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…)

Have you ever wondered what Guinea looks like? One of our recently returned volunteers captured some of the sights & scenes of rural Guinea in this video.

Thanks Linhai!

Winrock Farmer-to-Farmer volunteer Anais Troadec traveled to Guinea in Nov/Dec 2012 to provide organizational development training for rice growers cooperatives/unions and beekeeping cooperatives. During her time in Nialya, Guinea, she formed strong bonds with the women, men, and children in the village.

Anais with Nialya school children

Nialya children and the village chief

Inspired by her trip, Anais returned to the US and spoke about her assignment at a meeting of the Hot Springs Village branch of the American Association of University Women (AAUW). Before her eyes, her inspiration led to others’ inspiration… and the AAUW group, in turn, made a donation of over $1400 to support the kids in Nialya!

Anais explains,

“I spoke about the culture, tradition and women’s issues in this small village, and about the school. I had asked for donations for school benches and uniforms (especially for girls) so that more children can attend school in the little village. What a surprise when they gave me this check today!”

Anais and Winrock field staff will work with the community to put together a plan for how to allocate the funds. In the meantime, let us be grateful for Anais’ passion and service, and for the compassion and generosity of the AAUW members who also wanted to contribute to improving lives. Thank you!!

These smiling faces inspire us, too.

One of the important goals of the Farmer-to-Farmer program is to improve international understanding. There are so many examples of how this happens, on every volunteer assignment. While thinking about her trip to Guinea, volunteer Heather Davidson explains what this has meant for her:

“I am very pleased with the outcome of the Farmer-to-Farmer training and am much honored to have been chosen to work with such wonderful people. Personally, I really enjoyed getting to know this beautiful country and its remarkable people. Since this was my first time in Africa, I was able to dispel (and confirm) a great deal about my perceptions of the continent. I am amazed at the positivity and friendliness of the people I have met. Professionally, I hope this experience will open up many doors for me.”

Meet our hardworking, gregarious Farmer-to-Farmer staff in Guinea! Each of these staff play an important role in ensuring that our F2F Guinea program is successful and that our volunteers are safe, well supported, and happy during their time in country.

Below, they each share their thoughts on why they think the Farmer-to-Farmer program is important for their country:

Rachel

Rachel Camara, Country Director, explains: “F2F is good for Guinea because it provides new knowledge to beneficiaries to improve their activities. It also gives opportunity to beneficiaries and Winrock staff to discover American culture and appreciate the value of international solidarity and charity expressed by the volunteer who donates his/her time to make a difference in the lives of people in need.”

Alseny

Alseny Soumah, Agricultural Specialist, explains: “F2F helps our country through technical and organizational capacity building to improve food security in Guinea.”

Conde

Winrock’s driver, Aboubacar Conde, notes: “The F2F program is very good because it allows farmers to improve their skills through the training provided by American volunteers. I, myself, have been very impressed by the trainings.”

Djiba

Cheick “Djiba” Kouyate, Logistician, states: “Having the F2F program is very important for Guinea! The program helps farmers and others to develop food security.”

Souleymane Balde

Souleymane Balde, Financial Manager, asserts: “I think F2F can help our farmers change their behavior by bringing new technology and agricultural science.”