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ECHO was an amazing place. I had never been there before and I am very glad that I went because I learned so much. My little cousin, Jessica, learned a lot too and she liked seeing the goats and chickens. ECHO travels the world teaching third world farmers appropriate techniques for their area so that they can have the most success with their farms. ECHO provides farmers with sample seed packets. I think this is interesting because I would have assumed that they just give the farmers tons of seeds but they don't. They encourage the farmers to experiment and find what works for them. Everywhere is different and not all crops grow in all places so it is important to understand the land know what crops are going.JPG)
to survive and become the most profitable. Third world farmers face many challenges, some they can control and some they cannot. The main thing they need is education because they need to be taught techniques that can help sovle their problems. For example, some farmers face the problem of sloped piece of land where they need to plant crops. ECHO teaches these farmers how to make the land work in their favor. The tour guide showed us a very basic piece of equipment made of wood that is shaped like an A and has a rock that hangs from a piece of string from the top of the A. You put one leg of the A in the ground and turn it until the rock is perfectly in the middle and that is where you plant the crops. Another problem faced by third world farmers is predators. Many animals can destroy crops easily and the all the farmers' hard wor.JPG)
k is ruined. ECHO suggests live fencing. Live fencing is a fence made from live tree limbs. When the limbs are planted in the ground they will sort of grow together and it makes a barrier that is difficult for animals to see through and if an animal can't see it then it doesn't exist so they don't mess with it. The biggest problem in these third world countries is hunger. One of the main things that ECHO concentrates on is keeping the people fed. They do this by having them plant food that is a "belly filler". These are foods high in carbohydrates like rice. The problem of hunger sometimes results from the fact that the people have to work so physically hard every day that they use up their energy. One of the ways that ECHO solves this problem is by the technology they have people.JPG)
use. One piece of tehcnology that is a low energy burner waters crops. You step on two platforms and pump your legs up and down which pumps water through tubes that leads to you crops. This is something everyone in the family can take turns doing so it does not use a lot of energy.
One of the most interesting things I learned was that plants do not need soil because all they need is air, water, and nutrients. I learned that you can plant plants in almost anything. An old tire can be a perfect pot. You cut the "top" off and line the hole on the bottom with the rubber and put plastic over it. Then you can fill it with soil and plant your plants. Another way to plant plants is to build a wooden frame around a piece of carpet and cover the carpet with empty soda cans inside socks. The seeds can be plants right into the carpet and the socks give the roots something to cling to. So, you don't need soil and everyone has items lying around their house that can be used to plant plants.
I was most intrigued by what I learned about the Neem tree and the Moringa tree. It has been discovered that the Neem tree can prevent and help cure gum disease and other mouth problems. A long time ago, a group of people chewed on twigs from the Neem tree and they had no mouth diseases. Today, they make toothpaste from the Neem tree that is one of the most succesful in helping to prevent mouth diseases. Picture to the left is a Neem tree. The Moringa tree has so many amazing properties. Each gram of the leaves contains seven times more vitamin C than oranges, four times the vitamin A of carrots, three times the potassium in bananas, and four times the calcium in milk. This tree can be a lifesaver. When children are malnourished and on the brink of death, they are fed one crushed up seed three times a day and are well nourished and in good health within two weeks. Mothers who have lost the ability to produce breast milk due to malnutrition can 
I was most intrigued by what I learned about the Neem tree and the Moringa tree. It has been discovered that the Neem tree can prevent and help cure gum disease and other mouth problems. A long time ago, a group of people chewed on twigs from the Neem tree and they had no mouth diseases. Today, they make toothpaste from the Neem tree that is one of the most succesful in helping to prevent mouth diseases. Picture to the left is a Neem tree. The Moringa tree has so many amazing properties. Each gram of the leaves contains seven times more vitamin C than oranges, four times the vitamin A of carrots, three times the potassium in bananas, and four times the calcium in milk. This tree can be a lifesaver. When children are malnourished and on the brink of death, they are fed one crushed up seed three times a day and are well nourished and in good health within two weeks. Mothers who have lost the ability to produce breast milk due to malnutrition can regain their milk within three days just from ingesting one crushed up seed three times a day. This tree can be very important in many third world countries. Picture to the right is a Moringa tree.
ECHO taught me so much about farming that I never knew and they have inspired me to be more conscious of what I consume and how I consume it. I am imspired to start a garden with no soil using their rooftop gardening techniques. I hope that ECHO can reach as many third world countries as possible so that millions can benefit from their knowledge.
Link to ECHO's website: http://www.echonet.org/
Moringa tree picture: http://images.stltoday.com/blogzone/off-the%20menu/files/2010/04/Moringa-Tree.jpg
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