“You are such a big city girl!” my colleagues here in Bali often tell me.
It is a paradox - I’m working for Kopernik, an organisation serving the last mile, which almost literally means saying goodbye to city comforts. But since joining Kopernik, unlike my colleagues, I have never been sent to a remote location.
Some have asked: “why don’t you meet the technology users firsthand?” My answer was always the same: as much as I love seeing the photos and stories from the field, I think I enjoy working from Kopernik’s Ubud HQ better.
MY FIRST FIELD TRIP
But recently I seized the opportunity to visit the last mile - in Cambodia! In the excitement of planning my first field trip, the first thing that crossed my mind was, “can I travel with a suitcase instead of a backpack?”. (I was delighted to hear the answer was yes).
I went to Cambodia to introduce Kopernik’s range of technologies to potential local partners, and help them gauge which technologies are needed the most. How? By conducting Tech Fairs in various villages across Cambodia.
I was really excited preparing for the trip. The magnificent images of Angkor Wat temple lingered in my mind. But closer to the day of departure, I started to get nervous. Would I survive the trip, my first ever field experience? I spiraled through many anxious thoughts: will I be able to organise a Tech Fair, let alone five? And how will I communicate with the people there?
FIELDWORK IS FUN!
I was relieved to discover that fieldwork is a lot of fun. I traveled with two very knowledgeable and helpful colleagues, Iman and Anna. They made sure that I, the field-newbie, did everything right and made the most of my time there. In our journey across Cambodia, I not only got to meet great local partners and friendly communities, but I also learned a lot along the way. Like the delicious taste of sugarcane juice with ice on a searing hot day!
Cambodia was incredibly dry when we visited. We drove past endless yellow fields, full of dust and bone-thin cows. When we reached the villages, it wasn’t a surprise to see that they were collecting rain water instead of having a stable water source. Glimpsing how families in these villages live, and the challenges the local partners face in reaching these communities, it all made sense to me why Kopernik distributes simple technologies. I could immediately imagine how a Nazava water filter would help so much! Although our technologies might be something foreign at first, when people give them a try, they quickly saw how much the products would help make their lives easier.
BACK TO THE CITY
After a week’s hard work in the last mile, the city girl in me needed a break. There was only one remedy to make me forget about my super-sunburned skin (despite wearing a big floppy hat and loads of sunblock) and tired legs: SHOPPING! I went crazy in the Russian Market in Phnom Penh buying gifts for my friends, family and colleagues (and maybe a few things for myself too).
After the trip, I realised that I can still be a big city girl, and at the same time help people in the last mile, I just need to adapt to new situations and environments. So, another trip to remote places? Bring it on!
