ARI

A few days after arriving in Tokyo, Charity and I traveled a few hours north to Nasushiobara, where the Asian Rural Institute (ARI) is located. ARI is a 6 hectare farm that uses integrated organic farming to grow food and raise livestock. Every year about 30 participants recieve a scholarship to come to ARI for 9 months, where they are trained in leadership skills, community development and sustainable agriculture. Participants, workers, and volunteers live on or close to the farm and almost solely eat good grown on the farm. After the 9 month program, the participants (who are mostly from Africa and Asia) return home and work with their home communities. ARI is a really cool place and the people there are wonderful.

Charity and I stayed at ARI for about 2 days as farm volunteers. I am from Iowa, but pretty much the only farm experiences I've had have been fall-time church hayrides and the occasional tour of Living History Farms. My level of farming experience probably isn't uncommon for kids growing up in Des Moines but it still strikes me as a little ironic that I had my only experience doing actual farmwork (i.e. feeding chickens, planting things, transporting and spreading chicken manure over fields) not very far from the huge city of Tokyo.

I'm not sure farming is my calling in life, but it was a cool experience.
ARI is a good place to keep it real in Japan, anyway.