ECHO Farm and the Food Footprint...

Our trip to ECHO farm was a great experience. I have never heard of ECHO Farm before so this was interesting. ECHO operates Regional Impact Centers, strategically located around the world to bring much-needed agricultural resources within reach of the small-scale farmers that need them. Regional Impact Centers are located in Chiang Mai, Thailand, Arusha, Tanzania, and Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, with a long-term research project in soil science based near Modimolle, South Africa. 

                                                      Entrance to ECHO Farm, Fort Myers, FL

                                                                 Photo Credit: Carolina Ortiz

During our trip I learned that there are many different ways to be sustainable.For example, ECHO Farm does a great job of reusing whatever materials or waste they produce. They have a worm bed that helps create compost, that is in turn used to spread on the different plants on the farm and this helps them grow. The worms are places in an enclosed enclosure and given scraps of paper, scraps of vegetables, grass cuttings, and manure. The manure comes from the pigs that are raised on ECHO. This is another way how ECHO maintains it's sustainability.

Inside the worm compost bed.
Photo Credit: Carolina Ortiz

The Worm Compost Bed
Photo Credit: Carolina Ortiz

 During our trip we encountered many plants that I have never seen before or even heard of. Two of the plants/tree that really stuck out to me were the Cranberry Hibiscus, which is a plant that is red in color and its leaves are edible, and as you can tell by its name they taste like cranberries. I also thought the Moringa tree was quite fascinating because its leaves can be used to purify water and on top of that fresh Moringa leaves have many beneficial properties even more so than vitamins.

Moringa Properties
Photo Credit: Carolina Ortiz

Cranberry Hibiscus
Photo Credit: Carolina Ortiz

This trip has made me see that my foot footprint is quite heavy. As I take a step back and self reflect, I see that the majority of my food is imported. Purchasing locally grown food not only lessens your impact on the environment but it also contributes to your local community and the local farmers. During our Terry Tempest Dialogue we created " I will" statements. I wanted to end my journal with this I Will statement....I will promise myself to make more of an effort to purchase locally grown foods, such as vegetables and fruit.