Since 2007, the Association for AgriCulture & Ecology (Agrecol e.V.) in Germany offers internship placements and travel stipends for students enrolled in universities or colleges in German-speaking countries to work for 612 months with partner organisations overseas. This gives the students an opportunity to gain practical knowledge related to ecologically oriented agriculture and land management and to be exposed to new cultures and working situations in developing countries. Support is provided for up to three interns each year and consists of the following:
Since 2007, the Association for AgriCulture & Ecology (Agrecol e.V.) in Germany offers internship placements and travel stipends for students enrolled in universities or colleges in German-speaking countries to work for 612 months with partner organisations overseas. This gives the students an opportunity to gain practical knowledge related to ecologically oriented agriculture and land management and to be exposed to new cultures and working situations in developing countries. Support is provided for up to three interns each year and consists of the following:
Coverage of a round-trip Economy flight ticket between Europe and the country in which the host organisation is operating
Availability of at least one member of Agrecol Association as well as previous interns to provide advice and respond to questions before and during the internship
Invitation of the student, after completion of the internship, to a weekend seminar of Agrecol Association in Germany or a neighbouring country so that the student can present a photo report to the members about his/her experiences as intern; Agrecol Association covers the students travel and accommodation costs for the weekend.
Agrecol Association is not in a position to cover any further costs related to the internship (e.g. visa, vaccinations, health insurance) beyond those mentioned above.
In 2018, the partner organisations AgrecolAndes in Bolivia and Agrecol Afrique in Senegal are prepared to host one intern each from universities or colleges in German-speaking countries. The students selected for the travel stipends are expected to make all further arrangements for the internship in direct contact with the respective host organisation.
For the members of Agrecol Association in Germany, each intern will report regularly on his/her activities by writing blogs for the Agrecol intern blog-site. In addition, each intern will write an interim and a final report and present his/her experiences during an Agrecol weekend meeting.
Information about the internship with AgrecolAndes in Bolivia
The AgrecolAndes Foundation is a nongovernmental organisation (NGO) that works in the area of sustainable rural development in Bolivia. It employs about 20 people (experts and support staff). It has its headquarters in Cochabamba and a branch office in Santa Cruz.
AgrecolAndes promotes site-appropriate agriculture and rural development in the Andes region of Bolivia. It tests and disseminates appropriate farming techniques. The advisory work focuses on sustainable use of natural resources and a socially acceptable integration of the new forms of production in the rural communities. Participatory and interdisciplinary methods and approaches are used in extension, training and research.
AgrecolAndes seeks to contribute to improving the livelihoods of the rural people in the Andes. To this end, it offers services in the form of knowledge management related to questions of agroecology, including training, documentation and systematisation of experiences, information dissemination, and orientation and accompaniment during change processes.
The tasks and the site of the work placement will be defined more precisely after the travel stipends have been awarded and will depend on the requirements of the Agrecol-Andes project in which the interns will be working as well as on the skills and interests of the interns. For example, an intern may be involved in:
Supporting smallholder farmer organisations in different spheres (organisational development, participatory methods, organic farming, processing organic products etc.)
Preparing seminars and workshops
Assisting in the design of extension materials (flyers, brochures, posters and other printed matter).
Students who work as interns with AgrecolAndes can expect to gain experience in the following aspects of work and life:
Collaboration with an international NGO and with Bolivian smallholder farmer groups in production, processing and marketing of organic products
Contribution to the implementation of development projects
Knowledge in participatory extension approaches that include technical, organisational and strategic aspects
Cultural and intercultural impressions and insights in working and living situations in the Andes in a form that can seldom be offered by larger development organisations
Creativity, self-initiative and improvisation.
More detailed information about AgrecolAndes Foundation can be found underwww.agrecolandes.org
Information about the internship with AgrecolAfrique in Senegal
Agrecol-Afrique is a non-governmental organization (NGO) which contributes since 1996 to the development of organic agriculture by implementing projects in Senegal (the NGO is based in the city of Thiès). Agrecol-Afrique works towards food security in Senegal and more widely in West Africa. In collaboration with different actors of rural and agricultural development, the staff of Agrecol-Afrique is contributing to information exchange, training and advisory services in organic agriculture. In 2009, Agrecol-Afrique was a founding member of a national foundation for promoting organic agricultural development.
One of the current projects of Agrecol-Afrique is the establishment of an educational farm (ferme-école). The aim is to offer training for farmers, to use the farm for demonstration purposes, and also to use it as an instrument to influence development policymaking.
In this context, Agrecol-Afrique seeks an intern in 2018 who can contribute to designing training programmes and curricula in agroecology for the ferme-école.
More detailed information about Agrecol-Afrique Foundation can be found under http://www.agrecol-afrique.net
Eligibility
Students eligible to apply for the internship placement and travel stipend are those who:
- Are enrolled in a university or college in a German-speaking country (including foreign students);
- Have basic knowledge and/or experience in managing organised groups (for small-scale production, processing and marketing of agricultural products);
- Have their own laptop or notebook that they can use during the internship;
- Have basic knowledge about (ecological) agriculture;
- Are interested and sensitive in working with smallholder farmers in different sociocultural contexts;
- Are dynamic, open and committed;
- Show high levels of self-reliance and self-organising capacity
- Have a sufficient command of Spanish (Bolivia)/ French (Senegal) to be able to work in this language (interview will be made by Skype with AgrecolAndes/Afrique);
- Are under 30 years of age.
Timing and duration of internship
The internship should begin, if possible and in consultation with the partner organisations, between June and August 2018. It should last at least six months and can be extended to up to twelve months duration.
General information about applying for an internship placement and travel stipend
The application, consisting of a convincing letter of motivation in German and Spanish (Bolivia) / French (Senegal), concrete details about the desired period of internship and a curriculum vitae in German and Spanish (Bolivia) / French (Senegal), should be sent per Email as pdf attachments to:
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
The deadline for applications is 31 January 2018.
Notification about awarding of the internship placements and travel stipends will be made at the latest by end of February 2018.
Picture credit: Agrecol