There is no sincerer love than the love of food
-George Bernard Shaw
At ARI, everything is done together. Morning exercises, cleaning, and farm work are all performed as a team, building a sense of community, togetherness, and friendship. Gathering people from all across the globe, ARI brings together a melting pot of different cultures, languages, and personalities. Although our differences may be great, there is always a single thread that unites us all: food. Regardless of religion, ethnicity, or gender, food is something that everyone can relate to.
Just like everything else at ARI, food is a community driven activity through all of its phases. From farm to table, no piece of the puzzle is fitted by a single hand. When it comes to finally preparing the food, the sense of community and passion shines bright. A small group of volunteers utilizes the food that other members have harvested, and creates a meal for the entire community. No one cooks for themselves, everyone cooks for everyone. It is not uncommon for the chefs to be the last ones to eat; while the other members of the community are rewarded for their hard work, cooking volunteers often stay behind to finish cleaning the kitchen.
The theme of self-sacrifice for others is another pillar of ARI. Even when cooking volunteers are divided up into small groups in the kitchen to work on different dishes, the sense of community remains. Everyone helps everyone. If some members finish their task first, they immediately redirect themselves to help out another member of the kitchen. One incident of self-sacrifice that comes to my mind is Achivo-San. On our second to last night in the kitchen, we were rife with ambition and decided to make sushi. Without much prior planning, we dove in head first. Unbeknownst to us, we did not have enough nori to make enough sushi for the entire community! Without skipping a beat, Achivo-San ran to her house to get more, saving the entire meal.
Food not only connects us all, but it brings truly brings out the best in us. Through cooking, community ties, friendships, and discipline are strengthened, and individualism is diminished. Food crosses all borders, allowing people from all around the globe to interact, grow, and of course, eat together.
