About UsCynthia and Gregory first developed a connection to Mali while serving as Peace Corps Volunteers there from 1999-2001 and 1997-1999 respectively. Since their Peace Corps service Greg and Cynthia have continued to foster and maintain close ties to Mali, returning numerous times in various roles. Their observations of and experience in development efforts in Mali left them frustrated and questioning why most international development organizations hire western ex-pats at an incredible cost (salaries, housing, transportation, private cooks and guardians) to do what Malian farmers could do far more effectively and at a much lower cost. They have also seen how relatively small sums of money can work wonders in the hands of rural agricultural entrepreneurs. So they decided to create an organization founded upon the lessons learned from their observations and experience. ECOVA MALI provides salaries to accomplished Malian farmers to train other farmers in sustainable agriculture techniques. ECOVA MALI also provides start-up capital in the form of micro-loans and mini-grants for the creation and development of worker-owned and managed, sustainable agricultural enterprises based on principles of environmental and social responsibility. We are excited to announce that Cindy, Greg, and ECOVA MALI are prominently featured in the new book of the NY Times Best-Selling Author, John Perkins, "The Secret History of the American Empire".
Cindy Hellmann aka "Nanténé Keita"
Greg Flatt aka "Moctar Diarra"
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Cynthia Hellmann grew up in the Midwest but has spent the last 12 years in Vermont, minus the 2 years she spent in Mali, West Africa as a Peace Corps Volunteer from 1999-2001. She was an Agriculture Extension Agent in the Peace Corps, and while she lists community garden organizing as her primary project in her official Description of Service, her true project was becoming a trusted member of her village, learning a Malian language and becoming deeply immersed in the various cultures and peoples of Mali. She considers dispelling the myths of international development and the peoples of Africa her most important work as a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer.
Cindy has a Master's degree in Sustainable Development and a Bachelor's degree in Psychology. She has experience as the director of a local food shelf and day shelter, an organic farmer, an agricultural consultant, a researcher, a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) specialist, the co-founder of a winter farmers' market in Brattleboro Vermont, a public policy advocate, a teacher, and a production assistant for a documentary film. Cindy is also a talented singer and performs locally with many different musicians.
Greg was born and raised in Princeton, Massachusetts. From 1997 to 1999, Greg served in the Peace Corps in Mali as an Agriculture Extension Agent. Living and working in the small Bambara village of Niana-Sobala (population of300), where the people practiced subsistence agriculture, was a life changing experience. He was struck by the friendliness, resourcefulness, skill, and overwhelming hospitality of the Malian people. Greg has a Master's degree in Sustainable Development and a Bachelor's degree in Anthropology. He has experience as an agricultural consultant, an organic farmer, a specialist in Community Supported Agriculture, a teacher, the director of a local affordable housing non-profit director, and a translator. He also worked as the "location fixer" and associate producer for a documentary film crew in Mali, which culminated in an episode on the origins Timbuktu's fame for the History Channel's "Digging for the Truth" series. Greg, also a guitarist and singer, returned to Mali in 2000 to record the full-length album, "Zou et Moctar - LA SAUCE" with a dozen talented Malian musicians, which is now remastered and available on CD.