About Kibo Alliance
Kibo Alliance’s mission is to foster sustainable community development and empower leaders to create positive, lasting impact in rural communities around the globe.
We see a world where rural communities thrive — rooted in healthy local food systems, connected to one another, and led by those who know their land and people best.
We invest in ARI graduates and grassroots leaders, providing the trust-based support, resources, and networks they need to grow their capacity and deepen their impact in the communities they serve.
Through regional learning hubs and Tarr Fellowships, we connect these leaders with one another—creating networks where they collaborate, share knowledge, and strengthen their work through peer learning. We support ARI graduates as grassroots leaders working in rural communities around the world—helping them access funding, tools, and support to carry out projects in their own communities.
At a time when rural livelihoods and local food systems face mounting pressures, strengthening community-led development is more critical than ever. A powerful path forward lies in the hands of servant leaders who draw on traditional knowledge, sustainable agriculture, and the Foodlife philosophy — the belief that sharing healthy food, grown from local resources, builds vibrant and self-reliant communities. When rural leaders are equipped and connected, the impact ripples outward — transforming families, communities, and regions for generations to come.
Formerly known as The American Friends of Asian Rural Institute, we rebranded as Kibo Alliance in January 2026. Our partnership with Asian Rural Institute remains strong and through our new name we seek to build on our shared impact.
Our Story
Kibo Alliance was founded in 1982 as the American Friends of Asian Rural Institute (AFARI) with a singular purpose: to support the Asian Rural Institute (ARI) and its mission of building an environmentally healthy, just, and peaceful world through rural leadership training in Japan.
For more than four decades, we have stood alongside ARI as a committed US-based partner — helping connect American donors, communities, and networks to the transformative work happening on ARI's campus in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan.
Over time, our vision grew. As ARI graduates returned to their home countries equipped with the tools and spirit of servant leadership, we saw an opportunity to walk alongside them — not just during their time at ARI, but throughout their lifetimes of service. We began investing directly in these grassroots leaders, providing fellowships, peer learning networks, and resources to help them carry out sustainable development projects in their own rural communities around the world.
In January 2026, we rebranded as Kibo Alliance — a name that reflects this expanded vision while honoring the foundation that has always shaped our work. Kibo, meaning "hope" in Japanese, speaks to the belief at the heart of everything we do: that when rural leaders are equipped and connected, whole communities can flourish.
Our partnership with ARI remains as strong as ever. Together, we continue to invest in the leaders who are quietly changing the world — one community at a time.