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VOLUNTEER BLOG

Bees, Coffee and Other Adventures in Ethiopia

Posted on August 26, 2013 by Stephen Peterson

Thank you to volunteer Stephen Peterson for his blog entry from his recent assignment in Ethiopia! (Read below):


August 2013

Ethiopia, and specifically the Kaffe district in the SW, is the genetic home to Coffea arabica colloquially known, at home, as a “cuppa joe”. I learned a bit about beekeeping (local bees are VERY aggressive), a little about coffee and saw some incredible scenery. It’s the rainy season now and, other than lots of mud, no problem at all – except there are few flowers and honey stores are low; both of which increase the aggressive nature of the bees. I brought a full bee suit but nobody here had one and nobody would, or let me, open a beehive. Regardless I got stung twice, much to the amusement of the flock of kids that accompanied us to the apiary, once on the end of the nose (instant sinus decongestion) and another atop the head.

I gave five lecture/seminars while in Bonga, based on my observations on their weak points or, on what they mentioned the day before they’d like to learn more about. I had 47 participants (4 women 43 men).

I asked the group, “How many of you have actually seen bee eggs?” Two hands were raised; so bee biology was put on the list of subjects to be covered. This is where the coffee comes in –

The local “forest coffee” is picked wild in the surrounding forest off of trees; yes, I too was surprised, but they grow 4-5 meters tall (12-15 feet for you non-metrics). It is sun dried; then the pulp washed off leaving “green” beans which store longer than roasted. The coffee is roasted as demand warrants; culture dictates three demitasse-sized cups should be taken – believe me each one is the caffeine equivalent of a triple espresso.

Making coffee, the traditional way

Making coffee, the traditional way

[Later], as we meandered along the well-paved road SW to Jimma and Bonga, Endeshaw, my excellent colleague and translator was able to answer every question I had (and I was full of them).“What are they selling?”, I asked as we passed young boys along the road holding the arms apart as if to indicate, “I caught a fish this big!” “Charcoal”, Endeshaw replied, I guess just the gesture was better than holding up a bunch of carbonized sticks. Almost everybody (91 million people) cooks on wood! We did see wildlife– some roadside Olive baboons (Papio anubus – named after the Egyptian god Anubis) who looked like furry gangsters, some beautiful white-tail and mane colobus monkeys (Colobus guereza) who seem to be well adapted to disturbed environments, and the real scary looking hyenas (Crocuta crocuta). Evidently they are not commonly seen in daylight hours as it was the first time any of the 3 locals with me had seen them during daylight. They quickly scattered back into the bushes when we stopped for photos.

ethiopia-monkey

ethiopia-hyena

In Ethiopia, with about a 2.5% population growth annually, there is tremendous pressure on the remaining virgin forests (I had a mental picture of Ethiopia as a marginal desert environment – wrong!) through clearing for agriculture, charcoal production and logging – in about that order. I have a mantra I picked up in Cambodia: “No forest no bees (a concept, which everybody seems to grasp)” but the corollary “No bees no forest” is a bit more difficult to swallow (even educated Westerners struggle with the concept of bees beneficiating the environment). Bees, being a keystone species, are vital to the health of the forest; Ethiopia claims to have on the order of 5.15 million colonies wild and “managed,” and over one million households have bees.

Fellow Farmer-to-Farmer volunteer Jerry and I went out to a cultural restaurant for his last night here and shared a bottle of tej [local honey wine]. My souvenir tej is coming home in a recycled water bottle- if it makes it in the luggage. Also on the souvenir list is 2 kg of local honey (finely crystallized), some beeswax, 2 kg of forest coffee and a cool knit cap for my granddaughter.

Posted in Africa, Ethiopia | Tagged beekeeping, cultural experiences, Ethiopia, international travel, international volunteer

Reborn After Volunteering

Posted on August 23, 2013 by Jen Snow

“I have been coming back to Latin America time and again for 35 years to work with rural farmers. I am continually “re-born” each time in having the honor to work with small scale farmers, be they in El Salvador or elsewhere.” –Charles Mitchell, Farmer-to-Farmer volunteer in El Salvador


Charles was one of five farmers from the Vermont chapter of the Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA) who volunteered to help farmers in El Salvador this year.

The NOFA volunteers worked with technicians and extensionists from FUNDESYRAM (a Salvadoran nonprofit working to alleviate poverty), providing hands-on training and technical assistance to FUNDESYRAM staff and groups of farmers that they support. Over the course of three separate assignments, the volunteers addressed issues related to horticulture production, organic farming practices, animal husbandry, and enterprise development.

The FUNDESYRAM staff sharpened their skills and gained inspiration from the volunteers.

“The help that the volunteers bring reinforces our own work and strengthens our ability to serve farmers and do our job,” one technician noted.

“The volunteers are examples of success. The farmers see that and are hopeful and inspired,” another technician explained.

Many thanks to Charles and the other NOFA volunteers for a job well done!

Posted in El Salvador, Latin America | Tagged agriculture, El Salvador, international volunteer, service |

Building Skills and Confidence of Youth

Posted on August 16, 2013 by Jen Snow

This week marked International Youth Day. Many Winrock Farmer-to-Farmer volunteers work with youth to build skills and confidence to enable youth to improve their livelihoods. What work could be more important?

Volunteer Bonnie Loghry shares her thoughts after working with a youth association in Mali:

“Coming to Mali has touched me greatly on a personal level; the people of Mali are gracious, kind and have such a wonderful sense of humor! This assignment has provided me with a deeper appreciation of how much people can accomplish when they come together, united in a single purpose, as has the Youth Association of Bla [my host organization]. The members of this association came to each training with open minds and hearts ready to absorb new knowledge; I will use these good people as examples for all future students with whom I have contact in the United States.”

Posted in Africa, Mali, Volunteer Feedback | Tagged international volunteer, knowledge transfer, Mali, people-to-people exchange, youth

Guinea Through the Eyes of a Volunteer

Posted on August 9, 2013 by Jen Snow

Have you ever wondered what Guinea looks like? One of our recently returned volunteers captured some of the sights & scenes of rural Guinea in this video.

Thanks Linhai!

Posted in Africa, Guinea | Tagged Guinea, international travel, international volunteer

Volunteering in Nigeria

Posted on August 2, 2013 by Allyn Lamb, Farmer-to-Farmer Volunteer

July 28, 2013

I was in Nigeria for two weeks in July as a Winrock International volunteer with the USAID John Ogonowski and Doug Bereuter Farmer-to-Farmer program. The “host” was the Community Based Natural Resource Management Program – Niger Delta (CBNRMP-ND).

My assignment was to train farmers and cooperative leaders in group dynamics, association & cooperative development, record keeping, and business planning. The training took place in two locations in Cross River State in the southeastern corner of the country: Ogoja and Calabar. In Ogoja, 35 men and 23 women participated. In Calabar there were 32 men and 27 women. There were approximately 50 cooperatives or associations represented, as well as government officials taking part in both locations. The training participants are expected to go back to their organizations and “step-down” the training to their members.

What I found most impressive was the desire to learn and the active participation and note-taking. The Winrock-Nigeria Chief of Party, Mike Bassey, and the head of CBNRMP-ND, Innocent Ogbin, and his staff, provided great logistical support.

Nigerian State Television took video of the Calabar training and I was told it was recently broadcast.

Nigeria has many challenges as is evident from the daily news reports. It has the largest population in Africa and has very high unemployment, especially among youth. Programs like this one serve as a lifeline for those willing to participate. Time will tell how it will all play out and whether my efforts will make any difference, but I do know that it meant a lot to those participating. Many people came up to me after the training to thank me and say that they had learned much that will be useful to them. In Calabar, one woman came up to me and said, “I thank God that you came here and taught us these things. This is information we have badly needed.”

Training Location in Ogoja

Training Location in Ogoja

Participants in Ogola training, (Allyn in red in upper right).

Participants in Ogola training, (Allyn in red in upper right).

With the school headmaster and two of the children, at a local school where Allyn donated books and crayons

With the school headmaster and two of the children, at a local school where Allyn donated books and crayons

[Thanks Allyn!]

Posted in Africa, Nigeria | Tagged agriculture, international volunteer, Nigeria
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