Koinonia House
Koinonia is a Greek word which means "community", and all community members
gather there for meals and many social activities. It has a dining hall
and kitchen on the first floor, and a chapel, computer room, conference
room and ping-pong tables on the ground floor.
Women's Dormitory
Built in 1986. Female participants, volunteers and some staff members live
there. Grey water from the bath rooms is treated for ARI aquaculture.
Fields
To maintain self-sufficiency for the community and our supporters, we raise
about 100 types of crops and vegetables in a total of 2.5 ha of land throughout
the year without using artificial chemicals.
Pig Shed (fermented sawdust floor)
Pig Shed (fermented sawdust floor): This pig shed was built by participants,
volunteers and staff in 1998. The idea came from the Korean Natural Farming
movement. Now we raise breeding sows here. The floor is made of one meter
depth of sawdust and chaff (rice husk) mixed with soil, charcoal and fermentation
bacteria from the forests around ARI.
Cow Shed
This work was completed to Kamitsuki's (1991 volunteer) satisfaction. He
used old telephone poles and made an earthen floor. It is a free barn
type shed where the cows walk around freely. We are raising six cows there
including milking cows. Sawdust and manure is mixed on the floor of the
shed. Occasionally we take the manure out for compost or to add to the
fermented floor pig shed (see above).
Poultry House
Has very good ventilation and lots of sunshine. Layer chickens grow in
a natural environment with little stress on a fermented rice straw floor,
males and females together.
Fish Ponds
We dug a reservoir on the lower field of our campus and when it rains,
it fills with rainwater from the whole area. This is a system we learned
from Thai farmers in a tropical monsoon climate. The pond on the east
slope is connected with one of the paddy fields and the water of the pond,
with nutrients from fish excrement is the only fertilizer for the rice.
On the west slope, the pond receives water from the greywater system of
the women's dormitory and kitchen, so clean water from this system and
rainwater are used for fish culture. Water from the pond is used to irrigate
fields of lotus root and taro.
Forest
Different ages of Japanese cedar and cypress trees grow in our forest.
Sometimes we cut some trees for construction, and transplant saplings
in the cut spaces. We are working to conserve the forest to control soil
erosion.
Biogas System
We are using a Chinese type of biogas system, which was completed in 1993
with the cooperation of Mr. Kuwahara. It produces methane gas which we
use as fuel in the kitchen, food processing room and milk house.
Grey Water Treatment System
Greywater from the kitchen and women's dorm is purified every day by a
system of oil separation tank, anaerobic purifying tank, and soil trench.
Finally, treated water is used for the fish ponds (see above). The treatment
system removes organic matter from the water using micro-organisms. It
was built by participants, staff and volunteers and took three years to
complete.
Chlorella Culturing Tank
Waste water from the biogas system (see above) is used for liquid fertilizer
for our crops and vegetables. Waste water is also used for cultivating
chlorella, a type of algae, which is then mixed with rice and wheat bran
and fermented with lactic acid. This is used for livestock feed. In another
tank, we cultivate chlorella to feed plankton, which is fed to fish fry.
Silo
There are six underground silos, a type which was invented here in the
Nasu region. In the silos, we ferment and store plants and forage crops:
oats in the spring and corn in the autumn. About six tons can be stored
in each silo, the silage is fed to our cows and pigs.
SALT Field
Sloping Arable Land Technology, adapted from a system used in Mindanao,
Philippines, for farming steeply sloping land. We plant a tree called "Hagi" on
the contour lines and plant crops and vegetables in between the lines.
Hagi is good food for goats and prevents soil erosion.
Brooding House (for raising chicks)
We use three different methods for brooding: Self-brooding uses the body
heat of the young birds; compost-brooding uses the heat from compost;
and umbrella-brooding uses electricity and gas heat. We take care of the
brood until they can control their own body temperature. In the early
stages of brooding, we feed them only brown rice.
Nursery Pond/ Laboratory (for raising fish)
In May, common carp in our ponds spawn. After hatching we raise fry in
the nursery pond, feeding them plankton. Later, we put the fry into the
paddy field and they consume natural feed.
Mana house (Food Processing Room)
We make bread, jam, miso, tofu, and pickles for our own consumption and
bread, jam, cookies and cake for sale. Please click
Let's eat ARI! for more information.
Charcoal Kiln
This is the new one, made in 1995. Charcoal is used for fuel, damp proofing,
deodorant and soil amendment matter. After making charcoal, we get wood
vinegar as a byproduct. It can be used for sterilization, deodorant and
rooting promoter.
