ECHO Global Farm

Today we visited ECHO Global Farm and I honestly don’t know where to start describing our experience. I think most of us have great intentions for making the world a better place. Maybe if there is an organization that allows us to donate or volunteer, we do it and that’s good – very good. But what if the problems we see need a solution that doesn’t exist yet? What does it take to do that? What does it take from our own comforts and resources? How much do we give? How do we ask others to support us and then if they do, how do we use the resources they entrust us with in a responsible way? How do we make sure the solutions we put in place don't cause other problems and help the intended targets? Those were just a few questions running through my mind as I began to understand the impact ECHO Global Farm has been making around the world to solve hunger, dependence on government handouts and often unstable ecosystems.

Maybe your vision is something like this

Honoring God by empowering the undernourished with sustainable hunger solutions

And your mission is something like this

Following Jesus by reducing hunger and improving lives worldwide through partnerships that equip people with agricultural resources and skills.

And you get a group of likeminded people and decide on some core values that read like this:

• We are followers of Jesus and want our behavior, beliefs, motivations, and attitudes to reflect him and bring him honor and glory.

• We are stewards of the resources God gives us.

• We see all people as made in the image of God and deserving of dignity and respect

• We believe all people we encounter can add value as they share their efforts, knowledge, and experience.

• We are people who value others and give them practical priority in our work and interactions.

• We are partners as we join with other individuals and organizations to accomplish our mission.

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Maybe your story looks like this.

I had heard about ECHO from my sister who worked as a teacher in Miami years ago as well as from a good friend who has been instrumental in helping me build an ag program focused on teaching students to live with the land. I spend a lot of time eco touring and this special place has been on my list of places to visit since I started teaching agriculture 5 years ago. When I started planning this trip I had to call about getting tickets because they weren’t taking online reservations three months in advance. I left a message and soon got a call back from Russ. When I told Russ why I was coming he offered to set my little traveling team up with a private tour covering both the plants and growing systems as well as the Appropriate Technologies tour that wasn’t being offered the day we were there. I was worried the two 18 year olds would get bored after a few hours but they never stopped taking pictures and asking questions. I can also say that their AP Environmental teachers are doing and incredible job teaching these girls the importance of protecting our spaces and cleaning up the messes we have made.

We started out with our Australian guide Graham, taking us into the intro video about what ECHO is and does. Here is a nice overview.

Here are some staggering statistics about world hunger and environmental destruction I found on their site.

• 821 million people go to bed hungry everyday

• 1.5 million children die every year due to starvation of malnutrition

• 462 million adults are underweight worldwide

By providing training and resources to empower small-scale family farmers in Southeast Asia, East Africa, and West Africa, ECHO is changing these numbers.

The ECHO campus is divided into several zones representing different growing areas of the tropics. Within each of these zones one can see best agricultural practices demonstrating agricultural techniques and appropriate plants which can be easily absorbed into the daily culture of families in each of the areas. Plants are selected for their nutritious value and/or their ability to contribute back to the soil and other uses beyond food.

Composting Potty

Tasting the edibles

A great idea for accessible gardening

Now for the Appropriate Technologies Part of the tour.

By taking knowledge directly to those in need, ECHO is changing lives and communities exponentially every day. To find out more about this project and how you can get involved visit https://echonet.org/

I can't wait to begin adopting these practices on our little farm at school.