Education
Ainokai held its bi-annual 10-day farming course in March and in August, practical farming course in April to November (every Saturday), and forest management seminar in October and in December.
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JAS Japanese Organic Certification Program
A JAS-related law was revised and a new system has taken into effect since March 2006. To respond to this change, Ainokai held workshops in June for its JAS staff (judges and examiners) to learn the new system. So far, 49 enterprises and farmers have been certified under Ainokai. Ainokai has also been holding screening committees every Tuesday to examine papers submitted by certified enterprises or farmers.
International department
From May to June 2006, Ainokai hosted Indian NGO worker Samir Topno as trainee. During the training, he mainly worked in the fields (vegetable farms) of Ainou High School. He also visited some organic farmers in Japan. The stay made him realize the importance and preciousness of farming. At the end of his training, Samir said: “This learning made me decide to work on the field and with the soil for the rest of my life and for our people in rural India. We think this change was made by the education based on the Ainou Spirit of Loving God, Loving people, loving Soil.”
In July, Ainokai hosted the AFA seminar on fair trade. Although it was implemented with a limited budget, Ainokai members and staff were happy to meet Asian farmers and give them the opportunity to know the current situation of Japanese alternative market for safer or organic products.
Ainokai also sent its Board member Ms. Okuda Miwako to Allahabad, India in February and Ainou High School Vice-Principal Mr. Okuda Nobuo in October. Ms. Okuda conducted workshops on Miso and Koji making for rural women in an Indian village. Mr. Okuda, on the other hand, gave lectures on organic farming method in a special course for rural farmers. Both programs were under the Allahabad Agricultural Institute, College of Continuing & Non Formal Education, which is giving learning opportunities to rural farmers in India. It is headed by Mr. Miura, a former vice-president of the Japanese NGO ARI.
Ainokai also had a regular exchange program for peace-building with Korean organic farmers association “Seinoukai” in October.
Editorial
Ainokai also issued its monthly newsletter regularly and published several books. One of them was a booklet about the diet for fighting cancer, which is already in its third edition (total 3,000 copies). Another one was the “Ainou Kyu-jinrui no Sho (Book of the Salvation of Human Kind)” written by Ainokai founder Mr. Junichi Kotani, which was reprinted after more than 30 years.
Others
Recently, the “Law on the Promotion of Organic Farming” was passed in the Congress. To respond to the establishment of this new law, organic farmers who had been neglected by the government in its agricultural policy for the last several decades are starting to get together to bring its voice to the law making process. Ainou as organic faming organization, along with the movement, also joined a coalition of organic farming organizations which is trying to bring farmers’ voice to make the law more realistic, in line with the reality of organic farming in the fields, and not to miss the heart of the organic farming.
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