Interning With NGOs

I’ll give three pieces of advice. These are things I only learned after my internships. And while I don’t think I would have performed any better had I known them before–and you’ll have to learn them, or something totally different, yourself–I am starting to apply these tips to my future endeavours.

I should have offered my opinion more often.
OK so first: Tell It Like It Is. If you think something should be done differently, or you feel people are compromising too much, say so. You may not feel it, but you’re an expert in many ways. You’re going there because they’ve asked you to go. You can–and need to–have the vision.

Reports are great, but leave them until the end. I should have spent more time doing, and less time talking about doing. And in the end even this report was criticized for being inaccurate and full of holes.
Create a plan. Quickly. Don’t plan and plan and consult and consult. Networking is good, but I would at least start some project in the first week. Produce something tangible. Any client will get on board with you once you have something real, not just a model.

I spent my first week in Bali with the local workers, sitting on the ground whittling bamboo pegs. I paid some dues in this way and others, but after a few weeks I showed some promise and was advised to use my time and my assets effectively, which was not in digging ditches or hatcheting culms.
The mantra with an NGO is See It Through. See It Through. See the project through to the end. If you don’t stay on top of people it won’t get done. And with a little pressure, a lot can get done! The reality is labour is cheap in the third world and you have a team at your disposal. There are all sorts of issues and ideologies and western guilt to sort out, but do that later (rather than during, as I did). You’ll often have a whole factory or team of labourers at your disposal…and a bank account (no matter how small) to fund it. Start small and quickly get people on board with your idea. Your focused idea. Delegate tasks to others to help you realize production. You’re there for your brain, not your sweat. That also entails breaking your project up into sections with achievable goals within your time frame. You can plan very detailed, future courses of action, but don’t expect them to happen after you’re gone.

A worker creating a rammed earth wall in Bali. Here’s an example of what I’m talking about. Hanno, an Austrian intern of sorts in Bali, proposed using rammed earth walls as dividers and foundational components for the eco school. Within his first week he secured five workers, a spot on the factory grounds and some old bamboo flooring as supports. He tested some soil areas, got a truck to haul the dirt over, supervised the workers and helped them out, and had a sample wall after seven days. They hired him full-time to build walls all over the campus.
Those first two items really apply to any intern situation in my opinion. I found both the Philippines and Bali internships to really be about management. You are a leader.
Finally, bring them some examples of where you think you could take them. The gist of a lot of these design-and-production-based NGOs is: they were with it in the 80s / 90s / whatever-decade. Now they’re a tiny relic of their former glory, watching the western world and their neighbouring countries getting rich. And they want in on the action for their people, their village, their country. Design can do that. They have little to loose, anyways.
Maybe find three examples of similar companies that enacted some change that brought them success. For example, when I came back to visit the Philippines NGO after one month of working with bamboo in Bali, I told them flat-out that they were way behind compared to what my internship in Bali was getting up to. They had some separate goals, but some of the ideology was the same. And that was because the Bali people did not compromise, and they found a niche, and they saw things through. But after I said that, I explained to the Philippines group both the what and the how of my internship in Bali and the ways they could do it in the Philippines. And they realized it was possible, and were very inspired to start shaking things up.
They just need a push and someone to trust.

Two guys who know how to get stuff done: designer Aldo Landwehr and owner John Hardy, here helping me experiment with some materials and a lot of pressure at the factory. These guys could multi-task, could envision and act on that vision and then manage a group of smart people and workers to realize it.
You’re already coming in with a lot of credibility: a western student, from the Emily Carr University, recommended by smart people. The above may all sound rather presumptuous, even pompous. It’s not supposed to be. What we’re all doing with these NGOs is trying to realize a dream, and my experience says you can do this by not compromising, acting quickly and seeing it through. People will appreciate your honesty and vision and ‘getting it done’ ethic.
You want them to get something great out of your internship. And make sure you get something great out of it, too. Remember: you’re invited!

Two workers on my team building the compost toilet at my house in Bali. At the time I had no management experience and it showed: I came away from the internship with little to show for it. But now, after being taught and learning first-hand how to utilize my time and keep a team running, the next job will be different.