AN EXCITING NEW BOOK from ARI!
Rural Leaders: The Work and Community Impact of Graduates of the Asian Rural Institute by Steven Cutting and Beverly Abma Whether you are new to ARI or a long-time supporter, you may find that explaining ARI – what it is, who it serves, and how it accomplishes its goals – is difficult. This new book makes such conversations easier. Through enriching stories and vibrant photographs, it takes the reader on a journey around the world into the homes and communities of ARI graduates, showing how they use what they learned at ARI to effect positive change. ARI has trained more than 1,300 rural community leaders from over 50 countries. In 2013, on its 40th anniversary and with the help of grants from The United Church of Christ and The United Methodist Church, ARI commissioned a study by researchers Bev Abma and former staff, Steven Cutting. They made six trips, each four weeks long, traveling far off the beaten track to reach the villages and homes of over 200 graduates in 12 countries. The authors wanted to get first-hand accounts of how graduates connect with their communities in meaningful ways, and they wanted to understand both the joys and challenges of that work. Rural Leaders is a photo-filled
collection of stories and essays that depicts the lifework of Here are just a few examples:
These and many more stories come alive with detail and human interest on the pages of Rural Leaders. Also, interspersed among the stories are helpful essays which dig into topics like “What is Development?” or illuminate ARI’s unique training methods.
![]() Unless you’ve been lucky enough to go on an ARI GraduateStudy Tour or visited ARI itself, this book is the one you’ve been waiting for. You will be inspired and challenged by these graduate stories, and you will be affirmed in your support of this remarkable patch of land in Japan. |
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