Former Intern Shares ‘Ideas that Stick’

Ernie Didot, a 1992 ECHO intern, is a great story teller. He visited ECHO this week, sharing the knowledge he has gained over the last decade and talking about the importance of using a place-based educational model.

He began his presentation by telling the story of Juan’s Tortillas. The story begins in a small hut in Guatemala, as Juan wakes up to the familiar smells of coffee and fresh tortillas. Juan loves tortillas, especially the way his mother makes them just so.

As the story progresses, Juan’s mother becomes ill. She has trouble breathing and coughs up a sticky black substance. Juan eventually realizes that what is making his mother sick is the smoke from the open cooking fire in the hut.

He learns about a fuel efficient cook stove from another family and encourages his mom to try the new stove. Juan’s mother gets better, and thanks to the new stove that produces much less smoke, the whole family is healthier.

When Ernie finished his story, he asked the audience of ECHO staffers and interns to identify the ‘cultural handles’ – the parts of the story that made it specific to Guatemala.

‘The tortillas!’ one voice called out. ‘Juan!’ another said.

‘Now, what I want you to do,’ Ernie told the group in a dramatic whisper, as everyone leaned forward to here what he had to say. ‘I want you to put this story in another setting. One group, I want you to tell me this story from a Florida perspective. Another group, I want to hear how it would take place in Africa. The last group, tell me how it would sound in Asia. But, you have to convey the main idea on a basic level: tell me about the hazards of indoor air pollution in your setting.’

As the audience split into groups, Ernie smiled to himself, looking relaxed and confident. He was in his element. In the 15 years since he left ECHO, Ernie has received his Masters in Education and worked on video projects around the world. Working with Shellbook Publishing Systems and now HELPS International, Ernie makes videos that carry a variety of messages, from literacy to parables to health related films on worms and diarrhea.

Back to story telling, Ernie shared a brief tale about how he met his wife. Before he did the overseas component of his internship in Haiti, he saw a picture of an attractive young lady working on a project near his site. While putting his agricultural skills to good use in Haiti, Ernie said he, ‘cultivated my own gardens’ and worked on wooing the young woman. The couple spent the next eight years in Guatemala and now have two adopted children from that country.

ECHO Staff Retreat

You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.
Matthew 22:37

On Wednesday and Thursday, May 16 and 17, ECHO staff members spent time away from the office, exploring our faith, and learning to work as a more cohesive team.

Dennis Hollinger spoke to the staff about the importance of loving God with your head, heart, and hands.

Afterwards, we had a good ol’ fashioned barbeque, with canoe trips, fishing, and horseshoes.

ECHO Hosts Neighborhood Cookout

On Saturday, May 12, ECHO invited our neighbors for a cookout and tour of the farm. Horsin’ Around Deli served up burgers and hot dogs, and Stan, Mike, and Mark lead visitors around the farm.

Soil Texture- An Easy Way to Measure

The proportion of sand, silt, and clay in a soil determines its texture. Knowing the texture of a soil is important in managing a farm or garden. For example, a soil made up primarily of clay can easily become very compacted, which can hinder infiltration of rainfall into the soil. Incorporating organic matter into this type of soil will "lighten" it, thereby increasing both water infiltration and oxygen availability to the roots.

We wanted to get a rough idea of soil texture in several locations. An easy way to do this is to collect a sample of soil, shake it up in a jar of water, let the soil particles settle out, and then observe the thickness of the resulting layers. Sand is heaviest and will settle first, followed by silt, and then clay. As you can see, our soil is mostly sand. Sandy soils drain well but dry out quickly; mulching helps retain moisture in a sandy soil.

Click here for a more detailed description of using a jar to measure soil texture.

Constuction has begun on ECHO's new houses!

This week we saw the foundations laid for the building of four new houses on the ECHO campus. R. Fry Builders of Cape Coral is constructing four new single family homes next to the Africa and Asia student dorms. These houses will be used primarily for our Missionary-In-Residence program that provides housing for Agricultural Missionaries that have served overseas.

ECHO's staff is greatly enhanced when overseas partner organizations allow their staff to work in the United States for a period of time at our demonstration farm. These missionary families have great experience that helps us provide sustainable agricultural solutions, experienced teachers and mentors for students preparing for overseas assignments.

The 3 bedroom/ 2 bath homes should be completed by October according to Randy Fry. Thanks to several generous individuals, foundations and civic organizations, the money to build the homes is already raised. However, money to landscape, furnish, and connect the homes to our computer network is still needed.

If you are interested in helping ECHO complete this project, please contact Mike Sullivan at 239-567-3344.

Gone Fishin’

May the holes in your net be no larger than the fish in it.
~Irish Blessing

The ECHO interns got a taste of the fisherman’s life on Monday. Waterlogged and muddy, they seined first the duck pond, then the pond by the shop, pulling out nearly 100 fish. Some of the tilapia were over a foot long and weighed nearly 4 pounds. After practicing their netting skills, they learned the art of filleting the catch. And, what better way to finish off the day? With a fish fry!