Kiran's story:

"When working at Ekoto, I took on the responsibilities of managing some crop trials and the company’s social media account on Instagram. The trials consisted of approximately 45 ancient legume varieties, 2 corn varieties, and a three-sisters farming system trial. The three sisters farming system is a method of companion farming in which three types of crops are grouped to form a symbiosis. By having to prepare the strip areas for my trials I learned how to even out the soil with a rake and sow seeds by using a sowing machine. There was something quite satisfying about seeing the progress of the trial crops throughout my stay at the company, especially since I had been one of the main actors in planting them. Running Ekoto’s social media was a bit more of a personal endeavor, but in the end, I manage to gain some followers and post a good amount of content. Apart from my assigned tasks, I participated in the general farm jobs that needed to be done. One of the jobs was to clear the concrete paths by the fields from the weeds and dirt that had accumulated. I could use both a forklift and a tractor on two separate occasions to remove the waste from the paths.  As someone who gets anxious at the wheel, driving the forklift and the tractor helped me build up my driving experience and comfortability, especially since the tractor was a manual vehicle. One of my favorite tasks had to be when we weeded the large goosefoot plants from the linseed strips by laying on planks supported on the side of Ivar’s ‘old timer’ tractor. We would go at a consistent speed and grab as many weeds as we could, it felt somewhat like a videogame with different levels which would change depending on the weed density. By the end of it, I could look at the strip and see the effect we all did and turn back around to see the dying corpses of the crop’s enemies. I chose to do this internship to experience farming and to do what I was studying in practice, by the end of it I can proudly say that I am more immersed in my studies now and have learned a wide array of useful working methods that I will take back home. I can only wish to see this company prosper, thank you very much, Ekoto!"

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