Marieke was one of 13 Charles Sturt University students who travelled to the southeast Asian country as part of the Agriculture, Forestry and Livestock Education program funded by the New Columbo Plan.

After graduating with a Bachelor of Agriculture at the end of 2023, the two-week immersive experience across August and September saw Marieke’s studies end on a high.

“It was absolutely fascinating learning about the challenges and opportunities in agriculture in Timor-Leste,” Marieke said.

“A real highlight was seeing the different socioeconomic background in Timor-Leste and exploring the effect of history, especially colonialism and subsequent civil war, economics and politics, and how this impacts agriculture there.”

During the program, students gained insights into agricultural production and sustainable living in the Asia-Pacific region by engaging with various industries and livelihood activities such as cropping, forestry, fisheries and livestock.

Charles Sturt students collaborated with local agricultural students who provided access to key research projects and stakeholders unavailable to the average tourist.

Marieke said she learned far more than just the logistics of their agricultural system as a result.

“The main takeaway for me was that there is no knowledge gap for Timorese farmers, but rather a significant lack of capital and infrastructure,” she said.

“There is also a lot of circularity and sustainability in Timorese smallholder farming systems that Australia can learn from, such as farming fish in ponds and then reusing the water to irrigate crops and a lot of other recycling systems that have been born out of necessity.”

Travelling abroad was not unfamiliar to Marieke; while she calls Jindera in New South Wales home today, she was born in Germany where she grew up before moving to Australia at six years old.

“I’ve naturally spent a lot of time in Germany visiting extended family, a lot of whom are involved in agriculture,” she said.

“In June and July 2023, I did a bit of unofficial placement with family and friends there and got to experience a German dairy farm, a conventional cropping farm and an organic vegetable enterprise.

“It’s now so fascinating to see the difference between Australia, a European country and then a third world southeast Asian country.”

Despite agriculture being in her DNA, Marieke’s interest in the industry first piqued during her Year 12 studies and subsequent gap year.

“I spent that year working at Uluru at a camel farm which really brought about my interest in emerging industries and different farming enterprises,” she said.

These collective experiences have laid an ideal foundation for Marieke’s career ahead, with her sights set on a travel-filled job.

“My dream job would be to be an extension officer for emerging industries in Australia which would include lots of travel within Australia and overseas to gather information on how those industries are farmed overseas and how we can apply this to our own Australian systems, climate and soils,” she said.

“I have accepted a position with the New South Wales Local Land Services graduate program and am moving to Broken Hill at the end of January.

“I love the desert and rangelands landscape so I’m very excited to learn about the challenges and opportunities in this production system.”

Marieke in now encouraging everyone in the field to apply – a sentiment shared by Senior Lecturer in Human Geography in the Charles Sturt School of Agricultural, Environmental and Veterinary Sciences Dr Jennifer Bond, who also attended the trip.

“The Timor-Leste trip was a once-in-a-lifetime experience for both the students and myself as we were able to explore agriculture and rural development there in a way that no tourist can do,” Dr Bond said.

“The trip included high-level meetings in Dili and farm tours in the regions to explore agriculture at different scales.

“However, more critically, the trip included visits to key cultural and historical sites such as the Chega! Exhibition, the Timorese Resistance Archive and Museum and Balibo, so that students could see the current agricultural context holistically in terms of Timor-Leste’s past.”

Charles Sturt Global programs give students an international experience as part of their degree. From a six to 12-month exchange at an overseas university, to short-term study, faculty-led programs, internships or work placements, there are overseas opportunities to suit every student. 

For more information, visit the Charles Sturt website here or find us on Instagram and Facebook @charlessturtglobal  

ENDS