Winrock’s September Volunteers of the Month are dynamic duo, Dr. Jonathan Deenik and Dr. Glen Fukumoto. They both come from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and volunteered together this summer in Myanmar, providing training to 77 farmers in Hmawbi Township on soil quality improvement techniques, including soil fertility management and composting using poultry and livestock manure. Our Country Director, Dr. Ai, notes that these two volunteers have “strong technical expertise, high cultural sensitivity, the ability to adapt to and understand local  farmers’ needs, an impressive teaching style, and complimentary qualities to form an effective team.” Jonathan and Glen have volunteered together in Myanmar three times and Dr. Ai explains that because of their work “our program has received positive impacts beyond our expectations; the trainees love them, respect them, and continue to request their return.” To learn more about the technical aspects of their assignment, check out our recent blog post.

We asked Dr. Deenik and Dr. Fukumoto to reflect on their experiences as Farmer-to-Farmer volunteers. Their responses are below:

Why did you want to volunteer?
Deenik: Volunteering is an important part of my life. I volunteer regularly in community work days, taking care of agricultural land in my community of West Oahu. This commitment to volunteerism was solidified by my 5-years as a Peace Corps volunteer (1985-1991).

What was the highlight of your most recent volunteer assignment abroad?
Fukumoto: The resourcefulness of the host-farmer and the support in coordinating an unplanned demonstration on building a composting unit as part of the workshop session. The host asked what was needed for the demonstration and gathered all the materials – carbon source, nitrogen source, local materials used to build the compost bins and aeration pipes, within 24-hours. During the day of the demonstration, he assigned a small farm crew to work with me in setting up the area and prepare the materials for the demonstration.

What made your Winrock volunteer trip distinctive?
Deenik: This was my third volunteer assignment in Myanmar. The growth, deepening, and fruition of our special relationship with the Myanmar staff, especially Dr. TK and Dr. Ai, is DISTINCTIVE and immensely rewarding.

Dr. Deenik delivering his training with the help of Dr. TK

How does your experience affect your world view?
Deenik: Our work with Winrock in Myanmar provides a unique opportunity to experience what life is like for Myanmar people from a wide range of perspectives – farmers, educators, civil servants, students…. Through these personal interactions, we see the uniqueness of their situations, but also recognize that we all face similar experiences, and thus we better appreciate the notion we are a “global family.” Maya Angelou expresses this most eloquently in her poem “Human Family.”

Fukumoto: The Winrock F2F volunteer experience makes you realize how little we know of the world. The country borders are not simply lines on a map, but are a place rich in traditions, culture and different values and the struggles and triumphs of its people. Through the farmer-to-farmer program we develop relationships with the people and their community, with hopes of advancing and improving environmental quality, or food production, or the individual lives that we touch. At the same time, these assignments enrich ourselves with new friends and knowledge of a new place on this planet.

What advice would you give a new volunteer?
Deenik: Practice humility and patience, and above all have fun.

Fukumoto: Before your trip, read all the information sent out by your Winrock recruiter, heed all safety and medical advice, read as much as you can about the country and your related assignment and keep an open mind. While in country being respectful, being humble, and learning a few words of greetings in the host country language goes a long way, and don’t forget to enjoy the journey.

How have your assignments made a difference in your own life?/Has your assignment caused you to do anything differently once you returned?
Deenik: My life experience is enriched with each assignment, where I meet and learn from so many people. These experiences continue to humble me and reinforce the essential need to be tolerant and patient, but also intentional.

Fukumoto: The assignments, especially in the rural agricultural settings, make you realize that many of your personal challenges and struggles are quite minor compared to daily struggles of the lives of the people we engage with. Living a simple life can be more fulfilling than climbing the ladder of success in our hectic and complex lives. On the first assignment, several volunteers embarked on the Yangon Circular Train (it’s a must for the first-time visitor to Yangon). You get the essence of the life in Myanmar and the warm hearts of the people. Nearing the end of the loop ride a nice gentleman, most likely a daily commuter on the train, greeted a colleague and followed with a simple question, “Are you happy?” Often in our busy lives we never think about our state of mind … but now I think about it more than before … and yes, I am happy.

Why should people consider volunteering?
Deenik: Volunteering with Winrock promotes the effective transfer of knowledge to communities who have requested technical assistance. It also allows volunteers to broaden their world view through meaningful human interaction.

How do you feel about the support from Winrock?
Deenik: The Winrock staff here in the U.S. and in Myanmar have provided stellar support. The assignments are well-researched and address a grass-roots community need, which makes for a meaningful and rewarding experience.

Fukumoto: I would go anywhere in the world with the support of Winrock. The F2F program staff, from the preparation, arrangements, guidance/logistics and de-briefing by the recruiters, to the support from the field office professionals, are simply outstanding. Knowing you have the support/safety net in the background and the hard working and knowledgeable field staff, allows you to focus on the assignment. After the hard work is done, opportunities are provided for you to learn and discover the culture and the arts, the history, and modern life of the host country.

Dr. Fukumoto with the compost building crew. ““The support of the host farm was phenomenal. I was in awe of the connectivity of the farming community in gathering all the materials needed for the demo.”

When your friends/family find out that your volunteer assignment aboard, what do they say or ask?
Deenik: They are always curious and interested in this part of my work. Recently, I spent more than 4 hours sharing pictures of my assignments in Myanmar and Guinea with my 93 year old aunt. She was fascinated.

Fukumoto: Where is Myanmar? Why are you going? Is it safe? How’s the food?

How do you feel that your volunteer assignment has contributed to create a shared understanding across different cultures through person-to-person interactions?
Fukumoto: The Farmer-to-Farmer program and the outreach activities of interpreted workshop presentation and demonstrations has allowed us to share our ideas, best management practices, and farmer adoption/implementation examples from our work experiences. These experiences provide evidence/reinforcement that the presentations are not simply theoretical, but have practical/proven applications with successful results. Farmers understand and believe other farmers more than from academia; but by blending academia and direct farmer experiences, I believe, it brings a greater understanding of the principles and applications of the topics in the assignment.

The visits with the host farmers are extremely valuable. The farm view through the eyes of the farmer provide a grounded understanding of the their issues and challenges of production, environmental concerns, marketing, and other local constraints that impact their operations.

What keeps you going back to volunteer?
Fukumoto: Genuine interest in sharing my knowledge and experiences in tropical livestock systems that can potentially increase farmers and livestock organizations knowledge and understanding, which I hope can lead to successes in the field for improved sustainability, productivity and a healthy ecosystem.

Winrock volunteers, like Dr. Jonathan Deenik and Dr. Glen Fukumoto, are helping to #endhunger by building farmers’ resilience through improved soil fertility management and composting applications. On a recent technical assistance assignment in Myanmar, the volunteers had the opportunity to work closely with two farmer organizations. The organizations attracted approximately 130 farmers, local government agents, and NGO professionals to the workshops and demonstrations; covering topics on soil fertility management, livestock waste management, and composting.

Dr. Deenik is a soil fertility expert and defines soil fertility “as the ability of the soil to supply essential plant nutrients and soil water in adequate amounts and proportions for plant growth and it is the foundation of productive, vibrant cropping systems. Soils, however, vary dramatically in their ability to store and supply elements essential for good crop growth. A sandy soil has limited capacity to store and supply plant nutrients whereas a finer soil with proportionately more clay will typically store and supply more nutrients. Soil fertility assessment is typically conducted through soil testing, which involves a series of chemical analyses to determine soil nutrient availability.  

On this assignment in Hmawbi Township, I provided training in soil fertility assessment to two sets of farmer groups. Training participants at both sites brought soils from their respective farms and we tested the soils for pH (acidity) and available nitrate, phosphorus and potassium using my mobile soil testing equipment. The reflectoquant® technology uses different test strips for nitrate (N), phosphate (P) and potassium (K) coupled with a portable spectrophotometer to acquire concentration values for each nutrient. The participants went through the extraction and filtering steps, and then used the test strips and the spectrophotometer to the assess NPK status of their soils.

The farmers easily grasped the simple procedures and eagerly brought their soil samples forward for testing. With results for their soils in hand, I also provided them with the appropriate knowledge to interpret the test results and make fertilizer recommendations. After compiling the results, I highlighted the fact that many of the farmer’s soil samples were acidic to very acidic. Soils from paddy rice fields tended to show low nutrient status whereas soils from intensively managed vegetable fields were typically higher in nutrients – especially phosphorus. On the soils with low nutrient status, I presented some options for appropriate soil amendments including compost, manure, and synthetic fertilizers and presented some simple calculations to estimate the amount of amendment to add. In cases where soils had high nutrients, I emphasized to the farmers that fertilizer additions in these soils could be reduced to prevent nutrient loss to the environment with considerable savings to the farmer.

Access to simple, rapid, and reliable soil testing will have far-reaching impacts improving the livelihoods of rural Myanmar farmers empowering them to make sound fertilizer decisions that increase crop production while protecting soil and water resources.”

Dr. Deenik observing participants soil testing skills.

Dr. Fukumoto is an animal science specialist whose work focuses on on-farm projects in co-composting and nutrient management data collection. He describes composting as “one of the great wonders of the biological world. It is a natural process of aerobic microbial degradation of organic matter resulting in a stable and valuable soil amendment. 

During the second workshop series, we discussed the possibility of including a compost demonstration with Dr. Thet Khaing, Project Management and Communication Specialist for the Winrock International Asia F2F Myanmar field office. Dr. “TK”, as we affectionately call him, is a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine and provides volunteers with wealth of knowledge about all things Myanmar – from culture and history to arts and crafts, and recommendations to the best restaurants in town. The host farm was eager to support the last-minute addition of a compost demonstration to the workshop agenda. With the farm manager, I discussed the logistics of the demonstration: dimensions and design of the compost bin, requirements for carbon and nitrogen materials, water, and tools that were needed to build the compost pile. Everything was purchased, gathered and ready the next day.

“Built with locally sourced and natural materials, this was one of the most beautifully constructed compost bins I’ve worked with.” Glen Fukumoto

I worked with the farm crew, mostly through crude hand signals, and we completed the coolest compost bin I’ve worked on: woven bamboo side panels, custom-made bamboo aeration pipes, and a bamboo structural frame. Rice husks were used as the carbon resource and the nitrogen was provided by poultry manure. I had hoped for a beautiful day for the outdoor demonstration; well, at least no rain during the build. Thankfully, it didn’t rain during the demonstration, but working in the hot and humid weather with my shoes anchored in the sticky clay mud, and being surrounded by over 70 eager farmer participants, many seeing a compost pile being built for the first time, was just another great experience of delivering practical information and introducing innovative and age-old technologies for rural agricultural development.

The recycling of farm by-products and livestock waste through simple on-farm composting systems can help to replace a portion of the chemical fertilizers and improve the biological health of the soils to improve crop production, as well as to reduce the pollution potential of animal manure runoff into water resources in the region. In addition, the compost can be an integral part of the nutrient management plan of farms considering a transition to organic farming systems.” 

This week’s blog comes from F2F Volunteer, Dr. Malcom Manners, an expert in nursery management and tropical fruit propagation methods. He is a professor and Chairman of the Horticulture Department at Florida Southern College and has completed over 16 volunteer consulting trips around the world. 

In late May and early June, 2017, I worked on a Farmer-to-Farmer project with Winrock in the Mandalay area of Myanmar. I’ve worked on numerous other F2F projects, and several of them have involved mango. I have to say this was among the best projects with which I’ve ever been involved!

I flew to Yangon via Orlando, Seattle, and Seoul, arriving late in the evening. I was met at the airport by Winrock staff and taken directly to my hotel. I had a chance to rest the following morning, then meet with the in-country staff in the afternoon. There, we planned out the exact itinerary for the project. The next morning, we flew to Mandalay, where we met with a couple of lead farmers, to interview them about what they perceived to be their major challenges, and what they’d like to get out of the workshops. Their concerns were very similar to those listed in the scope of work, so I felt well-prepared.

Mango basket

The next day was the first of a two-day training. We really didn’t know how many people would attend — 40 had preregistered, but they thought more would show, perhaps as many as 60. But when the crowd started arriving, more and more came, until we had 150 attendees! We had to move the meeting out of the planned building into an outdoor area. That caused some concern, in case it rained, but it ended up okay. We spent that day talking about nursery production of mango trees — variety selection (for local vs. export markets), seedling production for grafting, grafting techniques, and care of the grafted plants until they are ready for the orchard. The group was particularly interested in grafting. Mango trees in Myanmar are mostly grown from seed, and seedling trees take several years to get into production, growing far too tall for convenient harvesting or spraying. A grafted tree can be kept much shorter and will bear its fruit closer to the ground, and in fewer years, than would a seedling. Also, grafting guarantees that the tree will produce exactly the variety of fruit that the grower wants. Compared to other fruit trees, mango is also rather picky about how you graft it, and many propagators consider it challenging, to get a good rate of success. So we spent a lot of time talking about the fine points of the procedure, and the crowd was on the edge of their seats, in rapt attention! As a college professor, I can only wish my regular students had such enthusiasm for and fascination with the topics we discuss! We ended the day with live demonstrations of the methods we had discussed. A local TV station made a video of the entire event, and I was interviewed by them during lunch time.

Dr. Manners demonstrating grafting techniques for mango trees (recorded my local media).

The following day, we had nearly as many people show up for training, so again we were in the outdoor site. This time we did get a bit of rain, but not enough to shut down the program. We discussed production in the orchard — planting trees, tree spacing, plant nutrition and fertilizer programs, pests and diseases and their management, appropriate irrigation practices, and pruning techniques for mango trees. Again, the crowd was totally engaged, and we had another great day!

Bagged fruit to protect against fruit fly infestation

We had originally planned to go to another town to do a similar training, but the hosts there were not able to meet with us, so we changed the schedule a bit to visit with some orange and tangerine growers in Shan State, which is in a higher-elevation area and has a cooler climate. We had a good visit there with a nurseryman, and again, discussed grafting methods for citrus, as well as characteristics of fruit varieties and rootstocks. We also visited some orchards for a discussion of production problems. This was really a discovery mission, with the idea of developing a future scope of work for the area.

From there it was back to Yangon to work on the final report. I’m delighted with the outcome of this project — I think the growers will soon be producing high-quality grafted trees, and within a few years, that will revolutionize their ability to produce a high-quality, high-yielding crop, fit for the export market as well as increased local sales. And that’s what it’s all about!

I found the Winrock staff in Myanmar to be great people to work with — always helpful and thoughtful, and who made sure things happened as they should. I really appreciated that partnership as well.

This week’s blog features, Dr. Cheng-Sheng Lee, Executive Director of the Center for Tropical and Subtropical Aquaculture, an organization jointly administered by the Oceanic Institute and the University of Hawaii. He recently returned from a volunteer assignment in Myanmar where he provided training to catfish farmers and breeders at the Myanmar Fisheries Federation office and a practical training at Yangon University in collaboration with the the USAID-funded Developing a Sustainable Seafood Industry Infrastructure project in Myanmar.

Dr. Lee noted, “The best reward as a volunteer is to work with a group of trainees who are eager to learn. At the conclusion of the workshop, I saw several sub-groups were formed and talking to each other. Later, I was informed that they were organizing a small working group to facilitate communication in the future, it was so great to hear that. I wanted them to network at my first day lecture, but did not expect it would happen right after the workshop. They are one of the best groups I have worked with in my nearly 50-year career in aquaculture. It was so enjoyable to work with them. The local catfish farming industry will expand as the result of this workshop.”

One participant from Maubin University expressed his thanks, saying, “This training helped us organize catfish farmers from different regions and know the existence of laboratory facilities that can help us with testing and research finding.”

Dr. Lee expects that the workshop will lead to an increased number of farmers who will start to spawn stinging catfish during the upcoming spawning season, an increase in production of stinging catfish fingerlings, improved interactions and relationships between farmers and university faculty, an increase in university faculty and students’ interests in aquaculture, and increased communication of the working group following the workshop. Dr. Lee concluded by saying, “I felt my time with them was worthwhile and am inspired to continue doing more volunteer works.”

Dr. Lee in Twante Township, conducting an initial field visit of the catfish farms prior to training.

As a Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) recruiter, my role is to find volunteer agriculture experts that can provide the most positive and measurable impacts to our assignments. I receive the greatest job satisfaction hearing about the volunteers’ experiences and reading the updates from the field staff on impacts. However, it isn’t often that recruiters are able to witness these impacts first-hand. I recently had the opportunity to travel to Myanmar and Nepal to do just that.

In Myanmar, we visited two Farmer-to-Farmer host organizations, which provide assistance in livelihood development for local women in Pindaya and Nyaung Shwe. We then travelled to several villages to meet with the female participants of soap making and business management assignments to see how they were utilizing their training. What struck me was the hospitality shown during each visit. There wasn’t a meeting that didn’t involve green tea and delicious local snacks. We listened to the women’s stories of their opportunities and challenges in starting new businesses, while we munched on rice cakes and fried potatoes. They were excited to share their successes in making new soap products using avocado, tomatoes, lotus pollen, coffee, etc. A few groups eagerly presented their meticulous business management records that were created based on the F2F volunteer’s advice. The women’s groups agreed their ultimate goal was to see sustained profits and business growth. Many of these groups are already well on their way to achieving those goals.

One woman showing off her new soap products

While in Nepal, we traveled to Ramechhap district to meet with youth entrepreneurs who benefited from F2F training on business management. Entrepreneurship seems to come naturally to the people we spoke to. They work hard and have an eye for market opportunities. F2F training helped them build confidence to invest and make informed business decisions. We toured the plant nursery of one of the participants. His enthusiasm was infectious. He is proud of his successes, and the way he has grown his business after applying the techniques he learned in training. He wants to help other young people in his area and surrounding districts to experience the same. The sense of collectiveness in Nepal is inspiring. One can see that even the smallest amount of assistance can and will be replicated to build rural economies.

Binod showing off his plant nursery

In my role, it can be difficult not to view volunteer assignments in terms of flights booked, visas received, travel advances sent, and paperwork completed. It is easy to get lost in the minutiae of recruiting and mobilizing volunteers. Seeing these assignments and their impacts through the lens of a volunteer and the participant has heightened my sense of pride for the Farmer-to-Farmer program, Winrock’s field staff, and the work we do at headquarters.