Since the publication of Kuni: A Japanese Vision and Practice for Urban-Rural Reconnection, my co-author Tsuyoshi Sekihara and I have been so humbled and encouraged by the interest in rural reinvention from practitioners, advocates, and the rural-inclined who have attended lectures, visited Joetsu, and see parallel experiences between what we explore in the book and what they are doing on the ground.
Our hope is that the advent of an audio book will only help us to reach wider audiences. Big thanks go out to Fumiko Miyamoto, for her keen ear for the translation of concepts across linguistic barriers; North Atlantic Books for their support and for dishing up the amazing Kym Miller; Max Sinsheimer, for shepherding the concepts; and especially Betty Borden, for whom the book would never have been written.
One year ago, Betty Borden lost her battle with cancer. It is still difficult to grasp this fact. A long-serving program director at the Japan Society, Betty is the reason why so many of us practitioners in community development found one another in our international quests for learning and growing. In a fitting tribute, the audio book release lands almost to the day of the first anniversary of her death. Betty's contributions to Japanese-American community-building and exchanges are immense. So understated, Betty was the consummate connector — figuring out how to connect unlikely allies. Not only do I miss Betty greatly, I am forever grateful for the interest and passion she showed to Kuni and Sekihara's concepts.
If you are not certain as to where to find the print or audio versions of the book, click here.
Throughout the Mediterranean, farmers markets and their networks are emerging at a time when we need good news from the region — a region beset by major pressures. What if we build leadership capacity ito stabilize rural livelihoods on the land? This is MAMi.
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Available 27 February 2024 in audio format, listen to narrator Kym Miller read the book. Available from wherever you purchase audio books.
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