Month: August 2024

What is seed sovereignty?

In March of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic shut down Warorot Market in Chiang Mai, Thailand for the first time since a fire in 1968. As one of the busiest markets in the city, many Chiang Mai residents struggled to find food.

Some knew how to eat leafy plants and gather food from the forest, but if the seeds were not saved from the plants they were consuming, in just over three years it would have all been gone.

“I think it’s very important to prepare and encourage more about saving food and saving seeds,” Ratakarn ‘Wah’ Arttawuttikun said, agricultural operations manager of the ECHO Asia Impact Center.

ECHO’s goal to increase food security and serve farmers with locally sourced seeds of the highest quality begins with teaching about the importance of saving seeds, and fighting for seed sovereignty in order for farmers to independently grow their own culturally appropriate and desired food.

“Seed sovereignty is being free,” Faith Juma said, the seed bank manager of ECHO’s East Africa Impact Center. “The farmers being free to use their own seeds, to exchange them, to sell, to their friends or to the people nearby, or to anyone whom they want to share with.”

Currently, four seed companies control over 60% of the seed market. Mass-produced seeds, sometimes genetically modified, can seem appealing to farmers. Instead of trading local seeds, farmers then gravitate towards purchasing from these companies in order to ensure they’re able to provide increased healthy yields.

Additionally, farmers prefer buying seeds for popular crops that are widely consumed. In the markets of Thailand, many shelves have the same varieties of vegetables, and local seeds are declining in numbers as local varieties are not saved for continued planting.

When seeds are cleaned and stored improperly, only about half of them will germinate and grow to a full crop. ECHO workshops teach farmers about simple, scientifically valid techniques, like using vacuum sealers or bicycle pumps to package the seeds and extend their shelf life.

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Several international conventions have been working to ensure that farmers’ rights are protected. ECHO works to help farmers build networks of local seed bank managers who can then share, teach seed saving techniques in workshops, and inspire communities start their own seed banks.

“People from Laos, Myanmar, or other countries come here [for training] and then go back and start their own seed banks in their countries,” Paw Danmalidoi said, the seed bank supervisor of ECHO’s Asia Impact Center in Chiang Mai.

“We learn from the farmer, and the farmers learn from us as well. It’s very important.”— 
— Wah Arttawuttikun

ECHO teams share trial seed packets with active development worker, facilitate “seed swaps” when teaching workshops, and disseminate information about what climate and weather conditions work for each crop. Keeping records of trial seeds allow ECHO staff to share valuable information with farmers.

“It’s not only sharing our experience, we are sharing with each other,” Arttawuttikun said. “We learn from the farmer, and the farmers learn from us as well. It’s very important.”

Some of the farmers buying mass-produced seeds aren’t aware of the impact that their purchases will have on the future of farming.

Many seed varieties are going extinct, because they aren’t being planted year after year.

“They’re coming from families where their parents and their forefathers were keeping seeds before them [but don’t any longer],” Juma said. “Some of them were born in urban places, for instance, and they probably haven’t seen how the seeds were stored.”

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ECHO’s mission is to break down barriers in agriculture for people around the world to grow their own food in sustainable ways that preserve culture and the environment, and seed sovereignty is just a small part of that. Saving local seeds reduces costs for farmers, helps to preserve climatically adapted crops, preserves local biodiversity and cuisine, and increases food security and nutrition. ECHO is working to ensure local seeds do not get forgotten in formal systems.

Preserving seeds is more than just creating seed sovereignty for farmers — it’s passing seeds from generation to generation, sharing God’s creation and the love of farming to everyone.

Advancing global seed banking is both part of our historical DNA and also one of our new five global goals. Your support of local seed banking globally is urgently needed to resource seed savers around the world!

http://echonet.org/impact/

Sharing Natural Fertilizers in Cameroon

ECHO taught Silas Nfor how to make bioliquid fertilizer when he visited the North America Impact Center. Now, he is teaching everyone about the benefits of making their own fertilizer.

by Anna Pearson

As the war between Russia and Ukraine continues into 2024, common chemical fertilizer prices remain high due to fertilizer import and export uncertainties. Russia produces 25% of the world’s nitrogen fertilizer. When Silas Nfor heard about the bioliquid fertilizer that the ECHO North America Impact Center was testing, he knew he needed to teach more people about this natural solution to an ongoing problem.

Nfor came to ECHO’s headquarters to learn about appropriate technology, but soon became interested in the bioliquid fertilizer and insecticide sprays ECHO was developing. Originally identified and trialed in West Africa by the ECHO West Africa team, the North America team picked up the concept and began researching it. An example of ECHO’s powerful networking model in action! After spending a week in Florida, he returned to Nkambe, Cameroon, gathered the ingredients for bioliquid fertilizer, and brought the recipe to farmers in the area he lived.

Recently, Nfor shared that he has spread information about bioliquid fertilizer to nearly 1,000 people. Nfor and others in Nkambe share about bioliquid fertilizer through local radio stations, markets and have met with farmers in Bamenda to teach them how to make it and answer their questions.

“I have maybe 50 contacts where I just put ‘farmer,’ ‘farmer,’ ‘farmer,’ as the name because there are too many people asking questions who I don’t know,” Nfor said. “So I just put ‘farmer’ in my phone.”

The knowledge that Nfor gained from ECHO has been a catalyst in creating a wave of demand for learning how to make bioliquid fertilizer and insecticide sprays in his community.

The materials to create bioliquid fertilizer can usually be found for free – Tithonia, wood ash, and manure. Although making this fertilizer takes more effort than buying its chemical alternatives, it is more cost effective for the farmers as well as for the soil in the long run.

“Chemical fertilizer kills a lot of the microbes that live in soil, because of the salt and copper in it, a lot of things that the microbes don’t like,” Dr. Guin Perry, an educational research associate at ECHO said. “The bioliquid fertilizer is not only helping the plant, but it’s also feeding the microbes that live in the soil.”

With repeated use repeated use of chemical fertilizers, soil will degrade, making it harder Increased use of chemical fertilizers is expensive for farmers, usually derived from fossil fuels, and also increases the chance of releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

“It’s a harsh cycle that is necessary in a sense because there are so many people on the planet — we are quite dependent on chemical fertilizers,” Dr. Perry says. “What many farms are trying to do is to balance the use of chemical fertilizers, adding natural or organic inputs.”

Nfor calls this farming “feed to feed,” because the farmers feed the soil so that the soil will feed them, producing hearty crops. Although a slow process, eventually the soil will have regained its essential nutrients and organic matter to nurture plants.

“My dreams were really answered,” Nfor said. “Now thousands of Cameroonians are benefitting from the bioliquid fertilizer because of ECHO.”

Every year the soil is treated with bioliquid fertilizer, the soil fertility and health increases. The microbes that chemical fertilizer kills are nourished by the bioliquid fertilizer, which acts as growth hormones for the plants — and the bigger the plant is, the more sugars and biomass it makes, in turn feeding the microbes.

Equipped with the knowledge of how to make bioliquid fertilizer, the Cameroonians taught by Nfor are thankful for the increased soil health and profit from their crops.

“My dreams were really answered,” Nfor said. “Now thousands of Cameroonians are benefitting from the bioliquid fertilizer because of ECHO.”

When Nfor first introduced bioliquid fertilizer to his community, it was already partially into planting season, and some farmers didn’t want to implement a new farming method midseason. This year, Nfor introduced the fertilizer early in the planting season to give the farmers a better start.

“I have a good network of people using biogas digesters, slurry, and fertilizer, and we are all working together,” Nfor said. “Lord willing, I will be at ECHO in November to learn more.”

From the President/CEO – August 2024

Greetings all!

Thank you for joining prayerfully, thoughtfully, and financially with ECHO to defeat hunger and improve lives all around the world!

We have a great edition of ECHO News for you this quarter, covering some of the amazing work happening through our four Regional Impact Centers with more to come yet this year! In this edition of ECHO News, you’ll learn more about our Director of Research and Publications, Dr. Tim Motis; hear about how the Basic Utility Vehicle that ECHO has helped to promote is opening up economic opportunities throughout Africa; learn of the impact of farm-made bioliquid fertilizers to improve soil health and lives; and of the importance of local and community seed banking for generations to come!

In addition to these updates, we have been hard at work publicizing our new 2024-2029 Strategic Framework, updating our social media presence (join us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn!), and getting the word out to the world about ECHO so that more lives may be touched here and now and for eternity.

It is an incredible privilege to lead an amazing group of men and women worldwide who are dedicated to defeating hunger and improving lives, motivated by the love of Jesus and a desire to glorify God through our professional work in agriculture.

Thank you for making our work possible as we support an amazing network of over 19,000 active development organizations, workers, and individuals worldwide!

I am grateful that God has been making the seeds of faithfulness grow for 43 years through ECHO!

Abram J. Bicksler, Ph.D., President/CEO

http://www.echonet.org/echo-news

Transforming Lives through Permaculture: A Sustainable Living Guide

Permaculture offers a path to sustainable living and food production that emphasizes natural processes and cycles. It’s not just a gardening technique; it’s a philosophy and ethical framework for developing ecosystems that mimic the resilience and diversity of natural habitats. By integrating permaculture principles into our lives, we can create more sustainable, efficient, and productive systems that benefit both people and the planet.

What is Permaculture?

Permaculture stands for “permanent agriculture” and “permanent culture,” reflecting its broad application beyond just agriculture to sustainable human habitats and community living. It’s based on observing natural systems to design human environments that have the diversity, stability, and resilience of natural ecosystems.

At its core, permaculture is guided by three ethics: care for the earth, care for people, and fair share. These principles inspire a philosophy of working with, rather than against, nature; viewing everything as interconnected; and recognizing the value of each element in a system.  

Examples of Permaculture

  1. Food Forests: A food forest is a managed garden area that mimics a woodland ecosystem but uses fruit and nut trees, shrubs, herbs, vines, and perennial vegetables. The layers are designed to function together, providing food, habitat, and ecosystem benefits.
  2. Rainwater Harvesting Systems: These systems collect rainwater from roofs or other surfaces to store for later use, often in gardens or for other agricultural purposes. This reduces the need for external water sources and can be crucial in water-scarce environments.
  3. Companion Planting: This practice involves growing different plants together to benefit each other, such as providing nutrient support, pest control, or pollinator attraction. For example, planting basil near tomatoes can help repel pests and enhance the flavor of the tomatoes.
  4. Swales and Contour Planting: Swales are shallow trenches that follow the contour lines of a landscape, designed to capture and hold rainwater and reduce erosion. This technique ensures water seeps into the soil, recharging groundwater and hydrating nearby plants.
  5. Natural Building Techniques: Using local, natural, or recycled materials to build structures that are energy-efficient and sustainable. Examples include straw bale houses, earth-sheltered homes, and buildings made with rammed earth.
  6. Sheet Mulching: Also known as lasagna gardening, this method involves layering organic materials on the ground to decompose and form rich soil. It suppresses weeds, retains moisture, and improves soil health without digging or tilling.
  7. Vermicomposting: The process of using worms to compost kitchen scraps and other organic waste into a nutrient-rich soil amendment. This method is efficient and can be easily implemented in small spaces.

The Benefits of Adopting Permaculture

Permaculture designs make efficient use of water through techniques like rainwater harvesting, swales, and drip irrigation. These methods minimize waste and reduce the reliance on large-scale irrigation systems, which can be harmful to the environment.

One of the foundational principles of permaculture is to enhance soil fertility naturally. By using composting, no-dig gardens, and green manures, permaculture systems rebuild and maintain healthy soil, which is the bedrock of any agricultural endeavor. 

Permaculture systems also help combat climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing carbon sinks. Ultimately, the diversity and redundancy built into permaculture designs make these systems more resilient to climate extremes, ensuring food security in an uncertain future.

Getting Involved with Permaculture

There are numerous resources and communities for those interested in permaculture. Echo’s Global Farm, located in Fort Myers, Florida, regularly hosts classes with live examples and experts to help others learn how to implement permaculture practices. You can learn more at https://echonet.org/events/.

By embracing permaculture, we can create resilient, productive systems that benefit all living beings and the planet. We hope you join us in this journey to help increase food security worldwide. 

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ECHO provides hope against hunger around the globe through agricultural training and resources. As a Christian technical networking and resourcing organization, ECHO builds a diverse, global network and serves that network by sharing validated contextualized agricultural options with technical excellence. ECHO’s goal is to serve its network members to advance food security and sustainable livelihoods. ECHO’s North American Regional Impact Center is located in Fort Myers, Florida with a global presence through four Regional Impact Centers in the USA, Thailand, Tanzania, and Burkina Faso. For more information about ECHO call 239-543-3246 or visit echonet.org or ECHOcommunity.org.