The latest is an update from, recent Guinea volunteer, Dan Quinn on his experience with Winrock’s AEMIP program, which helps promote food security and sustainable farming practices.

On my first day in Faranah it rained. It rained hard. The day started as I stood under an umbrella, held up only by a bent fork, waiting for my potato omelet sandwich to be made. I showed up at the Winrock office that morning soaking wet. The steaming sandwich, a strong cup of coffee, and some amazing new “co-workers” worked magic in helping me dry out. Perhaps owing to this early association with warming comfort, I’ve returned to eat this same sandwich nearly everyday for the past two weeks. (more…)

On June 1st Mary and Bob Albrecht arrived in Guinea for their fifth joint volunteer trip with Winrock. This married couple has completed assignments together in Nigeria, Turkmenistan, and Guinea. Mary and Bob have volunteered separately in several other countries, but confess that they most enjoy working and training together. “It just works well for us,” says Mary. The Albrechts wrapped up their sessions in Coyah, Guinea this week. The assignments are part of Winrock’s Farmer to Farmer Program for Agriculture Education and Training. The Albrechts worked with the National Association of Poultry Farmers of Guinea (ANAVIG) and the National Union of Poultry Farmers of Guinea (UNAG.) (more…)

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 technical and institutional leadership on climate change within the agriculture sector at Guinea’s AET institutions. “Now with climate change as a ‘hot topic,’ if we can better understand this, we can disseminate the information to others and contribute to global level efforts to protect the environment.” – student at the national forestry institution in Guinea, the École Nationale des Agents Téchniques des Eaux et Forêts (ENATEF), which has received previous Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) support in climate change-related topics. (more…)

In January, all of the USAID Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) implementers got together in Morocco for a lively four days of program planning, training, and discussions. It was a great way for new and old F2F staff to share lessons, insights, and goals as we all embark upon the current five-year phase of the program.

Reflecting on their time in Morocco and their goals for F2F over the next five years, Winrock’s Africa Country Directors shared the following thoughts: (more…)

At the end of his second volunteer assignment in Guinea, Lloyd Ziegler noted,

This is the second time in a year I have worked with the beekeepers of Nialeya. I feel as if I have made some friends there; it is a privilege to work with such fine individuals. I now have at least a couple teasing cousins there, which only makes my life richer. The only downside is that the more I work there, the harder it is to say goodbye. Most of the enrichment I received is in the heart.

What a lovely sentiment, which I am sure is shared amongst all of those who worked with Lloyd on his two trips.

[Thank you Lloyd!]