ECHO Field Trip

Echo is an organization that assists farmers and communities all over the world. They teach communities how to survive by educating them on alternative ways in which to farm. Echo also provides poor farmers with seeds in which to start crops. Through extensive research, they find crops that will grow in various climates.

It is essential to Echo that everything they use must be multifunctional. For instance, the bambo they grow is utilized to make fenses, to use as tools, or to eat.

Above is a picture of a rice crop. They have two different types of crops. One that utilizes the standard technique which requires the soil to be saturated. The other rice crop only requires that the soil is damp. This allows rice crops to be grown in areas that don't have access to a lot of water.

Since there are different terrains acrosss the world, Echo had built a mound so they can practice techniques on farming on mountains and hills.

Below is an example of raised bed gardens. Raised bed gardens reduces the damage that is caused by flooding and it improves soil fertility.

Not only does Echo teach people how to farm but they also try and help solve problems that farmers are confronted with. Sometimes farmers have trouble keeping their livestock from eating their crops. So Echo came up with a Zero Graze Unit that protects crops from animals and provides for the collection of manure.

They have a wide variety of crops to meet the needs of farmers all over the world as seen in this picture.

Above is a picture of my guide Laura doing a demonstration of how an irrigation pump works. An irrigation pump can radically improve a family's life by providing them with water without needing electricity. Amazingly, they constructed the wheel of this pump with a bicycle tire.


Below is another example of an irrigation technique for a small crop. This type disburses water efficiently and evenly.

As stated previously, Echo uses everything as a resource including manure. Below pictured is a biogas digester which removes methane gas from manure which creating an alternative energy source.

And these are the little manure producers!!!

So cute! These goats provide vital manure. Manure can be used for alternative energy or for fertilizing the soil. They use the animal droppings from all animals on the farm incuding the ducks and goat.

I can't keep a plant alive with expensive soil and fertilizers and they've found a way to use fabric and old cans to grow their plants. A wick garden is a method of growing plants in which they use fabric to conduct water throughout a garden bed.

Echo has designed an alternative to allow crops to grow in urban environments. Here they have used a tire, a sock and aluminum cans to create a crop.

Below is an example of a typical "home" in Haiti which usually holds approximately nine people.

It really shows how impoverished Haiti is and how little they have to work with. It's great that an orginzation such as Echo is helping farmers all over the world.


I had a wonderful time a Echo and really enjoyed the experience and learned a lot.