North Fort Myers, Florida, April 19, 2012 – ECHO (Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization) is celebrating an important milestone. In April 2012, the 200th intern arrived at ECHO. The first intern arrived in August of 1981.
ECHO’s intern program is an agricultural training opportunity for college graduates to spend a year in North Fort Myers learning about tropical plants and sustainable development. Intern Alumni are highly regarded in the world of International Development. Many ECHO interns have served and are still serving overseas. The program is very competitive, with only 10 new interns chosen each year out of 80 applicants.
Agricultural Options for the Poor features selected content from the first 100 issues of ECHO Development Notes, a quarterly technical bulletin targeted towards ECHO’s international network of development workers. It is a book filled with practical options for helping resource-poor, smallholder farmers and urban gardeners--in the tropics and subtropics--to produce the food they need under the difficult growing conditions that they often face. Agricultural Options for the Poor also contains material written by experienced practitioners on agricultural systems they have implemented in the field and that have been adopted by thousands of farmers.
Agricultural Options For The Poor is the sequel to ECHO’s first resource book, Amaranth to Zai Holes, published in 1996.
“My entire team is excited to have completed this new book. We feel this will be a valuable tool for those working with smallholder farmers overseas. It has information on farming practices that have proven successful under the difficult growing conditions that so many farmers face in the tropics and subtropics, says lead editor Dr, Tim Motis.
"We are very excited about this milestone in the Intern program,” says Intern Managr Beth Doerr. “We appreciate the opportunity it represents of investing in the future leaders of international development work."
About: ECHO (Educational Concerns for Hunger Organizations) provides sustainable options to world hunger about agricultural training, innovative options, and networking with community leaders and missionaries in 180 developing countries. ECHO seeks to find agricultural solutions for families growing food under difficult conditions. ECHO’s international headquarters is located in Fort Myers, FL.
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