Our May volunteer of the month is apiculture expert Ed Levi, who has volunteered with Winrock’s Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) program since 1995. Twenty years and 10 countries later, Ed continues to show his dedication to helping those in need around the world.

Over the years, Ed has introduced improved beekeeping technologies and techniques to farmers in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Ethiopia, and Guinea; provided training on honey processing and marketing in Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan; and demonstrated ways to produce new products from hive by-products in Nigeria, in addition to numerous other volunteer assignments.

Ed (right) and trainees in Nigeria

Ed is sure that he gains just as much from each assignment as his beneficiaries do. “It has been fun learning how to adapt to different challenges. Even though I am going over there to teach, I always learn,” he asserts.

On his latest volunteer assignment in Senegal, Ed conducted training of trainers on all aspects of beekeeping, to help the International Center for Practical Training improve their support to beekeepers. Ed describes this volunteer trip as being particularly memorable, in part because he was able to lodge at a remote school/compound, where he witnessed a strong sense of community and commitment to collective action. “It was really, really special; it was a neat place,” he explains. “There were hugs and tears when I left.”

Inspecting beekeeping practices in Senegal

Ed is humble about his contributions, noting, “When I started beekeeping I never thought it would lead to one of my passions, travelling. I feel so very privileged to do what I do, meet the people that I meet, and hopefully make a difference. As a volunteer with Farmer-to-Farmer, the most important thing for me is to hear that my hosts have made progress.”

He has, indeed, made a difference. In Nepal, for example, individuals that attended Ed’s training more than a decade ago still speak fondly of their training. One beekeeper recently noted,

“The training opened my eyes to beekeeping as a business, and as a result, I increased my business from two to 60 hives. Everything I have gained in my honeybee business is due to the contributions of Ed Levi!“

Another former trainee asserts, “Now we are producing antibiotic free honey, and all the credit goes to volunteer Ed Levi’s training!”

In his 20 years of volunteer service with Winrock and Farmer-to-Farmer, Ed has directly assisted over 1,400 individuals. Not many people can say they have done that!

[Thank you, Ed, for all that you have done for your Farmer-to-Farmer hosts and beneficiaries!]

Today’s blog post comes from Winrock staff Gelsey Bennett, reflecting on the Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) program and how it has impacted her career:

“Although I just recently started working for Winrock International’s Volunteer Technical Assistance team supporting the USAID-funded Farmer-to-Farmer for Agriculture Education and Training program, my first experience with F2F took place seven years ago. This has been one of the pivotal moments in my career, helping me understand the power of volunteerism and people-to-people exchanges.

In 2008, I helped write the Central Asia Farmer-to-Farmer Program final report. I visited Kyrgyzstan, where I interviewed farmers about how the F2F  program benefited their production, incomes, and livelihoods. My experience with a group of women farmers was particularly outstanding and demonstrated to me personally the valuable impact of the Farmer-to-Farmer program. Ms. Yuldasheva Muborak told me about the technical assistance that she and other women farmers received in improved cherry tree pruning and growing techniques. As a result of this training, she became a cherry tree pruning trainer in her community and helped other farmers apply these techniques.  She informed me that her income had increased as a result of the effect of the improved pruning techniques on her production. Ms. Muborak and a group of women farmers recognized the important of investing in their businesses and used the additional income to purchase a truck to take the cherries to market directly and decrease reliance on middlemen.

By talking to Farmer-to-Farmer beneficiaries, I came to understand the power of this program: not only do beneficiaries learn skills to make their businesses more successful, but they ultimately sustain their improved livelihoods by investing in their business and imparting new skills to others in their communities. This is possible thanks to the generosity of our volunteers and their commitment to help farmers around the globe. Through Farmer-to-Farmer, volunteers have been helping to harnesses meaningful change in the lives the beneficiaries and their communities for 30 years!”

–Gelsey

Today’s blog post is written by Winrock staff Jennifer Robinson, a program associate/recruiter with the Volunteer Technical Assistance team, who traveled to Guinea last month and had the pleasure of participating in a class taught by one of our volunteers.

“A recent labor market study for Agriculture Education and Training (AET) in Guinea showed that graduates’ English language skills correlate strongly with employment after graduation. It is for that reason that Winrock volunteer Sandra Belson has been on assignment in Faranah, Guinea teaching English as a part of the USAID-funded Agriculture Education and Market Improvement Program.

During my trip to Guinea, I was lucky enough to attend Sandra’s classes at the Institut Supérieur Agronomique et Vétérinaire de Faranah (ISAVF). Sandra introduced me as a guest and told the students that after their work for the class was complete, they would have the opportunity to talk with me.

the ISAVF campus

To start the activity, one student came to the front of the class and read aloud a story called I am the Forest.  Then, another student on his team wrote questions on the board in English. The class worked together to answer the questions and to make sure all the spelling and grammar were correct.  Their vocabulary and level of understanding were impressive. The careful thought put in to the comments and questions was apparent. Mistakes turned into opportunities to learn more, and the class was energetic despite the 100 degree weather that was melting this American visitor.

Engaged students

After the classwork was complete and arrangements were made for working on English language software in the computer lab, it was time for me to talk with the class. I learned a lot about the students. Not all were from Guinea. Many students come to the agriculture university from Niger and Cameroon as well. They are majoring in a variety of subjects including; agricultural engineering, aro-forestry, rural economics, and animal science. I asked each person why they wanted to learn English, and the most common answer I received was, ‘English is the international language.’ They all expressed that learning English would improve their futures by allowing them to be more marketable to employers and enabling them to communicate with people around the world. When I inquired about future plans I learned about the goals of these men and women. One young man would like to attend graduate school for agricultural engineering in the United States. A woman from Niger plans to work for the Ministry of Agriculture. One gentleman told me he’d like to become President.

Sandra Belson teaching

From my observation, these men and women are well on their way to achieving whatever goals they set for themselves. They are clearly dedicated to education and are taking full advantage of the opportunity to learn English. As the class wrapped up and we ended with what became quite the photo shoot, I was pleased to have a student come up to me and thank me for sending him, ‘the best English teacher.’ I am glad that Winrock has the opportunity to share the skills of volunteers like Sandra Belson with our friends in Guinea.”

-Jennifer Robinson

Aquaculture specialist Joe Sullivan returned from his Farmer-to-Farmer volunteer assignment in Senegal last week. On the plane trip back, Dr. Sullivan met President Jimmy Carter and told him about his F2F assignment, as he describes below:

“I met President Jimmy Carter on the plane on my JFK to Atlanta leg coming home from a volunteer Farmer-to-Farmer assignment in Senegal this past Sunday. He noticed my Winrock hat and asked if I worked for the organization. I said ‘Yes,’ and explained that I was just getting back from a volunteer assignment in Senegal. He apparently is familiar with Winrock and likes what the organization does. He was walking through the entire economy cabin shaking hands with everyone, despite his own seat being in first class. He is a really classy, though low-key and warm guy.

We all like to gauge our success on these projects by how they seem to impact our hosts and the people around them, and we should, but once in a while we meet people who also want to change things, whose values are like ours for making a difference, and who do something as simple as catch sight of our Winrock hat, and what we do comes to their minds as well.

So, be sure to ‘Wear your hat!’

In honor of International Women’s Day (March 8), check out some photos of women in action with the Farmer-to-Farmer program in Asia and West Africa!

Winrock volunteers have directly assisted over 139,00 women in 56 countries. And 1125 of these volunteers were women themselves. We are proud of this legacy of supporting women in need around the world and providing opportunities for American women to share their expertise and passion with others.

F2F volunteer Edie Shannon with women’s association members in Guinea

F2F volunteer Carol Delaney trains small ruminant farmers in Mali

F2F volunteer Sandra Costello and trainees in Bangladesh

F2F volunteer Vanessa Taylor meets with women farmers in Nepal

F2F volunteer Kelly Pruitt demonstrates lab techniques in Nepal

F2F volunteer Virginie Zoumenou discusses yam processing with women in Nigeria

F2F volunteer Halina Zaleski presents to a rapt audience in Myanmar