• About
  • Our Work
  • Join
  • Partner
  • Media
EMAIL SUBSCRIBE
DONATE
SUBSCRIBE TO NEWSLETTER

Sign-up for monthly updates on Winrock's work around the world.

VOLUNTEER BLOG

How a Data-Approach Promotes Bangladeshi Youth Entrepreneurship

Posted on July 30, 2016 by Andrew Zimbroff, F2F Volunteer

As an Assistant Professor at The University of Nebraska-Lincoln, I am always interested in meaningful research that complements my teachings. I enjoy the pragmatic approach of gathering data from relevant settings like educational classrooms. I have also found this to be an effective method to improve my teaching. Collecting and analyzing data both inside and outside of the classroom allows me to identify new, important topics to introduce to students, as well as improve future embodiments of entrepreneurship curricula that I deliver.

I adopted this approach during my recent assignment as a Winrock Farmer-to-Farmer volunteer supporting the USAID Bangladesh Counter-Trafficking In-Persons (BC/TIP) program. On this assignment, I taught two 5-day workshops teaching entrepreneurship to Bangladeshi youth (aged 18-35). This trip had many milestones for me – it was my first time in Bangladesh; my first time working with USAID and Winrock; and the first time I have taught in a foreign language. While things mostly turned out better than expected, I knew there would be many opportunities where research data could help improve my teaching. Additionally, I hope this trip is the first of many volunteer assignments, and I plan to use this data-driven approach to improve my future teaching efforts.

While in Bangladesh, I had many meetings with youth, NGO personnel, and community leaders focused on creating new businesses and economic opportunities. I asked everyone I interacted with about what was needed to promote additional entrepreneurship, and recorded the results. While informative on their own, these findings were also used to design a survey for educational workshop participants as well as other methods to measure entrepreneur sentiment. Winrock personnel in Bangladesh were critical to these efforts, and assisted with translating, distribution of surveys and other research materials, and providing additional insight on local Bangladeshi conditions.

Now that I have returned to the US, I am currently analyzing this raw data in depth, to gain a better understanding of future challenges and opportunities for Bangladeshi entrepreneurship. I also hope to publish these findings in an academic journal, so that others can utilize this information as well. Finally, I will use results to further improve curriculum during my next volunteer assignment. My recent travels with Winrock gave me access to great teaching and research opportunities, and I hope to apply this model to future volunteer assignments.

Zimbroff uses his data-driven approach in a workshop with Bangladeshi teens.

Posted in Asia, Bangladesh | Tagged Bangladesh, inspiration, youth

Sharing the Knowledge of Farmer-to-Farmer Programs

Posted on July 28, 2016

Winrock International’s Volunteer Program Recruiters participated in the Annual Meeting and Professional Improvement Conference (AMPIC) of the National Association of County Agricultural Agents (NACAA) held recently in Little Rock. The NACAA have been holding their yearly conference since 1916. boothThis year’s conference was attended by more than 1,000 people and allowed the recruiting staff to share with these agents, and other industry actors, information on current volunteer programs in West Africa and Asia. Winrock implements Farmer-to- Farmer(F2F) programs in Nigeria, Guinea, Senegal, Nepal, Bangladesh and Burma. We send volunteers on short term assignments to provide technical assistance to farmers, agribusinesses, and public and private education and extension providers in order to promote sustainable improvements in the agriculture sector. Our Program Recruiters share their thoughts and experiences about the conference below. (more…)

Posted in Africa, Asia, Winrock Staff | Tagged international volunteer, Recruitment, volunteerism

Climate Change Adaptation, An Interesting Challenge

Posted on July 21, 2016

Winrock International Farmer-to-Farmer volunteer, Robin Vora, recently retired from the U.S. Forest Service in Oregon and traveled to Burma (also known as Myanmar) in February 2016 to provide training to local, non-profit staff with FREDA (Forest Resource Environment Development and Conservation Association). The objective was to improve knowledge and capacity of FREDA members and field staff on environmental conservation and climate change so they could:

  • train local communities and reach more beneficiaries (train the trainer approach)
  • apply the new knowledge effectively during project identification, design, and implementation to improve environmental sustainability

Vora was accompanied by FREDA and Winrock staff on a 3-day trip to the Ayeyarwaddy River Delta and a 3-day visit to the “Dry Zone” near Mindon. Following the field visits, he conducted a workshop in Yangon on environmental conservation and climate change, and related topics including an introduction to land-use and project planning, biosphere reserves, environmental education, and disaster response. (more…)

Posted in Asia, Myanmar | Tagged capacity building, climate change, knowledge transfer, Myanmar

Sharing My Passion for Bees

Posted on July 18, 2016 by Caleb O'Brien, F2F Volunteer

Osun State in southwestern Nigeria is lush, its rolling hills clad in low forests, cacao stands, and fields of corn, yam, pepper and cassava. Oil palms dot the landscape, and the bright reddish oil extracted from the palm’s pulp can be bought at any roadside stand. It also happens to be a great area for raising bees, which is why I was there.

For 10 days in late June, I worked with faculty from Osun State Polytechnic (OSPoly) and community members from the nearby town of Iree as a volunteer for the USAID John Ogonowski and Doug Bereuter Farmer-to-Farmer Program. OSPoly is in the opening stages of establishing an agriculture program, so I came to teach a short beekeeping course, establish an apiary and help the staff develop a curriculum.

We learned about bee behavior and hive management, practiced rendering wax and making secondary hive products, built a smoker, stalked bees and talked honey.

It was wonderful to share my passion for bees and beekeeping with such an interested and excited group of staff, students and community members. And the assistance and friendship of Winrock International’s Nigeria staff made the trip a true pleasure. I look forward to keeping in touch with the staff at OSPoly as they continue to get their beekeeping program up and running.

Posted in Africa, Nigeria, Volunteer Feedback | Tagged agriculture education & training, apiculture, beekeeping, Farmer-to-Farmer, international volunteer, Nigeria

Shoeless on a Mat….Understanding People’s Aspirations, Abilities and Local Culture

Posted on July 14, 2016 by Alan Robinson, F2F Volunteer

Farmer-to-Farmer volunteer, Alan Robinson, shares his reflections from his ecotourism assignment in Cambodia working with the USAID-funded Supporting Forest and Biodiversity (SFB) Project.

“Critical to evaluating potential for developing community-based ecotourism is understanding people’s aspirations, abilities and local cultural or natural features which might be of interest to visitors. [My] very professional Winrock counterparts had already spent weeks or months in that process but our own short visits always began with a meeting with a local committee to get a sense of wants and needs. Inevitably this takes place shoeless on a mat on the ground or in a traditional stilted wooden home where we might have been the first foreigners to set foot in their remote village. At the end of the five-week project [I and my] colleagues hosted a workshop in which 20 representatives of these villages and provincial officials and conservation groups jointly developed ecotourism frameworks for the next several years of development. (more…)

Posted in Asia | Tagged cultural experiences, international volunteer, volunteerism, Winrock
ABOUT FARMER-TO-FARMER WINROCK VOLUNTEER ASSISTANCE

SUBSCRIBE TO POSTS

Loading

ARCHIVE

  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • December 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • April 2021
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • November 2019
  • September 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011

CATEGORIES

  • AET
  • Africa
    • Ghana
    • Senegal
  • Asia
  • Bangladesh
  • Cuba
  • El Salvador
  • Ethiopia
  • Field Staff
  • Guinea
  • Kenya
  • Latin America
  • Mali
  • Myanmar
  • Nepal
  • Nigeria
  • Postharvest
  • Rural Livelihoods
  • Senegal
  • Spotlights
  • Volunteer Feedback
  • Volunteer of the Month
  • Winrock Staff
WinrockIntl
Tweets by @WinrockIntl
Follow @WinrockIntl
1 2 Next Page »

204 E 4th Street | North Little Rock, Arkansas 72114

ph +1 501 280 3000 | fx +1 501 280 3090

2451 Crystal Drive, Suite 700 | Arlington, Virginia 22202

ph +1 703 302 6500 | fx +1 703 302 6512

  • Contact
  • E-News Signup
  • Low Bandwidth
  • Code of Conduct
  • Winrock Privacy Statement
  • Site Map
  • Terms of Use
Copyright © 2015- Winrock International
DEV ENVIRONMENT