ECHO Field Trip

Our trip to ECHO was a humbling and eye opening experience. I had previously been there once before in middle school, but found this trip to be much more rewarding and educational. ECHO (Educational Concerns for Hunger Organization) is a non-profit, inter-denominational Christian organization located on a demonstration farm in North Fort Myers. “ECHO exists to improve the abilities of community development workers assisting poor farmers by providing useful, important information and by networking their skills and knowledge with one another. ECHO simply does not "teach" people how to farm, but instead they work to make farmers more effective at growing food-producing crops under harsh conditions.” They do this through core services such as education and training, innovative options and networking.

During this trip I found ECHO to be much larger then I originally remembered it, mainly because ECHO has expanded to nearly 50 acres.  By just walking around the farm you get this sense that the people that work and volunteer at ECHO are truly genuine and care about what they are doing. To run an entire farm solely to benefit not only farmers in our nation but around the entire world is truly a great accomplishment and gift.

Upon our arrival we were told that our tour guide was the best ECHO had to offer! Before starting the tour he gave us a brief insight into ECHO’s mission and purpose. Throughout the tour he provided overviews of each region within the farm and the advancements that have been made.  He also explained how everything was grown in each specific climate, as well as what each crop was and how it was important to that area of the world.  All in all it was a great experience!