Written by Maike Looman, intern Agriterra
From August to November, I conducted an internship in Kenya for Agriterra. The goal of this internship was to increase the uptake of bio-solutions production and sales for 4 coffee cooperatives located in Kericho county by creating specific marketing strategies for each cooperative. In this blog I will share my experiences.
On Friday night on the 9th of August, I arrived in Nairobi. The first thing I actually noticed when I was on my way to the hotel with the cab driver was that there were people everywhere walking along the highway and just crossing, which never happens in the Netherlands.
The next morning, the cab driver had taken me to my Airbnb where I would stay for the next 4 months. Then I immediately met my roommates, and it clicked right away.
On Monday morning I went to the office where I met my supervisor, Emmanuel, the rest of team and also my fellow with whom I would be doing the internship with. Not even 2 hours later we were travelling to the field in Kericho to attend a training that Emmanuel was going to give to 2 of the 4 cooperatives for which we would do the research.
During this training session we also met Henry Sang, the cooperative advisor in Kericho. During the internship period, we traveled with him to all 4 cooperatives to conduct our research and he guided us very well! In these 4 months we divided our time in the field in Kericho and in Nairobi.
We have interviewed several members of each cooperative to discover their opinions on the bio-solutions. The interviews were conducted with the board member(s), cooperative manager, production manager, extension officers and farmers. Especially the opinions of the farmers gave us very relevant insights. It was really inspiring to talk to these farmers and to learn about their way of living. I learned a lot from them on a personal level!
Based on this data we used several marketing models to create the marketing strategies for each cooperative. We presented these strategies to the cooperatives and created action plans with them for implementation. When we created these action plans with them, I was already in my last week of the internship, but this was actually the best part.
What made it special for was how enthusiastic the farmers and staff were. They shared ideas, asked questions, and showed much excitement about making changes. I loved their energy, and I was very happy and proud to be part of their journey. I had a very great time out in the field!
Also, the time that I spent in Nairobi was wonderful. All the colleagues in the office were very nice and it was a very pleasant working atmosphere. In addition, I made a lot of friends and did a lot of fun activities. For example, I went on safari to Amboseli national park, climbed Mount Longonot and cycled through Hell's gate national park. I also tried all the delicious food from all kinds of different restaurants and visited a number of festivals and clubs!
This internship has been an amazing experience for me, and I learned a lot on both professional and personal level. I had to step out of my comfort zone and have broaden my horizon. I have made wonderful memories and will definitely miss Kenya. Hopefully I will find my way back someday!