For my LiA project, I'll be working with Nortico Cacao Farm in Costa Rica! They focus on sustainable cacao production through their own farm and through the Soil Alliance, which supports local farmers in their cacao crops.

What went well?

My first week at Nortico focused on getting to know the farm, its goals and issues, its story and its personnel. This has been very insightful and important for my LiA project, as it led me to change its focus given the needs I identified. As most cacao farms, Nortico is a small-scale operation, meaning that there are very few people to manage all that a farm entails: demanding fieldwork, administrative tasks, funding acquisition, client relations and more. Therefore, an important problem that has not been addressed is data management. This is something key prior to advancing in any other projects in the farm and with other farmers, since without data we cannot know what is working and what is needed in the plantations. Furthermore, data management tools have to be designed in a way that is accessible to farmers given educational and technological limitations, while still allowing insightful agricultural analyses.

Having identified this issue and in conversations with farm staff, I decided to work in developing data management tools for the farm and their allied farmers. I evaluated different options and decided to use the Google Suite tools to develop Forms and Sheets that allow registration of the most important field activities and the organization of this information, in such a way that is accessible and effective to both farmers and administrators in the future.

What could have been done differently?

Given that the main focus of my project changed, the milestones will also change, but they follow a similar logic. I did get to know more about the farm and familiarize with the staff in this first week, which was my original goal, including participating in one of their cacao tours. However, I feel like I could have interacted more with farm staff, particularly with the fieldworker, to get better acquainted with all aspects of the farm. I think I focused too much on technical aspects of the possible tools for data management, and instead I could have benefited more from communicating with farm staff.

What did I learn about myself when working with others?

I learned that I am a good independent worker. Given the small operation of the farm, they do not have the time to guide me extensively, and a lot of things come up daily. I noticed this and understood I had to take initiative to work by myself, so that my interactions with the farm staff were effective. When I participated in the tour, I got to explain more about my previous work with cacao, and I was able to contribute a lot with my knowledge. I learned that my previous experience, even if it is not extensive, is very valuable and can be very useful during my time here.

What did I learn about leadership?

I learned that as a leader, you have to be flexible and accommodate to the circumstances. I had an exciting project in mind, continuing my work in pollination which I am very passionate about, but I realized that at this stage that kind of project might not be the most beneficial to the organization. I understood that educating farmers on pollination is not worth it if they do not accurately know how their plantation is going. To apply any technique or solution, one must know before where the problem actually is. Given the short time of the project, I decided to not be stubborn and change direction. It is something hard to do, but it is very important if you want to lead in such a way that actually serves others.

What do I want to develop or focus on next?

I need to better work on my communication and time management skills. I have to make sure I am in constant communication with the farm staff, so that I always have their input on my project, as well as defining small tasks that lead me to the important goals. This will help me in tailoring the solutions I propose to the farm’s needs, as well as making sure I can finish my LiA with a tool that is already tested and that the farm’s staff is ready to use.