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About the Impact Center

ECHO West Africa 2016 Report Page 4 Image 2

Those pictured were trained on several themes such as Farming God's Way, bio-digester construction, compost making, gardening, and livestock.

The ECHO West Africa Impact Center seeks to extend their services to equip those working across the Region to more effectively engage women and men in the area of agriculture. Functioning primarily as a
technical support organization, the Impact Center Team joins with community development organizations and workers to enable small-scale farmers and gardeners to nurture their soil and animals,
increase their production, improve their nutrition, and enhance their livelihoods.

ECHO’s training focuses not only on agriculture, but on improving the living conditions of small-scale farmers, and we are interested in agriculture, health, food, environment, income, etc.  Our trainings are very practical and at the end of each session each participant is able to practice what they have learned and pass along their training to others.

 

Following the training campaign comes the period of follow-ups and evaluations. Our training teams traveled to almost all the localities where they gave training to follow up on the implementation of the techniques taught. So, for example, Bobo, Kouka, Solenzo, Bomboila, Koran, Dedougou, Djibo, Kayibo, Laye, Leo, Ourbono, Siby, Dakoro, Sanekui, Toma, and Tougan were followed and accompanied in the application of the various techniques taught By ECHO.

 

Trainings conducted in 2022

The ECHO West Africa Team directly equipped 3,392 women and men in 2021.  They have been systematically following up with the trainee groups/communities to encourage and support their implementation of the plants, practices, and methods/technologies that were shared.

Trainings are actively underway in 2022 and are being conducted with communities, partner organizations, and educational institutions.  For security reasons, scheduled trainings are not being listed.  However, the West Africa Impact Center Team will welcome your interest and inquiry.  Please contact e-mail them at:  WestAfrica@echocommunity.org


Services

  • Hosting conferences and forums which offer training and networking opportunities to network members;
  • Facilitating regular regional workshops in West African countries, often in partnership with local organizations, to provide technical training and networking opportunities to the network;
  • Providing a wide range of technical resources through ECHOcommunity.org and from the office located in Burkina Faso;
  • Offering technical responses to network members inquiring with agriculture and community development questions;
  • Offering consultations to network members on a case-by-case basis;
  • Involvement in regionally important research and information dissemination.

 

 

 

Contact:

Robert Sanou

ECHO West Africa 2016 Report Page 3 Image 1

Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

westafrica@echocommunity.org

Tel: +226 25370054
Tel: +226 73679902

West Africa Updates

ECHOcommunity Member Spotlight: Mr. Tuntun and Thaung Si 2020-04-08

Excerpt from a report by Patrick Trail – ECHO Asia

As I walk the farm with Mr. Tuntun in rural Myanmar, I can’t help but smile as he proudly shows me the biochar he now makes and uses in his potting mix for his fruit tree seedlings. Instead of burning, he now turns his organic waste material from the farm into a valuable resource that can be used to produce more crops, instead of losing his carbon to the atmosphere through smoke.

About one year ago, Mr. Tuntun attended a Seed Saving Workshop in Pyin Oo Lwin and learned how to make biochar during one of the hands-on sessions. He immediately returned home and tried it for himself, and has been very successful. Mr. Tuntun now even hosts a facebook page where he shares his farming techniques with other Burmese-speaking farmers, explaining practices like biochar, among others!

Thaung Si and TunTun

Thaung Si (left) and Tuntun (right) showing off sword bean seed that came from the ECHO Asia Seed Bank and is now being grown out to supply the seed bank there in Myanmar.

So much of what has happened here stems from our key partner in this region, Mr. Thaung Si. As a longtime friend and partner of ECHO Asia, Thaung Si has joined us for training events on numerous occasions and we have learned much from him as well. Three years ago he established a Community Seed Bank at the Lisu Baptist Theological Seminary. Through his seed bank he teaches agriculture and gardening practices to students, and has had a major impact on many lives, sowing seeds of many different types. It was here that Mr. Tuntun and nearly one hundred other local farmers and participants received the training in Biochar and other techniques last year, and Thaung Si follows up with them regularly.

The community of ECHO has many partners as dedicated as Thaunag Si throughout the region, and around the world. These partners, when well equipped, are capable of equipping so many more!

About West Africa

"West Africa is a highly diverse region in terms of agro-climatic conditions and agricultural production potential, as well as with respect to the distribution of vulnerable populations. In general, the northern regions of coastal countries and the landlocked Sahelian countries are relatively food insecure and impoverished. Additionally, rapid urbanization in the region is leading to increasing numbers of urban poor. The population in this region is expected to grow 100 percent between 2010 and 2050, compared to the global growth rate of 38 percent. Population growth combined with low increases in productivity could further tighten resources and increase food insecurity.

Chronic undernutrition and food availability are core challenges to food security in West Africa. Critical gender concerns related to food security include the inability of women to hold on to land and to make decisions regarding household expenditure and consumption, as well as women having less capital than men.

There is ample evidence that the agriculture sector—which accounts for 35 percent of West African gross domestic product and 15.3 percent of regional export earnings—and in particular food staples, is the best engine for generating sustained, rapid and pro-poor economic growth." - Feed The Future  

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