This post was originally published August 21st 2013 when my boys were 9, 7, & 5 and we met up with my sister at a local farm to learn more about different countries, cultures, and the programs that Heifer International provide.
We were invited to go check out a local farm that is part of Heifer International today.
Heifer international is a farm program that is designed to help end world hunger by sending live animals to poor countries, families, and areas in order to help them sustain themselves.
There are 4 participating farms in the United States that are part of Heifer International and we are lucky enough to live near one of them.
Overlook Farm is in Rutland, Mass and I have to say by the end of the day I was hooked and vowed we'd definitely head back there again.
Overlook is free for all visitors (though school, church and larger groups, can all schedule more in- depth field trips to learn even more for a small fee per child).
My sister and I were just planning to walk around with the boys and see the animals and tour the mini village they have set up, but we stumbled upon a woman at the front desk who offered to set us up with a quick 8 minute video about Heifer International and a few of the families and communities they help.
She talked to the kids about how the organization works and we all learned so much.
- We learned that they ship cattle, chickens, bees, sheep, pigs, goats, worms, alpacas, etc. to families or organizations in need.
- Young, female animals are given as gifts so that they know the animals will live a long time, will be able to reproduce, and won't need added care that more mature females would need in shipping (like milking).
- We learned that there are 7 "m's" of giving--- by giving a community a live animal they are providing them with 1. Milk, 2. Meat, 3. Muscle (for plowing, planting, and transporting goods like a tractor in the United States) 4. Materials (making leather, or cloth from sheep/ alpaca fur) 5. Money (they can sell milk, eggs, etc. from the animals at a local store to get money for their families) 6. Manure (they can use manure to heat homes, cook food, and fertilize plants to grow better, more abundant crops, 7. (I can't remember the "m" word!!) but the 7th had to do with the empowerment the communities and families feel when they pass on the gift to other local needy families.
- Part of Heifer International's agreement is that the first young female born must be gifted off to another family so that they can prosper and sustain themselves as well.
- We learned that cows are always female, males are called bulls and when they are grazing together in a field they are called cattle.
- We watched a great video that showed a few of the children Heifer International has helped and followed them through their lives.
- One segment showed a girl in China who is in charge of feeding and walking her families goats and chickens. She harvests their foods, cook their meals and is now able to go to school since her family has saved a lot of money not having to buy expensive fertilizers anymore. She was not able to start school until she was 9 and works hard to catch up to her peers.
The video only lasted 8 minutes but gave us a great sense of what their lives were like and how much Heifer International improved their standard of living.
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Watching the movie-- notice all the authentic artifacts around the room! |
After watching the video, we headed out to tour the barns and see the animals.
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Even a trip to the bathroom was educational! Signs showing bathrooms
from around the world! |
We pet and fed hay to some of the animals before we headed into the village.
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Feeding the goats. The boys loved the baby goats too. |
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Petting the sheep. We noticed some had been sheered and other had not. |
By far, my favorite part of the day was the global village.
Set up along some paths in one area of the farm, the global village shows what houses, animals, crops/ gardens, etc. are like in various regions around the world where Heifer International has helped out.
We learned so much about geography, different cultures, and practices. It was pretty neat.
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We headed into the global village |
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Our first stop-- Peru |
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Alec tried out a flute |
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A display is in each house/ hut-- clothing from the area, toys, games, maps, brooms and tools. |
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Each village house has a garden with unusual plants growing and labeled |
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Next stop-- Guatemala! |
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each community building has animals nearby |
Such sweet memories! :)
ReplyDeleteThey sure are.
DeleteWhat an incredible organization and how cool are all those displays depicting part of the culture from various countries. Very neat. I'll bet your boys (and you!) learned so much!!
ReplyDeleteI did learn a lot too and they had such a fun day that they hardly even realized they were learning.
DeleteAwww so many memories of a wonderful day. The global village looks so interesting!
ReplyDeleteRuth@playworkeatrepeat
Thanks!
DeleteWow! That is so cool, I had no idea you could do this.
ReplyDeleteI didn't either but it really was such a neat experience.
DeleteWhat a wonderful farm and organisation. It sounds like such a fun and educational day out.
ReplyDeleteIt sure was!
DeleteWhat a fun place to visit.
ReplyDeleteWe always meant to go back... but years later I discovered they had shut down.
DeleteAh, I just love this! I so need to go on field trips again:)
ReplyDeleteThey definitely make learning more fun.
DeleteOur old church would collect money every year to send to Heifer International. I had no idea they had actual farms set up for it, though. What a wonderful experience for your boys and you.
ReplyDeletehttps://marshainthemiddle.com/
I had never heard of Heifer International before this; what a neat organization.
DeleteGosh, what a fabulous program. It's so heartwarming that there are companies that help out this way, and that we can help too.
ReplyDeleteXOOX
Jodie
It really is!
DeleteJoanne, this is wonderful!!! I'm so happy you shared this. I had been looking into organizations that I can sponsor an individual or family. I bookmarked this because it's something I'd be interested in. Thank you again. You made my day!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for hosting
Visiting today from Encouraging Hearts & Home #27&28
Aw, thank you! I am so glad you liked it.
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