also started releasing a reel that includes all of their messages, so please take a look at that as well.
Watch all our online events again!
Join the ARI life with family and friends!
We're looking for on-campus volunteers
This is where the community gathers to share meals and fellowship together. More than just a dining hall, it also serves as a venue for events, meetings, and learning activities. Koinonia is a Greek word meaning “fellowship” or “sharing.”
At peak times, meals are prepared for as many as 100 people at once. Students, staff, and volunteers all take part in cooking and meal preparation. The kitchen is not only a place for preparing food but also a space for learning, serving others, and building relationships within the community.
Participants attend classes in these classrooms throughout the training program. The library contains a wide range of English and Japanese books, audiovisual materials, and magazines covering agriculture, social issues, community development, and many other fields of study.
Participants and volunteers live in separate dormitories for men and women. The dormitory includes shared lounges, kitchens, showers, and laundry facilities. Wi-Fi is not available.
The poultry facilities include free-range chicken coops and a brooding house. More than 400 chickens are raised, producing over 80,000 eggs and approximately one ton of chicken meat each year.
Participants learn a variety of pig farming techniques through hands-on practice. Both deep-litter and concrete-floor systems are used, and manure is recycled into biogas and fertilizer.
Goat milk (over 200 liters annually) and meat are used for food, while manure is used as fertilizer. During the day, the goats roam freely in the pasture.
The forests surrounding the campus are managed through selective thinning for firewood and charcoal production. Leaves and other organic materials are collected for use in agriculture.
On 2.5 hectares of farmland, approximately 100 varieties of vegetables and crops are grown without chemical fertilizers or pesticides. The entire community helps manage the fields as part of its commitment to learning and self-sufficiency.
Rice is cultivated in paddies both on and off campus. Various organic rice-growing methods are studied and practiced, including weed control and fertilization using ducks.
The workshop is a space for repair and recycling activities. It contains machinery, welding equipment, woodworking tools, and a variety of materials.
Livestock feed is produced here using both manual and mechanical methods. Continuous efforts are made to improve feed quality and sustainability.
The first floor houses the reception area and administrative offices, while the second floor contains staff offices and the Director’s office. The Farm Shop (Agricultural Training Room) is located adjacent to the building.
The shop offers ARI-grown produce, processed foods, books, and handicrafts from the home countries of ARI graduates.
The facility serves as the hub of agricultural activities at ARI. It includes classrooms, storage for tools and farming materials, and facilities for drying and storing crops.
Originally a 100-year-old traditional farmhouse, the chapel has been renovated into a place of worship. Daily morning gatherings are held here, along with meditation, dialogue sessions, gospel choir practice, and other community activities. Oikos is a Greek word meaning “home.”
This facility is used for producing and storing processed foods such as cookies and jam. The ground floor also contains a poultry processing facility.
Fish are raised for both food and agricultural purposes.
