Growing Knowledge & Building Partnerships

Farmer to Farmer volunteer, Ralph Bucca, shared some photos from his work in Guyana. The volunteer constructed solar dryers for the preservation and dehydration of fruit and vegetables. Farmer to Farmer volunteer, Ralph Bucca with the newly constructed solar dryer in Mainstay. Farmer to Farmer volunteer with 2 carpenters and FTF field officer, Ryan Nedd (on right). A FTF volunteer hard at work! And the solar dryer gets put to the test...

Nutrition volunteer from Wisconsin in Nicaragua We are recruiting for volunteers in various areas! See our list of open assignments by clicking on "Open FTF Volunteer Assignments" to the right under Related Links . We update the list periodically and we are always collecting resumes of interested individuals for our database for future assignments that come available. Who are FTF volunteers? FTF Volunteers come from a wide variety of backgrounds. Many are involved in agriculture education through extension or university systems, whereas others are farmers, consultants, veterinarians, beekeepers, graphic or web designers, or business people. Some are retired and some are PhD students. All are interested in sharing their time and skills with communities abroad and getting to know a different part of the world. We look forward to hearing from you!

For the past week, volunteer Robert Spencer has been in Haiti training and learning together with Makouti Agro Enterprise and the Haiti FTF Team. Robert is a farm owner and employee of the Alabama Cooperative Extension, and he has garnered the support of his colleagues at the USDA FSIS who have generously supported his trip by donating meat thermometers which will be distributed to restaurants and supermarkets to improve food safety. This past week Robert has begun conducting a second level training in meat quality assurance, building on the knowledge base presented during his 2010 trip, as well as experimenting with changes in processing and packaging of meat products which have already improved the appearance and safety of the product. He is also having a great time trying his hand at rooftop beekeeping, drinking Haitian coffee, and eating delicious Haitian food. Thank you Robert for sending in these photos and we hope to have more updates on your trip as it progresses! Volunt...

FTF Volunteers discuss the pesticide-safety chart at Hauraruni The Guyana Farmer to Farmer Program has three volunteers in country now, all of whom are returning to follow up after their first visits years ago. Below are some photos and an informal "day to day" commentary which sheds light on the activities and adventures of a FTF volunteer. Volunteer Ralph Bucca is focusing on food preservation, through drying fruit in solar dryers and preserving fruit in locally-made wine. He snagged some time at a computer with an internet connection to write: "Spent Sunday thru Tuesday getting orientated and preparing for building a solar food dryer (SFD) at the Guyana School of Agriculture. It’s hot here so I got a haircut and shave, and bought a Yucatan styled shirt. I priced out the materials for the sfd and met with the carpenter to explain it. Will build it next week when I return from the west coast. There are 2 other volunteers here, Toxicology experts, who created and...

Farmer to Farmer volunteer, Jeff Neville, provided technical assistance to dairy cooperatives in the areas of packaging and labeling.  Some excerpts from his trip report provide useful information regarding designing good and effective labels. "Designing a good label involves the combined work of the manager in charge of marketing and a professional designer. The manager in charge of marketing provides the basic direction of the design and the professional designer has the artistic talent and the capability of working with a computer design program to produce the finished design. The marketing manager’s role in label design is to make sure the final design satisfies the marketing goal of gaining the consumer’s attention, making a good impression on her and finally getting her to buy the product. A good label results from the efforts of both of these key people.  The professional designer provides the artistic talent and ensures good aesthetics of the design and the marketin...

Farmer to Farmer volunteers, Nancy Flores, an Extension Food Safety Specialist and Del Jimenez, an Extension Agricultural Specialist, both with New Mexico State University were highlighted in the University's News Center. The volunteers gave trainings in Good Manufacturing Practices and Good Agricultural Practices to students and professors at Instituto Superior de Agricultura in Santiago, Dominican Republic. To read more, please visit the article . FTF volunteer, Nancy Flores working with students in a food technology class.

This update on the beekeeping project in Haiti comes from our Farmer to Farmer Field Staff. They wished to share a few photos and information with previous FTF-Haiti volunteers and blog readers.   Inspection of modern hive Our Haiti coordinator was quick to point out that in this photo above, you have several people working in the hive but none have any protective gear. Still, they are working with confidence in the hive. Fear of bees is an obstacle to many would-be beekeepers in Haiti, and some people who keep bees remain afraid of them. Farmer to Farmer volunteers provide training in improving hive management skills, resulting in better beekeepers and less aggressive behavior in bee colonies.   Top bar heavy with honey Some Haitian beekeepers have begun to experiment with the Kenya Top Bar Hive, or Long Hive, over the past few years. This type of hive is cheaper and easier to construct locally compared to modern Langstroth-type hive. Several beekeepers now have a KT...

Partners of the Americas' Farmer to Farmer Program continues to bring best practices and technical expertise to the dairy industry in Nicaragua. In collaboration with FAVACA, highly skilled volunteers have been recruited and traveled to Nicaragua. To read more about the work of volunteers please see recent updates.

Two Farmer to Farmer - Haiti Volunteers describe challenges and opportunities in the Haitian coffee industry in this news video clip from KGO-TV San Francisco, which aired on the one-year anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti. Myriam Kaplan-Pasternak and Yves Gourdet's efforts to help Haitian farmers improve and market their coffee abroad did not stop when their Farmer to Farmer assignments ended. Click below to view the video!