Crossed portraits of Sven and Brunilda, former coordinators of the agricultural program

While Dahari is looking for a new coordinator for its agricultural program at the start of 2021, we offer you a cross-interview with Sven and Brunilda, two veterans of the position who have kept a special relationship with Dahari. Excerpts from the interview.

What was your background before joining Dahari?

Sven – After training as an engineer in tropical agriculture in Belgium, I worked in an agricultural cooperative in Cameroon and in cartography in Mali. I had 3 years of experience with good knowledge in territorial development and the establishment of farmer field schools when I arrived at Dahari.

Brunilda – I obtained my agricultural engineering diploma thanks to a master's degree in Rural Development obtained at the IRC in Montpellier. I then held several positions as agricultural advisor, project manager, project coordinator for state services and for NGOs in South America, mainland France and Mayotte.

What aspects of the job did you enjoy the most?

S. – I greatly appreciated the variability and balance between the various responsibilities: strategy, technical, team management and admin. The work environment is very dynamic, the management team empowers you and gives you autonomy, you mix all that with a good dose of fieldwork and you get an excellent experience. The agricultural development program interested me for several reasons: the integrated approach between different sectors, the landscape approach and the focus on sustainable agriculture and small farmers. Dahari is also an organization with a very motivated team who demonstrate a level of commitment that I have never found in another structure. I also loved the terrain and the magnificent landscapes of Anjouan!

B. – The successful management of agricultural activities in the service of a natural resources management project required great mobilization and the strengthening of numerous skills: human resources management, adaptation of agricultural techniques, logistics, development of complementarities with other sectors of the NGO… and all this while dealing with everyday unforeseen events! The innovative aspect of the projects also left me with excellent memories. We have, for example, implemented food multiplication using vitro plants and disseminated the PIF technique.

How has your experience at Dahari served you personally and professionally?

S. – I left Dahari because I had to return to Belgium for personal reasons, but I would have liked to stay a few more years! My position allowed me to grow as a department manager and learn how to manage a team. This experience of almost three years with strong work autonomy allowed me to increase my self-confidence and obtain a position at the headquarters of one of the largest Belgian NGOs as coordinator of their programs in Africa. the West.

B. – On a professional level, this mission was a springboard towards positions of high responsibility in structures of international scope. I was able to land a position as national coordinator in a large NGO thanks, among other things, to all the skills I was able to develop in the matter at Dahari. I was also able to strengthen my relationships within the network of associative actors in the Indian Ocean! On a personal level, it is undeniable that this experience allowed me to develop my ability to adapt to a different culture and context.

What attachment do you keep with Dahari and why?

S. – After leaving Dahari in 2014, I continued to follow and support them. I first performed une monitoring mission to assess developments in the agricultural department in 2016 and then I took part in the agricultural strategic workshop in 2019. Even today, I have been supporting Dahari since the end of 2019 on improving their monitoring system -assessment. Thanks to this initiative, a large part of the data will soon be collected via so-called MDCs – Mobile Data Collection systems – using tablets and smartphones. It is once again the innovative aspect of Dahari which is proving its worth. I remain committed to Dahari also because the team is friendly and it is an organization that has a great desire to continue to evolve.

B. – Since leaving Dahari, I have continued to keep myself informed through the Facebook page and the website as well as by maintaining contact with some members of the team. I also carried out a certain number of consultancy missions and I was very pleasantly surprised to see the progress made by the NGO over the past 4 years. Dahari has grown, matured and strengthened enormously to become an actor recognized for its seriousness and commitment to the Union of the Comoros. With the association we share a similar vision on the development approach (bottom-up, participatory, meeting the needs of the farmers supported), ethics (transparency and clarity), the strategy of preserving natural resources (the proposed holistic approach allows to achieve sustainability through a multidisciplinary territorial approach!), innovation (which, with questioning, are key tools in the construction of activities) and human resources management (constant strengthening of skills local teams).