ECHO is committed to providing hands-on training to missionaries and development workers preparing to work overseas. Workshops and Courses provided at ECHO give participants an opportunity to see ECHO's work in networking sustainable options to hunger in action as they participate, learn and integrate their studies into their future goals. 

Click on the links below to learn more about ECHO's various workshop and course options:

Many common health problems around the world come from unhealthy behavior. Motivating people to make behavioral changes is difficult because the roots of behavior are in culturally determined beliefs and values. The arena for promoting behavioral changes is in dialogue about the cultural values and beliefs that underlie behavior.

This workshop will enable Christian health and community development personnel to help people improve their own health, agriculture, and nutrition through understanding and applying scientific, biblical and culturally appropriate principles, and making behavior changes necessary for transformational development.

Those interested in preparing for short/long-term involvement in agricultural development internationally are encouraged to participate in this one-week course to be held on a quarterly basis.  Course participants will gain an introduction to aspects of poverty and community development and an orientation to ECHO.  They will also receive instruction on proven agricultural principles/practices and practical techniques, systems and technologies to meet agricultural and nutritional needs of small-scale, impoverished farmers.  There will also be time for hands-on work on the farm, visits with staff, and study in the library.  

NOTE:  A previously offered course, HANA (HIV, AIDS, Nutrition and Agriculture), is no longer offered, as much of the content from the HANA course will be incorporated into the Introduction to Tropical Agricultural Development course.

During this intensive January term course students will learn about tropical plants and agricultural techniques used in the developing world. Students study and experience sustainable agriculture during a two week stay at ECHO where they learn through participating in on-farm study and work, classroom instruction, and library research and study time. After two weeks at ECHO, students travel to Honduras where they work with long-term missionaries and observe self-sustaining tropical farms.

For an application or more information please visit: Gordon Sustainable Tropical Agriculture Information Page

If you have ever visited ECHO, you know that we may now have the largest collection of useful plants for small-farm tropical agriculture in the USA. We also have numerous demonstrations of appropriate technologies and cropping systems. No college or university that we know of in North America has equivalent resources for teaching. For years we have recognized the potential for ECHO to be the site of an excellent course in tropical agriculture, using the farm as a “laboratory,” our unique library for reference material and our experienced staff for teachers. Now, just such a course is offered each summer.