Interested in Agricultural Missions? Become an ECHO Intern

We are now accepting Agriculture Internship applications for our January and April 2019 positions!

Are you looking to launch your agriculture or development career and work with smallholder farmers? Then the ECHO internship might be for you.

Since accepting its first intern in 1981, ECHO has guided the professional development of more than 245 interns. Interns develop lifelong professional networks and friendships. The following are reflections from previous interns:

“The ECHO internship has given me a strong foundation for working in agricultural development, providing experience and exposure to a wide range of agricultural principles and practices appropriate for small scale farmers all over the world. Caring for the community garden, shepherding a small flock of sheep, and embracing the wonders of microorganisms to ferment food waste and fish guts into fertilizer are but a few of the many rich experiences of learning and growing that the internship offered. More than this though, what gave meaning to the year I spent at ECHO was the people I shared it with. Together, through challenges and celebrations, goodbyes and hellos, we learned what it means to abide with one another in love, and this ultimately is the most important preparation I could have received. ”

— Kelly

ECHO’s Internship is a paid, 14-month program. It provides an opportunity for professional and personal growth for college graduates pursuing a career in international community development, with a focus on small-scale tropical agriculture and appropriate technologies.

The internship program provides hands-on training on ECHO’s tropical demonstration farm in Florida. Interns contribute to ECHO's global ministry and develop basic skills in small-scale agriculture, animal husbandry, appropriate technology, public speaking, managing volunteers, and more. Interns also participate in seminars and field trainings in a wide range of agriculture and community development topics. ECHO will select four agriculture interns during each round of applications.

Applications will be accepted until August 1, 2018. The internship application form can be found here.

If you have any questions about the program, please contact the ECHO intern manager, Brian Flanagan.

Broken Chains and Answered Prayers

Not all prayers that we fling up to a God are immediate. But, boy did we see a specific and immediate answer today!  Let’s back up to yesterday- when a couple from the bike-specific host church in Palmyra where we were staying- came and generously lavished us with a yummy dinner upon our arrival. We had absolutely no expectation of this warm welcome!  Not only that, but they also allowed us to stay inside the church in the wonderful air conditioning and they let us use the kitchen. The pastor of the church even drove us to his house to let us all take showers. We really enjoyed meeting and talking with Cindy and Gerry who provided us with the dinner, and we had a great conversation with the pastor and his wife and daughter: George, Rita, and Jessica- not just about our bike adventure, but also about their family, their adored pets, and about homeschooling. Note: This was after our longer-than-expected biking day, on account of the flat tire that Jerry and the boys had to fix....

Two parents, three kids, and two very long bicycles add up to quite a cross-country adventure for Virginia family

Jerry and LisaPage Carter and their three sons are taking their bicycles out for a ride on Tuesday.

They expect to be back in about four months.

The Virginia family is planning to pedal across America, an ambitious adventure that will cover more than 4,000 miles and include countless peanut butter sandwiches. They will ride two bicycles — a bicycle built for three and another built for two with a parent taking the lead on each — each towing a trailer packed with provisions, clothing and gear. Among their belongings are the two tents they will pitch most nights along the way.

The Carters will leave Tuesday from Yorktown, dipping their bike tires in the Atlantic (in reality the York River, but close enough to count), and if all goes well, they will conclude their journey by dipping their tires in the Pacific, in Astoria, Ore., mostly following the TransAmerica Trail. They see it as an opportunity to encourage donations to a favorite charity, ECHO, a global organization that fights world hunger by helping small-scale farmers. (www.echonet.org/carter)

Read more at the Richmond Times-Dispatch

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Could you farm... if you had never been trained in agriculture?

Christopher D'Aiuto is a soil scientist that was on staff at ECHO from 2011-2013, as part of the research team in South Africa. He and ECHO’s East Africa Director Erwin Kinsey traveled to Tzaneen, Limpopo, South Africa in March to conduct a five-day sustainable agriculture training.

The training was for 25 leader farmers from multiple churches within Limpopo Church Network (LCN) and other government officers from the area, supported by the Willow Creek Church.  These leader farmers will be able to pass on what they have learned to many others through their churches and communities. An unexpected outcome has been the willingness of government officers who attended to support follow-up work through visits to the trainees over the next few months. This was especially encouraging to the entire group. 

by Christopher D'Aiuto

After Apartheid ended in 1994, South Africa started a voluntary land reform program where the government would pay farmers for their property and redistribute it for free to peoples disadvantaged by Apartheid. Largely, I've only heard the sad stories of how this land's crop production is diminished, the land is sold for cash, or just used to build a house.

I was very intrigued to learn that many of the farmers at this training had been given their farms through this land reform program. They said that the government never offered training on how to farm once they took over. This week-long training was the first in-depth agricultural workshop they'd ever had. Despite a lack of farming education, they had learned most of what they needed to start up from their experienced neighbors. Impressively, some of our trainees were selling to large South African regional markets and even exporting fruits and vegetables to Europe. These achievements were the best success stories I'd ever heard from land reform, and have given me so much hope that South Africa will move forward to be a country with more equality and fairness without losing food security. There is great need to keep teaching these emerging farmers!

On the first day Erwin and I demonstrated soil principles about the effects of tillage and mulching on water infiltration and erosion. The trainees were astounded to see how much soil is eroded during a simple rain after being tilled and left with a bare surface. When they saw how little water went into the soil and how much soil was washed away, many of them vowed to till their soil less and to try minimal tillage implements. 

After teaching a session on Integrated Pest Management, one farmer, who was a very quiet student, came up to me and commented that he had never been told that there are things he can do to prevent pest and diseases from attacking his crops! He said his agricultural suppliers only ever wanted to sell him more and more chemical sprays to treat problems after they happened. He said he would start using control methods to prevent infestations, reducing or eliminating the need for chemical treatments. 

The facilitators and hosts of the workshop, Linda and Johnson, were an inspiring and incredible example of how much faithful farmers can accomplish. In only a few years living on this farm they are exporting dried sweet potatoes, and sending zucchini and green beans to regional markets. On the farm they use worm compost and tea, have demonstration kitchen garden options, and use legumes, that they received from ECHO, as a green manure. They prayerfully hosted this exceptional training workshop, and showed their deep interest in teaching farming from a biblical perspective. Their example and hard work was a blessing to all the farmers who attended, and especially to Erwin and me. They are the most inspiring farmers I've ever met. 

ECHO to Hire Part-Time Grant Writer... Is it You?

Do you have a passion for ECHO's mission, and skills in communication? ECHO seeks a Grant Writer who has a passion for using written communication to create a compelling, factual and clear case for funding. The Grant Writer is part of ECHO’s Advancement Team and is responsible for researching, writing, editing, and coordinating activities related to producing grant proposals and reports. This is a part-time position, requiring about 20-25 hours per week. This position can be done remotely as an independent contractor or onsite in Florida as an employee.