Sometimes you need a crisis to see how much better we can shape the world. For me, that was the corona crisis. At that time, I had been a correspondent in Poland and was working in the editorial office of De Telegraaf, and I started to get socially engaged. I co-founded Nieuw West Brabant, an initiative to stimulate a local economy, founded the blog OverNu for investigative journalism - now transferred - and was allowed to start writing for research platform Follow The Money. An experiment around unconditional cohabitation in which I lived without a house and money for 3 months taught me a lot. Now I try to take good care of the world and others, including volunteering for people who have become homeless, buying only second-hand clothes myself and no longer flying, as well as a solidarity model for a market garden. In the process, I had the privilege of working with Ivar, who is hugely idealistically driven but also realistic, and a successful pioneer within his field. And of course with all the other participants within the "Ekoto Team" that is forming. Within Ekoto, I will be the contact person for the vegetable boxes on our innovative subscription model. Let's make it to a success together!
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Questions like “where does my food come from?” have been in my mind for some years.
I wanted to know how agriculture works and how to make it more sustainable. I also wanted to bring up new ideas and help with communication. And definitely, Ekoto was the right place to learn and contribute with that.
I did an exchange semester at Breda University of Applied Sciences (BUas) and at the same time, I had the opportunity to do my internship at Ekoto, where I contributed both with physical and desk jobs.
The time of the year that I came was great for the pumpkin harvest, so I was very involved in this process. We cut them from the ground, transported them to the shed, cleaned them, and finally classified them so that they’d be ready for being sold! I loved to experience this whole process and felt really satisfied by knowing that after all the work it involves, these beautiful pumpkins were going to end up in someone's kitchen; all organic and treated naturally from the beginning. Oh! And I must say I really enjoyed the breaks we had, in which we continued with some manual work, classifying beans, an activity that became pretty addictive!
Regarding the desk job, I was mostly involved in blog writing and content creating. I learned new strategies and wrote some blog posts about interesting topics regarding sustainability and food. And I translated some of this information into content that could be useful for Ekoto.
During this time, I could learn so much not only from agriculture, food and sustainability, but also about the Dutch culture, which is so different from mine! Even in the way we communicate on social media or understand different concepts. But these differences made me enrich my intercultural skills, having as a result a lot of personal and professional growth.
Also, I met people who are committed to Ekoto 's mission; either as volunteers, zero-waste community, or neighbors. I got to understand what working at a local level truly means. I’m grateful I could experience this internship in an authentic Dutch farm that knows what to do, but most importantly, how to do things in a transparent, sustainable and regenerative way.
]]>I never fully understood that quote until I met Ivar van Dorst, founder and owner of Ekoto, he showed me with his work that to start that change you want to see in the world you need to start doing what you think is right and let that be an example and inspiration to other people.
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“Be the change you want to see in the world.”
I never fully understood that quote until I met Ivar van Dorst, founder and owner of Ekoto, he showed me with his work that to start that change you want to see in the world you need to start doing what you think is right and let that be an example and inspiration to other people.
My experience at Ekoto started at the end of April 2022 when I was beginning my work experience placement. At first, I thought that I would only learn about the Dutch agricultural system, but I learnt way more than that. As the company emerged only 2 years ago, it is quite young and it still needs to develop some things, but the fun part is that I got to see some of the changes they are going through, and it was also nice that Ivar had graduated from IFA, so we could share some experiences and our own point of view about relevant facts.
My daily activities ranged from weeding the crops to feeding the pigs. Actually, I had a lot of variety during the week, as it is an organic farm, they are not allowed to use any herbicides or chemical products. Therefore most of the activities were done by hand, that includes control of weeds for example, which was done weekly on every field using different types of tools that would help us. Nevertheless, that was not the only activity at Ekoto, we took part in processes of sowing, transplanting, and even harvesting, so it was nice to know that you were part of the food chain of some products that later on will feed a family.
Besides those daily activities, I also had a theoretical assignment, in which I had to design the label of a tea line that the company wanted to launch, for that I had to do some research on it, make sure the materials were eco-friendly, and search for the most appealing look for the package. As a conclusion, I can say that I learned very important lessons in Ekoto, not only about agriculture and the food chain, but also about how important groupwork is and how to build your business model. Definitely something I would do again!
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I did my first-year internship at Ekoto, because I wanted to learn how an organic Dutch farm works. The main reason why I came to this farm was to learn about strip cropping, I had insights in organic faming because back home my mother owns a small organic farm. But I didn’t have any knowledge about strip agriculture. Arriving to the farm I was impressed of the beauty of the place; the fields were like a biodiversity oasis in the middle of a mono cultivated area. This gave me a good starting feeling, and good expectations for the upcoming weeks.
At the farm I did different tasks, from weeding to driving machinery. I would say that the big number of tasks to be done was an advantage, because the variety of acquired knowledge was bigger, also it was never boring. I had daily tasks such as feeding the pigs each morning, and random tasks which depended on the necessity of the context. I would say that I really enjoyed controlling weeds with the available tools at the farm.
Throughout the work I was able to interact with other trainees and with Ivar, this gave me the opportunity of learning about other cultures, opinions, and interests. Throughout the work and talks I was able to acquire new insights about strip cropping, but also about organic certification procedures. I was able to acquire a lot of theoretical and technical knowledge. In the case of technical knowledge, I learned about organic weeding techniques that I didn’t knew, this was exciting because these ones could be applied in the small farm back home.
The interaction that I had with the animals at the farm was also interesting, because in my study we don’t see anything related. After I completed this internship, I can say that I feel happy for being part of Ekoto during this period, and I feel excited for the company’s future.
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Name: Seongbae Park
Nationality: South Korea
Internship period: June 2022
University: HAS University of Applied Sciences
Study Program: Horticulture and Business Management
Type of internship: Work Experience Placement
Responsible projects: Trial field management of ancient bean varieties
I personally have huge interest in vertical and hydroponic systems with crop steering technique, such as fertigation plan, irrigation strategy, and climate control with light intensity, ambient CO2, and vapor pressure deficit, but barely had an idea about open fields or regenerative farming. However, thanks to Ivar van Dorst for providing an internship experience at his organic strip farm, I had a chance to understand the basic logic behinds the organic arable land.
My experience at the farm was for a month in June in 2022, where sowing process happened and transplanting seedlings to open-field from their own greenhouse shape of propagator. Also, some crops were already in vegetative stage such as beans. The biodiversity in the farm provides chance to experience multiple crops in one spot as well as experience in different cultivation processes. For instance, weeding in different ways, setting an irrigation system, topping for fruit maturation and pest control, harvesting and post-harvest processes.
Besides, regular cultivations, Ivar also run trial fields annually to bring back heirloom Dutch bean varieties. Making the trial field was the most challenging yet interesting task I had during the internship. It is challenging because the trial fields require high precision on sowing. However, Ivar guided me simple but efficient way of making straight sowing lines with just simple tools.
Not only the farm had good learning contents but also Ivar and his family are very friendly and warm. Their positivity often motivates me to focus on works and feel more responsible.
Although, I was bit out of my track, feeling stressed and drained even before I had the internship experience, the positivity and diligence from Ivar and his family brought me back on track. It was just a month of working experience, but I got so much positive vibe and focused mind-set from them.
If you want to experience Dutch farm.
If you want to experience organic farm.
If you want to work hard and get positive vibes.
ASK EKOTO, if you can have work experience.
]]>The foundation of Ekoto is based on a frustration of anonymous products that we buy in our every day life. With every product I buy, I wonder what practices I am supporting. Perhaps child labour, modern slavery or highly polluting industries. The documentary “dead donkeys fear no hyenas, a film of Joakim Demmer that I watched in the winter of 2018, fired up my frustration. In the documentary I saw modern slaves working on a rice plantation for an estate owner from Saudi Arabia. The impact of the documentary sticked with me, but slowly it slipped away from my attention. Two months passed by. I went to a local Turkish supermarket, where I bought, together with other groceries, a 5 kg bag of rice. The idea of buying staple products in bulk was on my mind for a longer period already, and in this local supermarket I saw that this bag was from jute instead of plastic. Even better! Well… not really? In my enthusiasm of the packaging, I forgot to look where the product came from. Once at home, I saw that the rice came from Saudi Arabia. Though I have still no idea in what conditions it has been produced, one thing I know for sure. Rice is not largely produced in the Saudi Arabian climate… Straight away I envisioned the indigenous people working like slaves on a factory farm that once was their jungle home. Over the course of time, I have set the business mission to accelerate the transition to a transparent, sustainable, and short food supply chain. With a strong drive for this mission, I am happy to work hard with Ekoto to bring the better alternative to your table. We do the research behind the products, so that you can just enjoy its goodness without worries!
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]]>"My Internship at this amazing farm, made me realize that Ekoto is not only about sustainability, but also about teamwork, diversity and even culture. Throughout my 2 month Internship a lot of work was done, as soon as we got to the farm there were projects to be done, daily activities to fulfill and more often than not, some unplanned events. All of which showed me the real experience of working in a Dutch farm. When I first got there, I thought my only job would be working in the e-commerce and online web shop development, but I was so wrong. Each week I got a new project to handle, or a new variety to test trial, and sow. After just 8 weeks I had worked on several test trials including buckwheat, oca's and Soybeans, Pumpkin sowing and probably the most time consuming one, growing of tea varieties. After all I must say it was so fun to get all this projects simultaneously , however I have to admit I wouldn’t have been able to manage all of them without the help of a team. It also made me learn the hard way that at Ekoto it really isn’t about the hours or the time, but more about the projects and the activities to be done.
In the other hand, one good thing about having many tasks at the same time is that you can take a break and do another one. For example, weeding took ages, so when I got tired of weeding I usually went and watered the pumpkins and tea in the greenhouse, and then went to the asparagus fields and harvested some of those, which by the way are delicious. After that I went back to the initial activity I was doing. This way I was always entertained doing something different every hour. In bigger companies you usually get one single job or task for weeks, at Ekoto all jobs are diverse and when you get bored of doing one you can always do another, it is for sure something I appreciated, especially those cold days when being inside and doing some online work was our break. During my experience here I met new friendly people at the farm, who taught me their cultures and their way of living. I shared a lot of new experiences with the team: Kiran, and Ivar. We even made a road trip and we learnt so many things together about nature, sustainability, but also about our own personal beliefs. My time at Ekoto not only brought so much knowledge, but also turned out to be a unique experience where I got to meet new friends, I got to appreciate diversity and where I also tried the best vegan dishes of the country, certainly an experience I would repeat."
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]]>"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!"
Want to join the team of Ekoto? Reach out to us via the various channels available!
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