Meet Atandi Anyona, a College Farm and Dickinson alumni with the class of 2010, double majored Environmental Science and Africana Studies! Learn where life has taken Atandi since his time on the farm…

Time spent on the College Farm:

Worked on the college farm in the summer of 2007

Duties:

  • Transitioned from one acre garden to five-acre farm
  • Organized and running a local farmers market stand
  • Animal husbandry, general cultivation, harvesting, processing, and selling farm produce.

Fond Memories:

  • The team was very special, being the first to undertake the summer internship led by Jenn and Matt (who actually visited me while in Kenya a while back; we cooked some delicious chapati together and also visited a biogas establishment)
  • The farmers market where we sold the produce was always an exciting experience; especially the days where we sold everything.
  • Trapping groundhogs and driving a distance to release them was quite the experience. It felt like we were re-wildling.
  • The farm party and the line-dancing in the barn; that was fantastic. It was my first encounter with line dancing and enjoyed thoroughly.
  • I remember one of our trips to an Amish organic farm and we got to learn about curing cheese (some of which tasted really good). That was a master class in itself.

Life after Dickinson:

Returned home (Nairobi, Kenya) after graduating from Dickinson.

My first job was as an assistant agricultural officer where we visited various rural based farmers providing them trainings on best farming practices.

I worked as an environmental coordinator/educator for a Youth Information and Resource Centre, and also, for about a year, worked as an assistant researcher for Kenya Mission to the United Nations Office at Nairobi (KMUNON)

Then by some strange phenomenon, entered the field of communication. For 2 years, I found myself working as a Social Media Executive & PR Assistant for a marketing agency where my work involved developing and implementing digital campaign strategies for different clientele.

This paved way to my 3-year stint at a plastic recycling company where I was an Impact Manager & Communications lead for a donor sponsored project.

Currently, I work as a Digital Communications Office for a conservation organization where I support in creating communication around community-led conservation. It is one of the most fulfilling roles I have ever engaged in due to my passion for wildlife, community engagement and travel. We get to travel around the country a lot to see the great work communities are doing in looking after our natural heritage and see how best to enhance their work which revolves around providing safe spaces (corridors) for wildlife to roam. I have been doing this for the last 3 years.

How the farm impacted Atandi’s life path:

For most part, I have been around the environmental sector. Green has always been my thing, and the college farm internship nurtured that pretty well. I do think I am a natural farmer at heart.

I recently got a piece of land where I plan to do some form of agribusiness. The farm fever has not left me yet almost 2 decades down the line.

Shoutouts:

Shout out to Matt and Jenn for the great work they have done on the farm; I see and read about the college farm. It has grown leaps and bounds since out time. The little biodiesel experiments have blossomed into a state-of-the-art biodigester. The 5 acres we cultivated now almost 80 acres under cultivation!

A big salute to the quintessential crew that tilled up ground and planted the college farm’s first seeds. (Prana, Ben, Donnie, Kaitlin, Atandi, (forgetting one more student name)). They made the experience truly amazing. Hoping to soon meet up once again, and why not on the college farm where our friendship was solidified!

Onwards and Upwards!