Figure 5. Participants listened to one of the plenary presentations during the biennial symposium. Source: ECHO East Africa Staff
One of ECHO’s main objectives is to strengthen and expand the network members in the places where it operates. ECHO East Africa was able to hold two symposiums in Arusha, Tanzania, this year. The first was the Symposium on Sustainable Agriculture and Appropriate Technologies held in February, and the second was the First Symposium on Appropriate Technologies Innovations and Renewable Energy held the first week of August. The symposia are among many different events that trigger the expansion and strengthening of the ECHO East Africa network member base. It is an opportunity for different development workers around the globe to meet, share best practices, and network among themselves for the benefit of the people they serve.
The 7th biennial symposium on Best Practices of Sustainable Agriculture and Appropriate Technologies held at the Masailand Safaris and Lodge in Arusha, Tanzania had a total of 167 participants, 110 of whom were males and 57 of whom were women. Visitors came from 15 different countries including Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, Malawi, Canada, Switzerland, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Zambia, Burundi, Rwanda, and Germany. It was a wonderful opportunity for development workers to come together and share best practices for the people they serve in their respective home countries. Afternoon breakout sessions and plenary sessions covered three days of various topics like:
- Agroecology, scaling up conservation agriculture, marketing and value chains, appropriate technologies
- Climate change, agroforestry, environmental conservation, nutrition concerns, farmer credit
- Information communication technology approaches to reach small-scale farmers
- Utilizing Agroecology in your development work by Abram Bicksler, Ph.D.
- Best practices, lessons learned, and challenges in implementing an agroecological transition model in Northern Tanzania
- Promoting Community-Based Conservation – the JGI Experience by Emmanuel Rogers Mtiti
- Research on climate-smart agricultural methods by George Karwani.
- Promoting ‘Maresha’ scale-up through mechanization service providers by Neil Rowe Miller
- Agroecology in practice: the work of SAT Morogoro by Dr. Kizito Mwajombe
- Update on African Orphan Legumes and the registration of Lablab in Tanzania by Dr. Pavithravani B. Venkataramana
Figure 6.TIn her presentation, Ayesiga Buberwa discussed the best methods for implementing an agroecology paradigm in Northern and Eastern Tanzania. Source: ECHO East Africa Staff
ECHO East Africa held a symposium on Appropriate Technology and Renewable Energy at the A1 Hotel & Resort from the 9th through the 11th of August, 2023. The symposium was attended by practitioners and local innovators who presented and discussed possible solutions in relation to appropriate technologies and renewable energy. In total, there were 104 participants (69 men and 35 women) from 9 different countries i.e., the United States of America, Tanzania, Kenya, Burkina Faso, Uganda, Burundi, Thailand, Rwanda, and Canada. Post-symposium tours were held at CAMARTEC, Christopher Kellner’s home, and the ECHO East Africa Impact Center for participants to see the local technologies promoted in the region.
Some of the presentation topics included were:
- Creative Capacity Building and entrepreneurship
- Clean energy / Cooking stoves
- Solar pumps / irrigation
- Biogas technology
- Conservation agriculture mechanization
- Clean water / water harvesting
- Seed saving technologies
- Building options
And many other presentations; to access these current presentations and the previous ones from past symposia please visit www.echocommunity.org.