Volunteer Posts
Impressive Burma
June 13, 2014
This week’s blog comes from Farmer-to-Farmer volunteer Daniel Miller, with reflections after his return from an assignment in Burma (also known as Myanmar): For those of you who have not visited Myanmar, you have missed a good opportunity. It is a major Buddhist center with pagodas and monasteries everywhere. The next to last worldwide Buddhist […]
Improved Aquaponics Systems, Extension Services in Burma
June 10, 2014
This just in from volunteer Chantel Welch: “In the past week I have seen some amazing work done by local farmers, people who attended relatively short trainings (generally 3-5 days), took the information that they were given and not walked, but ran with it. One group of friends started a monosex tilapia hatchery; they will […]
A Great Opportunity to Help a Developing Country
June 6, 2014
Dr. Andrew Sanchez recently completed his Farmer-to-Farmer assignment with the Agriculture and Forestry University (AFU) in Nepal. Below, he reflects on his trip:
Professionalizing Microfinance Banking in Nigeria
May 30, 2014
In March, Ed Doherty, marked the first Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) volunteer to Nigeria under the new phase of the program focused on agriculture education and training (AET). This new phase of F2F in Nigeria will focus on formal AET institutions (e.g., universities and training centers) as well as producer groups and service providers (including microfinance institutions) […]
Reflections from 16 Years of Volunteer Recruitment
May 15, 2014
One of Winrock’s volunteer recruiters recently retired after 26 years with our organization. Johnnie spent 16 of those years as a volunteer recruiter (and much more!) with our Volunteer Technical Assistance team. Below, she reflects on life as a recruiter and the immeasurable connections she has made with so many volunteers over the years.
Excitement Amongst Onion Farmers in Burma
May 9, 2014
Onion farmers in Seik Phyu Township, about an hour outside of Bagan in the Dry Zone of Burma (also known as Myanmar), are participating in a competition to see who has the best onions. Onions are judged primarily on color, weight, and yield, and the competition is fierce. These farmers have been using organic practices […]
Meet the Farmer-to-Farmer Staff in Burma
May 8, 2014
Chances are, when you walk into the Winrock Farmer-to-Farmer office in Yangon, you will hear someone talking on the phone probably arranging a meeting or discussing a volunteer assignment with a host organization, be greeted with smiles from the staff, and be grateful for the air conditioning. The small but mighty staff of the F2F […]
The Assignment Looked Like it Was Written Specifically for Me
May 2, 2014
This week’s blog post comes from volunteer Barry Evans, who completed his Farmer-to-Farmer assignment in Bangladesh last month:
Integrating Climate Change into Agriculture Education and Training in Guinea
April 21, 2014
As the world recognizes this Earth Day, Winrock International‘s Agriculture Education and Market Improvement Program (AEMIP) is mobilizing a major initiative to integrate climate change concerns into Guinea’s national agriculture education and training (AET) system as a part of USAID’s Global Climate Change (GCC) initiative. With the support of volunteer technical assistance, AEMIP is developing […]
“My life is forever changed”
April 18, 2014
One of the most rewarding things about the USAID-funded Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) program is the relationships that are formed between the volunteers, host organizations, and community members… but also between the volunteers and F2F staff. Sometimes we don’t even realize how deep these connections go, and how profoundly the program can affect someone’s life. A true […]