ECHO

We went up to the ECHO farms today for their family day. Check out there website, www.echonet.org , for all the information about them. They research and provide clean water and food to areas that would normally not be able to grow their own food. It is a very interested place. I learned that rice is only grown in water to help with weeds. Also that you can grow plants without soil, yep socks and used water bottles/soda cans. Very interesting stuff. Today they had many demonstration and workshops to participate in. Way to much for one day. We will be making another trip up there one of these days.

Faith was picked to help with pressing the sugar cane. He told her it would be easy the first time but each time after it would get harder and she might need some help. She did so good and pressed the whole piece herself. Then she got to taste the juice. The kids seemed to like it but I thought it tasted terrible.

Luke is processing some peanut butter. They put Planters peanuts in the grinder, ground it up and then put it on some crackers. The peanut butter tasted good. Can't go wrong with Planters peanuts.

Many places they help don't have electricity. They showed us how they get water from the well with no electricity. There were some you hand cranked, some you pulled like a rowing machine and then some like a step machine. Luke enjoyed them all. I might have to put one of these at my house for hurricane season. When the electricity goes out I'll just send Luke out to pump me some water.

There was a pavilion with all kinds of hands on grinders, shellers, stoves, planting equipment and so much more. Faith is grinding corn.

Some crafts for fun. Decorating a magnet with seeds
Painting a flower pot and planting a sunflower in it and also some leaf pressing.

A great day of hands on learning, my favorite.