Micro-Hydro for the Global Farm

During a visit in May by ECHO's President/CEO, Stan Doerr, he requested that we purchase a few micro-hydro generators from a shop in Chiang Mai to demonstrate at ECHO's Global Farm as well as to take to ECHO's East Africa Impact Center in Arusha, Tanzania.  The shop sells various sizes of units with the capacity to generate electricity of 600 watts and higher.  I bought three of the 1 kw units.

One type of generator has a three-inch intake pipe to accommodate an adequate volume of water (5-8 liters/second) with a minimum drop of 5 meters required to spin the turbine. The second type of unit has a shaft with a rotor extending from the turbine.  These units are designed to be installed in penstocks in which water drops vertically between 6-10 ft. (1.8 m – 3.1 m); the required degree of drop will depend on the generating capacity of each turbine.  To accomplish this, an adequate flow of water must be directed via a channel into a properly designed penstock in which a vortex is created that will cause the rotor to spin.

In June we hauled all three generators to the ECHO Global Farm in Ft. Myers, Florida.  Upon arrival, ECHO's Appropriate Technology Intern, Craig Bielema, worked many hours to set up one of the generators in a suitable location for demonstration.

An ECHO Asia document called "Micro-Hydro in Myanmar and Thailand" that introduces the concept of such practical technology can be downloaded as a PDF from this site: http://www.echocommunity.org/resource/collection/F6FFA3BF-02EF-4FE3-B180-F391C063E31A/Micro-Hydro_in_Myanmar_and_Thailand.pdf

Crops from Chiang Mai Off to a Great Start in Fort Myers

Tim, Andy and Marcie with the white thorn rattan seedlings

ECHO, International is located at the ECHO Global Farm in Ft. Myers, Florida. This 50-acre farm demonstrates practical ideas for growing food under difficult conditions in tropical climates to over 14,000 guests each year.  Many of the visitors are agricultural and community development workers serving the poor worldwide.

Vegetable taro seedlings

Hundreds of different crops are grown at ECHO's Global Farm, including tropical fruit trees, grains, oil crops and vegetables; many of which are underutilized and/or challenging to locate.

In May, ECHO intern, Kimberly Duncan, and I prepared a shipment of unique Asian crops for the Global Farm.  A box full of propagatable plant materials (cuttings and bulbs) of vegetable fern (Diplazium esculentum), vegetable taro (Colocasia esculenta), snowflake tree (Trevesia palmata) and leaf pepper (Piper sarmentosum) as well as seeds of Job's tears (Coix lacryma-jobi) was sent from Chiang Mai to Ft. Myers via express mail.  Of course, the plant materials were inspected and certified by phytosanitary officials both in Chiang Mai and Miami.

Ellen with vegetable fern, snowflake tree and leaf pepper seedlings

Visiting the Global Farm in July and anxious to see how the recently arrived plants were faring, I was delighted to find that each crop had not only survived the trip, but had been expertly "stuck" and/or planted by the Global Farm staff.  Healthy white thorn rattan seedlings (Calamus viminalis) growing from seed that we sent from Chiang Mai two year ago were also growing in the nursery.

Hopefully, these crops will continue to thrive at the Global Farm, serving not only as teaching tools but sources of nutrition there as well.

Job's tears seedlings ready to be transplanted into one of the field plots

Breathing the Air of Self-Reliance by Kimberly Duncan, ECHO Asia Intern

In the interest of continued development and improving our service to our network partners, the staff, volunteers, and interns of ECHO Asia’s Seed Bank recently took a field trip to visit the organic farming community in Mae Tha, Thailand, about 5 hours south of our Seed Bank facility in Fang, and about an hour southwest of ECHO Asia’s Office in Chiang Mai.  Thirty years ago, under the leadership of Khun Por Phat, this community began questioning the sweeping trends of large-scale, chemical vegetable production and, forming a cooperative, started concentrating its efforts on growing food in ways that it felt would best nourish its people, preserve the environment, and leave a heritage for its future generations.

The lush green and the lightness of the air were the first impressions to greet our travel-weary group upon arrival.  Thereafter, it seemed that each member found something fascinating and relevant to his or her own focus transplanted from our daily jobs to this determinedly chemical-free community.

 “The companion planting!” exclaimed our Production Manager, Leu, eagerly.   (He and another ECHO Asia intern, Jen, have been working closely on the issue of pest management in our own seed production plots.)  “Pumpkins, chilies, bottle gourd and beans being grown and trellised together!  “Oh and see the basil with the eggplant!”  “And the flowers!  Kimberly, did you see the flowers they were growing around the plots to attract beneficial insects?”

“Yes! Biodiversity seemed key,” agreed Jen, after the visit  “Their emphasis on indigenous vegetable varieties and their care of the soil appeared absolutely critical to their ability to produce healthy plants and ones that will withstand the current changes in climate and environment.”

The raised, net-covered seedling nursery and seed-drying racks struck our technician, Asang.  Ongoing run-ins with pests of every kind in our nursery, not to mention fungus, have given him a run for his money. 

“Don’t forget Khun Por Phat’s charisma, though,” chimed in James (another intern).  “He’s the one that took the time to observe the growing patterns inherent in the natural world, think through the long-term effects of chemical inputs, and ultimately convince his neighbors and friends that organic farming practices and local plants were to be preferred to hybrids and heavy pesticides.  And remember the farmers who shared with us on our visits to their farms?!  What about that lady who has only been practicing organic farming for 3 years?  She understands what she is doing and why it works.  She didn’t just spout some ‘chemical free’ mantra, but was able to explain the differences she has seen in her farm, her vegetables, and her family’s health since she began.

All of our local staff was impressed with the long-rang planning of one farmer for his family.  Being the father of a single daughter, he has anticipated her and her mother’s needs down the road when he might not be around to support them any more by planting teak trees.  "In 20 years they’ll be large and valuable enough to sell for whatever they may need," he informed us.

Our big-picture lady, Ruth summarized our two days of visits and farmer interviews:  “It’s what we’re doing.  ECHO Asia’s approach is one of service to our network.  Mae Tha’s is doing ‘community development’ from within.

While we focused on the particulars most relevant to our individual work and family challenges at present, Khun Po Phat, in a sala over looking the agroforest he’s been nurturing for 25 years from the soil of a once barren hill, reflected on the sum total of what clean air, healthy soil, and strong plants actually add up to.  “Feel that breeze.  Isn’t it delicious?” he inquired stretching into it. “We’re free, we have everything we need, and we’re happy!”

Preparing for a Biochar Study

Biochar is basically charcoal used as a soil amendment.  It is promoted as a means of improving soil and as an approach for sequestering carbon to help mitigate climate change.  

During the October 2011 ECHO Asia Agriculture and Community Development Conference, Dr. Karl Frogner introduced the concept of biochar and demonstrated how char can be produced from bamboo (see Dec 7, 2011 blog http://sustainabilityquest.blogspot.com/2011/12/echo-asia-biochar-trial.html).  Prior to that, in an ECHO Asia Notes article, Biochar: An Organic House for Microbes, Bryan Hugill described the role of biochar for both agriculture and carbon sequestration.

In May, Dr. Abram Bicksler, a faculty member of the Chiang Mai-based ISDSI (http://www.isdsi.org/) and research advisor for ECHO Asia, began setting up a planned biochar trial to be implemented at the ECHO Asia Seed Bank.  Finely ground bamboo char was mixed with ground  up, composted cow manure and set aside for a three-month long period.  During this time the bamboo char is expected to absorb nutrients and microbes from the manure.  Around September, the biochar/manure mixture will be established in select plant beds so as to monitor and compare the crop performance and soil properties of beds receiving biochar and those receiving only char or cow manure.

As with other ECHO Asia trials, we will be sharing results from this biochar study.

Moringa Variety Trial at the ECHO Asia Seed Bank

Due to moringa's impressive nutritional benefits as well as the water-purifying abilities of its seed, there is no shortage of interest in this crop.  ECHO distributes huge amounts of moringa seed each year.  However, there is still a shortage of information regarding the regional availability and suitability of moringa lines, whether those that have been selectively bred, such as PKM 1 and PKM 2, or landraces (local/traditional varieties developed mostly by local processes).

The ECHO Asia Seed Bank is pleased to host a moringa variety trial being conducted by Dr. Ricky Bates, Associate Professor of Horticulture at Penn State University.  In late May, Dr. Bates and members of the ECHO Asia team established seedlings from 20 lines of moringa.  From these selections, he hopes to select varieties that grow and perform particularly well in the sub-humid, tropical climate of northern Thailand.  We look forward to sharing results in the coming months and years.

Last Day of Training in Yangon by Ruth Tshin

Sack garden demonstration

We concluded the last day of our seed saving training in Yangon on Friday.  Covering topics of how to store seeds, the importance of germination, and information management, we continued discussions with MBC staff and farmers about linkages between seed saving and sustainable thinking.  Kimberly shared findings from her year-long study of managing pests in stored seeds and I put on my plant biology hat to talk about seeds as living potential and various ways to test seed quality through germination and planting out in soil.  Attendees continued to share their methods for saving and testing seeds with the group.

There is a hunger for practical, income-generating techniques here in Myanmar and we're privileged to be working with MBC as they continue to promote sustainable approaches with their farmers.  

One of our attendees stores onion seeds by letting a candle extinguish inside a closed container to create a light vacuum.

Another Day of Seed Saving Training by Ruth Tshin

Taking notes during our lively discussion

Putting seeds on the screen to dry after cleaning

Today we had more lively discussions as workshop attendees talked about economic barriers to sustainable practices in their communities. Kim taught the difference between annual and perennial plants, the effects of day-length on growth and details of pollination.  In the afternoon, I led a discussion about cleaning and drying seeds before our whole group pitched in to clean seeds from local tomatoes, pumpkin, ivy gourd and wax gourd.   So far, we've collected up to 15 varieties of seed to plant out at the seedbank, including  corn, bean, and pumpkin from Kayah State, and red sesbania from the Irrawaddy Delta area.

Kimberly teaching about day length and pollination

All hands on deck for the seed cleaning demonstration