Month: December 2024

Equipping Farmers in North Africa

By: Makenzi Johnson

For years after first hearing about ECHO from a friend, Kimberly Duncan went through life with the thought of the ECHO internship in the back of her mind. She was looking for a program that would give her hands-on training and the practical skills in agriculture she was looking to take abroad to a field of service.

Ten long years after having completed her bachelor’s degree, Duncan volunteered as a resident student researcher at ECHO serving for two weeks and applied for the year-long internship afterward. Duncan was accepted and became the urban garden intern in the fall of 2009.

ECHO trainings proved to be exactly what she was looking for, and Duncan was given daily opportunities to roll up her sleeves and get her hands dirty.

“It was always interactive; the staff was willing to let you experiment and try things even if it meant possibly messing something up,” Duncan said. “ECHO taught me to be less afraid of failure.”

Now Duncan is in North Africa working with an agricultural organization to encourage farming families with a more practical understanding of their assets. She works with families struggling with soil degradation who lack regular access to resources, seeds, water, and training. Over and over again, she emphasizes that the confidence that she gained during her internship at ECHO impacts how she approaches her work now.

Regularly, Duncan is interacting with teams of students and farmers. She reflects on how ECHO’s community and the network have shown her the importance of supporting each other and sharing ideas.

“For myself and a lot of my American colleagues, we can be tempted to think in a very autonomous way. We might believe that we can do things on our own and don’t need help,” Duncan said. “And while independence is valuable, you need a community to better serve one another… it makes you 100 times stronger than if you are on your own.”

ECHO’s network has been a constant encouragement for Duncan during her four years of working in North Africa. Because of her time at ECHO, Duncan gained more knowledge and practical experience than she could have ever hoped for.

“ECHO’s approach is to help build capacity in the people with whom they partner,” Duncan said. “ECHO cares about encouraging and sharing hope with others, and I continue to use them as a model here where I work day-to-day.”

Inspiring seed banks in Myanmar

By: Joan CooperRusek

The enriching and life-sustaining impact ECHO has on people’s lives reverberates throughout the world. The knowledge, training, and resources provided at just one workshop through ECHO Asia and its partners in one Southeast Asian nation are helping to improve the success of farmers across the region. In one particular instance, ECHO tools and training were implemented to sustain the lives of 300 orphans in a neighboring country.

Youthful Myanmar farmer Saw Shiesho speaks with the poise and wisdom of someone twice his age. Interviewed at just 19 years old, his great enthusiasm and thirst for knowledge for his mission clearly shine through. He became a farmer at age 17 and works the land at Full Moon, an orphanage to the north of Yangon, one of the region’s larger cities. He starts his day at 6 a.m. and tends to the plants by hand, watering, fertilizing, and harvesting. In the evening, he again waters the crops using a hose and system of connected pipes leading to a well.

“In general, young people in Myanmar are not that interested in working in agriculture,” he laments. “But I am. I want to improve the way farming is done here. It is my mission.”

Saw recognizes the benefit of improving both the quality and the quantity of the food and is very proud that they use organic fertilizers such as leaf compost, animal manure, and lime along with natural pesticides, such as chilies, ginger, and galangal, a spicy root plant.

“Chemicals can have side effects and are not good for people,” he explained. By Joan CooperRusek ECHO News 3 Summer 2022 The Full Moon farm has the primary purpose of feeding approximately 300 needy children living at the orphanage there. Good harvests producing extra crops are sold at the local market and provide income and revenue opportunities.

Saw had the opportunity to attend a program presented by ECHO Asia in neighboring Thailand in the fall of 2019. He brought back and enthusiastically applied his new knowledge and skills to the farm at Full Moon.

“ECHO taught us new methods to improve our farm and how to build a seed bank,” he said. “It will have 200 kinds of seeds we will use on the farm to grow crops.”

The seed bank storage facility was constructed of bamboo and insulated with mud to reduce the impact of the local climate’s heat and humidity.

“We should have air-conditioning, but we do not have the funds for that,” he explained.

He said initially the farm is keeping and storing all the seeds it receives in their seed bank, but, they will be able to share them with others in the future and pass along the knowledge and skills they learned at the ECHO Asia Small Farm Resource Center.

The orphanage is situated on a 70-acre farm in Phugyi Village in Hmawbi Township. The orphanage is part of the Lapyiwun Children Development Family (LCDF), which began caring for about 80 children affected by landslides and conflicts in the Mon State and Karen State regions of Myanmar in 1998. Two years later it moved to its current location. In 2002 LCDF was one of the first children’s homes in Yangon to receive government approval and registration.

Full Moon was founded by U Ba Hla Tin Htoo, who developed the land for growing food and raising livestock to achieve self-sufficiency ,and teach life skills to the orphaned children. A demonstration farm established later provides tourism opportunities for others to visit. Full Moon also implements programs in the orphaned children’s former villages and it works with them on projects to boost economic opportunities and create jobs.

ECHO Asia’s relationship with Full Moon dates back prior to May 2017, when Full Moon staff attended a work-study trip to the ECHO Asia Seed Bank in Mae Ai, Thailand. Since then, ECHO Asia representatives have visited the farm and provided training, support and ongoing consultations. Three Full Moon staff members completed a one-week intensive internship at the ECHO Asia Small Farm Resource Center in Chiang Mai, Thailand and brought that training home to share with their colleagues.

In working through our partners the ECHO Asia team has helped the people of Myanmar during some difficult years by providing encouragement, training, equipment, and resources such as seeds and cuttings for plant propagation. What began with one workshop held in Thailand has continued to bring needed knowledge and resources to Full Moon orphanage years later. The children there not only benefit from the increased harvest, but also the knowledge they can take with them into adulthood for continued success.

Ministry Among Marginalized People

July through September is when farmers are busy in their fields as rainfall has started well throughout the West African region. There were floods in some countries such as in Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina and Mali. We then had pockets of drought in certain parts of the region. But in general, the rainy season looked pretty good.

Three Job Booster trainings were hosted this summer in Burkina Faso, equipping 150 people under the age of 35. Trainees selected for these trainings focused on vulnerable populations, internally displaced people, and those with disabilities.

Ultimately, the objective of this training is to enable these young people to improve their living conditions through a gainful activity.

Overheard at the seminar… “It is important for me to put into practice the techniques learned because I know that it is the only solution for us to avoid starvation in our family. As you know, we have poor soils, and we have no money to buy chemical fertilizer. So, I can say that the training received is a godsend for us. I am confident that we will be able to eat our fill now, without spending money, thanks to these new techniques,” shared Sandrine of Burkina Faso.

 

More Yield with Fewer Inputs: Experiences from West Africa

Partnerships in West Africa are reaching farmers across Benin, Togo, Guinea, Mali, and Burkina Faso with techniques to lessen chemical inputs while increasing crop yields.

For the past eight months, ECHO West Africa has partnered with Alliance World Fellowship (AWF) and CAMA Services in training more than 500 people in eight different countries to support themselves by using Foundations for Farming. Thanks to you, hundreds in Africa have learned how to utilize sustainable farming practices, how to take better care of their environment, and about the relationship they can have with God.

Responding to Food and Fertilizer Shortages

Reuters reports that in mid-2022 nearly 346 million Africans were enduring extreme levels of food insecurity due to import challenges from the war in Ukraine coupled with rising food costs, long-term droughts, armed conflicts, and terrorist attacks, Farmers have been hit especially hard as grains and commercial fertilizers have become increasingly difficult to access.

Through Biblically based agricultural principles, participants learn how not only to generate profitable results for the current and coming years, but also to restore and conserve their land while spending less on inputs. The goal was to show each participant how God Himself was the first farmer and that by working in ways that honor Him, we may better steward and harvest that which He has already blessed us with.

“This field that you see is the result of your teaching,” shared Mr. Pare Desire. “I have been farming this field for several years, but it has never looked this good. The training I received in making compost and liquid fertilizer, as well as support with seeds, are the secrets of this improvement.”

He continued: “I put into practice what I learned and you see the results. My work is done and I look forward to the harvest. Last year, I was able to obtain about 40 kg of grain from this field, but this year I expect to double the harvest.” Later, Mr. Pare reported that his harvest was 200 kg of corn from the 0.25-hectare field! This fourfold improvement came despite an extended drought experienced by the village.

Equipping Others

From April through July, hundreds in countries such as Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Mali, Togo, Burkina Faso, and more learned the tangible skills needed for making their own compost, fertilizer, and biopesticides. Further lessons were taught on raising poultry, growing moringa, and more. Participants also had the opportunity to learn about the many different aspects of trade such as buying and selling, supply and demand, customers and competitors, as well as selling quality products.

Throughout all of this, an emphasis was placed on doing things on time, with a high standard, without waste, and in step with the Spirit.

Seeing Seeds Sprout

Since the conclusion of these trainings, the three partner organizations have received many encouraging testimonies. At the end of each of the trainings, participants were tasked with sharing what they had learned with three others back home. ECHO has found that on average, nearly 10 additional people per participant have come to learn about these valuable techniques. Isaac, a participant in Guinea, said, “With the acquired training, we plan to improve our techniques to increase crop performance.” Jean, another participant in Guinea, said, “May God bless you richly for organizing this training. It is the best practical training I have ever attended.”

Help Us Continue the Work

Through your support, work has been done to not only restore the health and livelihoods of African farmers, but to also plant seeds and share holistic restoration in both their communities and environments. Join us to provide trainings in additional countries in throughout 2023.

Community-Level Techniques Work to Meet Global Goals

A recent report from the United Nations highlights progress made toward the 2030 sustainable development goals and calls for accelerated global action to ensure safe drinking-water, sanitation and hygiene for all.

Urgent action is needed globally and locally to achieve safe and sustainably managed water, sanitation and hygiene for all in order to prevent devastating impacts on the health of millions of people. Findings from World Health Organization and United Nations show that acceleration is needed in many countries to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 6 – clean water and sanitation for all by 2030. The goal seeks to “Ensure [the] availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all,” with six outcome targets on the broader water sector including WASH.

Findings from World Health Organization and United Nations show that acceleration is needed in many countries to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 6 – water and sanitation for all by 2030

SDG goals are broken into targets. Target, 6.a says: By 2030, expand international cooperation and capacity-building support to developing countries in water- and sanitation-related activities and programs, including water harvesting, desalination, water efficiency, wastewater treatment, recycling and reuse technologies. Target 6.b states: support and strengthen the participation of local communities in improving water and sanitation management. While 45% of countries are on track to achieve their nationally-defined drinking-water coverage targets, only 25% of countries are on track to achieve their national sanitation targets. Less than a third of countries reported to have sufficient human resources required to carry out key drinking-water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) functions. While progress is being made on global fronts, ECHO trainers in East Africa and Thailand are working to help eliminate this problem at the household level by using biosand and biochar water filters. Proven over the years, this technology can effectively provide safe drinking water to the household. It works by filtering impurities through a natural biological layer and then layers of sand, pebbles and stone. The biosand filter can be made using local materials and is a low-cost system that removes suspended sediments and other impurities from water in order to make it safer for human consumption. The result is clean water for drinking for domestic use. This bottom-up approach will complement and help communities work together to achieve national and global goals. “We are facing an urgent crisis: poor access to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene claim millions of lives each year, while the increasing frequency and intensity of climate-related extreme weather events continue to hamper the delivery of safe WASH services,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. “We call on governments and development partners to strengthen WASH systems and dramatically increase investment to extend access to safely managed drinking water and sanitation services to all by 2030, beginning with the most vulnerable.” To access a collection of water, sanitation, and hygiene resources, or plans to build the bio-sand filter on ECHOcommunity, visit http://edn.link/water.