Last Saturday I went to Taste of the World 2012, a benefit for ECHO, so today I decided to take a 90 minute tour of the facility to find out what ECHO is all about.
The ECHO demonstration farm's mission is to provide unique solutions to world hunger. ECHO develops and grows a variety of rare, nutritious food plants that thrive under difficult growing conditions. They also grow a wide selection of tropical fruit trees and plants, including star fruit, bananas, oranges, and bamboo.
One interesting citrus fruit (pictured above) grown on the farm is the Buddha's Hand, a very strongly scented ancient fruit, the rind of which is used to make marmalades, fragrances and perfumes with a citrus base, to flavor fish, in rice dishes and salads, and as a main ingredient when making candy.
Another picture above proves that plants can grow pretty much anywhere, including in a bed of corn cobs or pine cones.
Agricultural workers throughout the world write ECHO with questions about what crops to plant in their region, how to deal with problems like erosion, drought, and pest control. ECHO's staff respond to hundreds of technical questions each year, utilizing personal experience, ECHO's library and global farm, and techniques learned from scientists and overseas workers.
Information is published in ECHO's Development Notes, a highly regarded technical bulletin sent quarterly to agricultural development workers, teachers, missionaries, and scientists overseas.
