Paulina Córdova Walterspiel

Name: Paulina Córdova Walterspiel
Nationality: Mexican
Internship period: August 2022- November 2022
University: Universidad Anáhuac México Norte
Study Program: Social Responsibility and Sustainable Development 

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.