By Sherry DeLeon | Executive Director
Dear friends,
Thank you for standing with rural leaders around the world. Your gifts are what make this Fellowship possible, and we're excited to share how this program is helping communities become stronger and more self-reliant.
Kibo Alliance (AFARI) believes that real change grows from the ground up. We see a powerful path forward in servant leaders who draw on traditional knowledge, sustainable agriculture, and the Foodlife philosophy. Through the Fellowship, we invest in grassroots leaders by giving them the funding, tools, and support to carry out sustainable development projects in their own communities. Fellows are graduates of the Asian Rural Institute (ARI) in Japan. They return home with practical training and a network of peers, and the Fellowship helps turn their ideas into lasting projects.
Meet a 2026 Fellow: Darkpon Dolokelen, Liberia
Darkpon is strengthening agricultural resilience and farmer income in rural communities through sustainable conservation agriculture. His project tackles food security by encouraging organic farming. This is resilience in practice. Healthier soil, lower input costs, and better harvests help farming families withstand hard seasons and keep more of what they earn. Darkpon is one of four current fellows, alongside Mana Hleih, Angela Ratna Sari Biu, and T.L.M Makeen.
Ideas That Travel
Fellowship support doesn't stay in one village. Two ARI graduates from the Democratic Republic of Congo had tried raising black soldier fly larvae while at ARI, without success. After graduating they tried again at home and succeeded. Feeding on kitchen waste, the larvae become a low-cost resource for local farms. Their program is supported by Tarr Fellowship microgrants, and they have since taught the method online to ARI's current students. A small grant to one leader became training for many more.
The Ripple Effect
As ARI graduates return home equipped and connected, they transform local food systems, strengthen rural livelihoods, and build a more just and sustainable world. From East and West Africa to South Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Islands, change is happening one community at a time. Your continued support helps us fund the next group of fellows and give them the mentoring and peer network that make their projects last. Thank you for investing in rural resilience.
With gratitude,
The Kibo Alliance Team
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