Mises à jour de ECHOcommunity
EDN Numéro 167 Maintenant disponible 2024-12-17
Sommaire
- Collecte d’eau à l’aide de hafirs : Des enseignements tirés de l’Afrique de l’Est
- Échos de notre réseau: Six principes de paillage
- De la Banque de semences de ECHO: Le haricot Adzuki
- Livres, Sites Web, et Autres Ressources: Outils de sélection des cultures sous-utilisées - VACS, CropBase, ISHS Symposium on Underutilized Crop Species et autres
Collecte d’eau à l’aide de hafirs
Harold Msanya
Extrait:
Assurez-vous que le système d’évacuation est correctement conçu, installé et connecté pour réguler efficacement et en toute sécurité l’évacuation de l’eau du hafir. Le système d’évacuation doit être robuste, facile à utiliser et adapté aux exigences spécifiques de l’utilisation du réservoir, que ce soit pour l’irrigation, le bétail ou l’homme. Il doit être accessible pour une inspection et un entretien réguliers. Incluez des mécanismes permettant d’éliminer les débris ou les obstructions sans nécessiter d’équipement complexe ou de perturbation importante du réservoir. Intégrez un déversoir d’urgence ou déversoir auxiliaire près du système d’évacuation pour gérer l’excès d’eau en cas de fortes pluies ou d’inondations, réduisant ainsi le risque de dommages au réservoir ou à l’infrastructure environnante. Adaptez le système d’évacuation en fonction de l’utilisation principale du hafir. Par exemple, une structure d’évacuation à plusieurs niveaux peut répondre à différents besoins, tels que l’eau pour l’irrigation à un niveau et l’eau pour le bétail à un autre niveau.
From the Farm: Permanent Raised Beds at ECHO North America 2024-12-10
Utilizing raised beds has been a critical component to a successful seed production program for our Seed Bank at ECHO North America. For years we have followed the industry standard practice of temporary raised beds covered with plastic mulch. With no real use for the plastic after the year’s production cycle, we would begrudgingly discard the plastic in the garbage. The effort, expense, tillage, and waste in re-raising beds each year started us on a quest to find a more appropriate solution: is there a better option out there?
To answer this question, we are testing various designs for permanent raised beds. For the first round of testing, we have built beds out of six different materials: bamboo, recycled metal roofing, wood, concrete block, earthbag, and ferrocement. While initial investment cost is a major factor, the expected useful life, maintenance costs, usable growing area, and productivity of each bed will be important considerations.
After an evaluation period, we hope to convert much of our Seed Bank production into permanent raised beds. While we don’t expect one clear winner for all contexts, we hope some of the lessons we are learning in this process might help others determine what the best option might be for them. Stay tuned for more updates along the way!
Welcome Charei Muene, ECHO East Africa Regional Impact Center Director 2024-11-19
ECHO is excited to announce that Mr. Charei Munene has joined us as our new ECHO East Africa Regional Impact Center Director. Charei is a passionate advocate for farmers and a leader in Agroecology and Ecological Organic Agriculture, bringing over 10 years of experience in the African agricultural landscape. Our outgoing East Africa Director, Mr. Erwin Kinsey, will be working alongside Charei and transitioning out in the months to come.
We feel very blessed to work alongside these diligent workers. Please join us in welcoming Charei to the ECHO team!
Best Practice Note 9: Livestock Projects Now Available! 2024-11-12
This ECHO Best Practice Note distills insights from farmers and other specialists who collaborated in promoting livestock as a means to improve rural livelihoods. The author’s experience affirms that livestock are indeed a beneficial part of most agricultural systems, contrary to some modern theories of their obsolescence. I am not referring here to factory-farming but rather to animal raising by smallholder farmers and small-herd pastoralism. Livestock keeping by smallholder farmers and pastoralists, though very different, generally can add value, nutrition, and income diversification to low-income homesteads as well as bolster a viable rural credit program. Passing female offspring on to other resource-limited families, with good local supervision in the selection and preparation of the recipients, has proven successful and creates a local livestock production system.
Excerpt:
Livestock projects are an impetus for introducing environmentally sound farming practices like agroforestry, zero-grazing, proper soil and water conservation, and adoption of animal-friendly practices like provision of feed and water, regular veterinary services, improved breeding initiatives like artificial insemination, and local vaccination programs. East Coast Fever vaccination in cattle and Newcastle disease control in chickens are vital to thriving livestock programs. In the case of Newcastle disease control, developing a sustainable vaccination service by farmers themselves is important because services are too cumbersome for the government to provide countrywide.
Resource Highlight: World Agroforestry Center Nursery Management Manual 2024-11-09
As ECHO technical staff answer questions from the ECHO network, about tree nursery managment one resource stands out among the rest. In 2013 the World Agroforestry Center's published "Nursery management, tree propagation, and markeeting strategy: a training manual for smallholder farmers and nursery operators" which is a detailed and relevant publication specific to smallholder contexts. It has key insights into developing economically viable plans for nurseries and contains best practices that ECHO nurseries use around the world at our various Regional Impact Centers. If you are thinking of starting a nursery or want to improve one you already have, our staff encourage you to look into this vaulable resource.
To view, click here then select "View source"
Don't miss out! Post-Conference Workshops Friday, November 15th 2024-11-02
Friday, November 15th | North Fort Myers, FL
Don't miss out on practical hands-on training the day after the ECHO International Agriculture Conference on the Research and Demonstration Farm. This year, ECHO North America is offering 3 different Post-Conference workshops:
- Cultivate Abundance, Mision Peniel, & ECHO grow, collect, & share nutritious, culturally preferred food for the Immokalee farm worker community. Participants will visit Mision Peniel to see the garden and preparations that go into serving their community.
- The Propagation post-conference workshop will cover topics such as nursery management skills, creating potting mixes, & propagation methods (seed germination, cuttings, division, air layering & grafting). Participants will get hands-on experience grafting.
- Earthen construction holds many advantages over conventional building methods: fire resistance, temperature control, and minimal impact on the environment. A critical advantage is the low cost! This post-conference workshop will cover theory, design, and hands-on practice.
Transportation to/from Hotel and lunch are included.
Scroll down to "Add-on" and select the specific Post-Conference Workshop you'd like to attend!
Add on a Post-Conference Workshop to your Registration!
Formation SIFAT 2024-11-02
Du 20 au 26 septembre, Servants In Faith and Technology (SIFAT; sifat.org/) a organisé une formation sur la sécurité alimentaire et l’agroécologie dans sa ferme de démonstration de La Tigra, à San Carlos, au Costa Rica. Les participants, venus du Honduras, du Guatemala, du Nicaragua, du Costa Rica et d’Haïti, ont commencé chaque journée par une prière et une méditation communes. Les thèmes du développement communautaire comprenaient des formations et des visites pratiques dans des fermes.
ECHO South Asia Commencement Event in India 2024-10-29
November 1, 2024 | 5-9 PM
Heinz Auditorium, New Delhi
Please join us in celebrating the launch of ECHO South Asia! ECHO's new South Asia Regional Team is led by Gladstone Kumar. Gladstone is originally from southern India. Please join us if you are able at the Heinz Auditorium, YMCA in New Delhi. We hope to see you there!
2025-2026 Internship Application Now Open! 2024-10-22
ECHO North America is now accepting internship application for the 2025-2026 Internship Program!
- Applications open October 16, 2024
- Application due by January 20, 2025
- Interviews are conducted in January 2025
- Internships are assigned in February 2025
- Internship begins May 28, 2025
Internship Description
ECHO interns receive academic and hands-on training at ECHO's Small Farm Resource Center learning from experienced farm, seed bank, propagation, appropriate technology, animal specialist, and community development staff. At the end of this 11-month internship, interns will receive a certificate in Tropical Agriculture Development and gain valuable hands-on experience in growing tropical foods, creating trainings in agriculture or community development, harvesting, cleaning and processing seeds, supervising the work of local volunteers, learning to care for livestock, and maining various farming demonstrations.