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ARI invites about 25 to 30 rural grassroots leaders from Asian and African countries every year, and trains them as rural leaders for nine months at the ARI campus in Nishinasuno, Tochigi prefecture, JAPAN. On campus, participants, staff and volunteers live together and work together aiming towards self-sufficiency based on organic farming and forming a just and peaceful community. |
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Mission and purpose of ARI
The mission of the Asian Rural Institute is to build an environmentally healthy,just and peaceful world, in which each person can live to his or her fullest potential.
This mission is rooted in the love of Jesus Christ.
To carry out this mission, we nurture and train rural leaders for a life of sharing. Leaders, both women and men, who live and work in grassroots rural communities primarily in Asia, Africa and the Pacific, form a community of learning each year together with staff and other residents.
Through community-based learning we study the best ways for rural people to share and enhance resources and abilities for the common good.
We present a challenge to ourselves and to the whole world in our approach to food and life.
Motto : "That We May Live Together."
Characteristics of ARI
Learning by Doing ARI's training program is designed to develop participants' knowledge, skill and spirit necessary as rural leaders through learning by doing. Therefore, it is considered to be important that all participants live together on campus and work together in all aspects of life. ARI attaches importance to everyone's participation in training, farm management and community life. Participants are expected to learn how to take leadership through these activities. |
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Sustainable farming and Self - sufficiency of food ARI puts organic and sustainable agriculture into practice, and tries to use and manage the environment and natural resources properly. ARI, as one community, also makes an effort to be self-sufficient in food production. |
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Many opportunities of study Participants plan to go back to their own rural areas in developing countries after the training; for this reason, ARI provides them the opportunities to promote their understanding of worldwide problems such as politics, economics, human rights, religion, development theory. |
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Details of foundation
ARI was established in its present location in 1973 based on the Southeast
Asia Christian Rural Leaders Training Course at Tsurukawa Rural Institute
(in Machida, Tokyo). It started as an international organization training
leaders who engage in rural development in developing countries, to satisfy
the demand for training by Christian churches and groups that had already
taken part in rural development in Southeast Asian countries. The foundation
was supported by Japanese, European and American Christian churches and other
groups. Since 1996, ARI has also accepted Japanese participants who intend
to work in developing countries in the future.
founder Toshihiro Takami biography
ARI Graduates
The Asian Rural Institute counts 1046 Graduates from 52 different countries. This map shows the Graduates by the country they were born in. Due to incomplete data we cannot sort them by nationality. This map does only include those Graduates who completed their training fully. (January 7th 2006) .
