Dr. Juliane Dao
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As a development worker for GIZ in Burkina Faso
I did my bachelor's degree in agroecology at the University of Rostock, my home town, and actually only got into the agricultural sector out of biological interest and political motivation. Alongside my bachelor's degree, I did a lot of voluntary work. I was active in university politics, worked for Greenpeace and, after completing my bachelor's degree, spent a year in India as part of the Weltwärts program to protect sea turtles.
I then wanted to do a Master's degree with an international and sustainable focus. I had already heard a lot about Witzenhausen and the ecological course and found out about a new international course, the Master's in Sustainable International Agriculture (SIA). That was exactly what I was looking for. However, you needed an English certificate with a certain number of points and my English was poor. So I invested in it, took my year's international exchange leave and studied for the test at an Indian language institute. It was just enough! I was accepted for the first round of SIA in 2009 and then spent a total of almost ten years in Witzenhausen.
10 wonderful years in Witzenhausen
The SIA was a wonderful degree program. We were only a handful of Germans, the other students came from all over the world. As we had to work on many projects in groups, we were able to learn a lot from the other countries. We also read the latest publications and discussed sustainability and the right way to feed the world with the professors. I enjoyed it so much that I studied a year longer than necessary, even though I already had my modules together and even had to pay tuition fees at the time (due to the cooperation with Göttingen). I traveled to Pakistan to collect data for my master's thesis and saw how wage laborers were tied to farms like slaves. It made a big impression on me and after my return I made a photo exhibition on this topic, and of course I graduated.
To Africa for your doctoral thesis?
At the time of my defense, I was pregnant and looking for a satisfying career that could be combined with having a child and spending time abroad. I was ready to start something new, so I asked my professors for advice, as I knew that they had been to West Africa themselves as doctoral candidates with young children. The answer came promptly: I could write my doctoral thesis as part of the Urban Food Plus project and travel to Burkina Faso and Ghana to collect data... with my baby on my back and a nanny in tow. Should I really do this? I thought about it for a long time and decided to give it a try. In the end, it was not only the hardest decision of my life, but also the best. I finished my doctoral thesis on the effects of water quality on soil properties and contamination of crops in gardens in Ouagadougou in January 2018. I also met my husband in Burkina Faso and now have three children.
For a world without hunger
We currently live in Bobo-Dioulasso, the second largest city in Burkina Faso, and I work as a development worker for GIZ. This was and is my dream job: a job where you can make a lasting difference to the world. Our project is part of the BMZ's special initiative "A world without hunger" and aims to reduce malnutrition in rural south-western Burkina Faso. We work across sectors, which means that we are not just a health or agricultural project, but take a more holistic approach. Activities such as cooking demonstrations for mothers, hygiene competitions in the village health centers, community gardens or theater and film screenings are intended to improve the nutrition and hygiene situation. My work is very varied: sometimes I go to the villages and take part in the activities. My focus is on using participatory methods to achieve a change in behavior. A project can only have a lasting effect if the suggestions for improvement are also accepted and implemented by the population. During my studies, I got to know many participatory methods and also applied them in research, which I now use to analyze and implement problems and solutions with the participants.
The work also enables me to supervise students and, in collaboration with the University of Bobo-Dioulasso and the state health laboratory, to conduct studies on the ingredients of food and water quality. For example, we have investigated whether Moringa seeds can be used to treat drinking water. The results are promising and the method could be used to reduce diarrhea and thus combat a cause of malnutrition.