Saturday, January 22, 2011

Three-Day Tropical Agriculture Workshop

Over 35 persons from Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, the Philippines, Indonesia and beyond met in a simple training hall on the Partners Thailand farm just outside of Chiang Mai.  They were participating in the Three-Day Tropical Agriculture Workshop co-hosted by the ECHO Asia Regional Office and Partners Thailand from January 19-21, 2011. Participants gained hands-on training related to grafting fruit trees, the production of moringa and its products, soap making for development, natural farming of pigs and backyard mushroom production. Additionally, a vermiculture training session, led by Dr. Arnat Tancho, was held nearby on the campus of Mae Jo University.

Other sessions were led by Betsy Langford (former ECHO intern and currently a student at Chiang Mai University's SAIWAM Program), Partners personnel, Boonsong Thansrithong, Sombat Chalermliamthong and Dorothy Kahn, as well as myself.

Feedback from meeting participants indicated that the event was a success. Following this recent exchange of knowledge and skills related to agriculture and community development, I'm certain that participants will be extending what they have learned among their own local networks. Furthermore, I am excited about offering similar workshops for development workers in other Asian countries, beginning with Cambodia in 2012.

ECHO Asia is extremely grateful to Partners Thailand and Mae Jo University for their significant involvement in this event.

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