My name is Michelle Boutell, and I started my Monsoon Internship at ECHO in March 2020. I’m originally from the San Francisco Bay area and had just graduated from UC Davis a week prior with a degree in International Agricultural Development when I started interning at ECHO. 

God used my studies and former positions to confirm my interest in providing easily accessible agricultural information to small-scale farming communities, and I was led to apply to the internship.

I’ve been so grateful to work outdoors with plants this past year while our world was sheltering in place. It was a strange time to start a new position, but learning how to grow food for local communities, teach others about agriculture, and answer network questions has been a fun, growth-filled experience. I feel as though I’m learning as much about honoring others and God through how I work as about agriculture (and I’ve been learning a lot about agriculture!). 

These days, I’m excited about my projects related to the postharvest preservation of high-value
crops. I’ve loved being able to deeply study topics and communicate them to other interns and our network. Finding out that reading and synthesizing information is a crucial part of agricultural development has been a huge part of my ECHO internship.

Later this year, I’ll be moving to Japan to work with a mission organization in Kyoto. I’m excited to see how God will use everything I’ve learned here, from the interpersonal to the botanical. To Him be all the honor and glory forever.