“An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.” ― Martin Luther King Jr.

Today is the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, and this weekend marked the National Day of Service. In honor of both, here are some photos of some of our Farmer-to-Farmer volunteers in service around the world:

Bill Goeres on a dairy farm in Ethiopia

Howard Prussic with onion farmers in Myanmar

Doug Johnson training beekeepers in Nigeria

Winrock staff in Ethiopia share some thoughts on our Farmer-to-Farmer program:

Farmer-to-Farmer Ethiopia has fielded several expert volunteers to increase capacity along the poultry, meat, dairy, and beekeeping value chains in Ethiopia, working with local NGOs, government research institutes, and the private sector, among others. Assignments have ranged from conducting poultry value chain assessments to hands-on training in meat processing, fodder/animal feed production, and improved apiculture management techniques. Beyond increasing the technical capacity of Ethiopian counterparts and smallholder farmers, volunteers have commented on the value of connecting with like-minded individuals on their assignments. Apiculturist Doug Johnson states how “the overall reception [of farmers to the training] was beyond words. The exchange of laughter was more than obvious on several occasions . . . The human side of this training is something very rarely mentioned in the list of objectives.” Poultry expert Jonathan Moyle comments how “Personally I had an extremely enjoyable time . . . The people are warm and welcoming and receptive to ideas. Professionally I made contact with people whom I hope to help and be helped by in the future.”

The value of bringing Farmer-to-Farmer volunteers to Ethiopia cannot be overstated . . . expertise is shared and human bonds are formed.

The jubilation in the pictures below says it all!

          Volunteer Doug Johnson receives gift from host in Ethiopia

Farmer-to-Farmer volunteer David Olson returned from an assignment in Ethiopia last month. Enthusiastic about his trip and interactions with his trainees, David explains:

“There was such enthusiam of the group to learn [new techniques for meat processing]. Of the volunteer assignments that I’ve done, this was the best demonstration of my 10 years of doing volunteer work. It was so rewarding to see the expression on the face of one of the training participants, Biruk, when he cut his first rib-eye roll and realized that he actually knew what he was doing.”

Here are some photos of David in action: