Internship Report

Rachel Thoms
Fulbright Student Researcher
December 2022

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Table of contents

1. Organization information ……………………………………………………………………………… 3

2. Internship description……………………………………………………………………………………. 3
3. Overview of internship experience………………………………………………………………… 4
4. Ongoing considerations…………………………………………………………………………………… 6

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Organization information
Founded in 2011, Ocean Revolution Moçambique (ORM), is a non-governmental organization in
revitalizing the ways that the Indigenous Peoples of Inhambane Bay have coexisted with the
sea, to find, mentor and network new activists; and to protect and honor the ocean as a source
of wealth.

Internship description
From May 2022 until February 2023, ORM served as the host-institution for my nine-month
Fulbright Student Research Grant in Mozambique. I was convinced the organization was the
right fit after watching documentaries and reading articles featuring their work. I was drawn to
the organization because of their demonstrated commitment to conservation which balances
traditional knowledge and customs of indigenous communities with modern science and
environmental management. I knew ORM’s experience and strong ties with communities would
be the foundation of a strong research project.

Given their mission and experience in the area, I was beyond excited to join the ORM team in
an intern capacity in May. During the first three months of my internship, my responsibilities
centered around observing and participating in the breadth of ORM programming to
understand the history and scope of their work and familiarize myself with the context in which
I would be conducting my research. I participated in weekly planning meetings and
accompanied and supported my colleagues in their field activities. These activities were
recorded in my field log as the following:
★ Attending six rotating savings and credit association meetings and three fund-
distributions
★ Attending four community talks on gender-based violence and two on premature
marriage
★ Attending technical school graduation for scholarship beneficiaries
★ Participating in science programing including one day of water quality monitoring, five
days of fish capture monitoring, three days of baited remote underwater video (BRUV)
monitoring, and two days seagrass restoration
★ Assisting in radio programming preparation and interviews
★ Attending five agriculture and small livestock technical visits, two exchange of
experiences, and four distributions of seedlings and animals
★ Attending one environmental and one English education class
★ Participating in seven community village talks
★ Attending over 15 community fishery council meetings

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 ★ Participating in two provincial and local level workshops, two commemorative
celebrations, and two field visits with governmental decision makers, NGO
representatives, and community fishing council leadership

The next six months of my internship were spent planning and executing my student research
project which focuses on the vulnerability of artisanal fishers and gleaners to the loss of
seagrass in the Bay of Inhambane. During the project phase of my internship, I completed the
following activities:
★ Elaborate a research question and objectives
★ Developing, scoping, and piloting social science research methods
★ Identifying and training 14 community research assistants
★ Surveying 431 fishers and gleaners across 14 communities and analyzing results to
identify the most important resources in each community
★ Holding 22 focus groups to better understand the economic, nutritional, and cultural
dependence of fishers and gleaners on each community-identified resource

Overview of internship experience

Through completing these activities during my internship, I both learned and grew
tremendously. Some of my key takeaways are the following:

Community development and organizing:

During my internship experience, I was exposed to the various ways in which an organization
can support the development of a community through sensibilization, capacity building, and
technical assistance. I was able to see first hand how my colleagues organized and mobilized
communities. I built an understanding of how to manage relationships with communities, civil
society organizations, and government decision makers to achieve organizational goals and
ensure the sustainability of a program. I also was able to understand the importance of
involving community members from design to execution of a programming, to ensure that
programs support community needs, are understood and adopted by the community, and
ownership can be transferred to communities at the conclusion of the project. Finally I was able
to see the benefits of a multi-sectoral approach to community development, where
programming for artisanal fishing is paired with support in alternative livelihoods, finance,
education, and gender to increase multiple aspects of community resilience at once.

Integration as a researcher:
During my internship experience, I had to learn how to build trust and be accepted into
communities. Introduction by a member of ORM to the CCP leadership was a key ticket into the
community. After introductions, I learned that just being present in the community was the

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most important part of establishing rapport. It helped communities get used to my presence,
and forget their “visitor behavior.” The third key component was local language. Learning
Gitonga proved essential to demonstrate my interest in learning about community ways-of-life
and built trust. I learned that integration into the community is at the foundation of authentic
research. After spending extended time in communities I was able to see patterns of behavior
over time and space. Ideas and behaviors that were a blur on entering the community took on a
sharper focus, and I was able to internalize basic beliefs, fears, hopes, and expectations of the
people I was studying.

Social-ecological context of Inhambane Bay:

In addition to learning how to work with and build trust within communities, I also learned a
wealth of local knowledge specific to the context of Inhambane Bay. Through extended time in
the field and discussions with colleagues I gained a comprehensive understanding of the
ecological, social, and cultural patterns of the Bay. I learned that the acquisition of community
knowledge and understanding is a cyclical process. I had to begin with a panoramic view of the
community. Then as I developed and carried out my research, I zoomed into microscopic focus
on details. Finally, I had to step back and look at the larger picture again - but this time with
new insight into the minute details.

How to develop a research project:

During my internship experience I learned how to create a research question, outline
objectives, and plan an independent research project. I found it very useful to have both input
from an advisor at my US institution to support theoretical and methodological needs and the
ORM team to advise on local issues, context, and norms. I used my observations from the field
and guidance of ORM to tailor my interests to the local context to address current research
gaps. When outlining objectives, ORM provided valuable advice about cutting down the scope
of my project objectives. I learned I needed to have realistic expectations for what I could
achieve in nine-months in the country. The most difficult part was developing the project plans
necessary to achieve my objectives. I learned to let go of my fear of inconveniencing my
colleagues and ask for help. Bit by bit, I was able to develop my skills in planning and
communication, although there is still space to improve, which is discussed below.

Social science research techniques for communities:

Once my project was underway, I was able to develop working knowledge of structured
surveys, focus groups, and general research ethics when working with communities. I was able
to learn these techniques through self-directed study of manuals and guidance documents. I
then applied this understanding to develop methods to collect the information necessary to
meet my objectives. I learned the importance of piloting questions and methods with the

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community and iterating before starting formal data collection. Studying and applying these
methods in my research was an extremely beneficial practice that will continue to build and
refine as I continue my work.

Ongoing considerations

While I had many useful experiences and growth with ORM, I feel that there is still
ample opportunity for improvement. Personally I would like to see improvement in two key
areas.

Project management and scoping:

One very important area that I would like to continue to develop is my project management
skills. Even after cutting down my objectives, I still tried to accomplish too much in too little
time. I learned that working with communities takes a lot of time, patience, and flexibility, and
that needs to be accounted for when creating achievable objectives and planning necessary
activities. In the future with better planning, time-management, and realistic expectations, I will
be able to produce more high quality work during the allotted time.

Communication and asking for help:

There were many times I struggled to manage my project alone. I realized I have a fear of
disappointing others by taking up their time and energy with my problems, which has led to the
development of a bad habit of not asking for help when I need it. This takes tolls both
personally and professionally. I put a lot of pressure on myself, my work suffers, and my
colleagues feel that I am not comfortable with them. In the future, I will continue to work to
change this mindset and speak up when I need help.

Organizationally, I would also like to see improvement in two aspects of ORM’s operations:

Data management:
I also believe my project could have been improved by improved access to existing
organizational and other local data. Thus, an organizational improvement that I would like to
suggest is better data management and data storage. ORM collects loads of extremely useful
capture and water parameter data, and well as organizational monitoring and evaluation data. I
believe both internal and external reporting could be streamlined and data sharing with
partners could be facilitated if data was regularly entered and updated in an online database.
For example, after each activity, a team member could quickly fill out a 5-minute form (Google,
ODK) on how many participants attended a palestra, how many animals were distributed, or
how much profit was produced from the sale of produce. Similarly water quality and catch data

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could be entered in real time using a smartphone and then automatically populate a
spreadsheet. Data could quickly be summarized and analyzed for a variety of purposes, or
shared with others who would like to access.

Collaboration and workplace environment:

I believe the ORM team could benefit from reflection on how the workplace environment may
affect collaboration and open communication among team members. I observed on several
occasions that colleagues were criticized harshly or berated in front of the team, sometimes for
extended periods of time. In my point of view, the weekly meetings can unexpectedly turn
hostile and I felt reluctant to share my opinion or speak openly for fear of criticism and
confrontation. Thus, I struggled to collaborate with my colleagues during our only dedicated
time together. Further contributing to this, I also felt discouraged collaborating with colleagues
outside of weekly meetings. Although on many occasions my colleagues were extremely
supportive and patient with my needs, as my internship progressed there were several times
when colleagues answered my questions shortly, failed to provide feedback, and neglected
commitments. This situation was made worse when I failed to speak up and give my colleagues
the opportunity to discuss why this was happening. Connecting back to my goal of improved
communication, I now realize I should have voiced my feelings much sooner with my
colleagues, instead of letting them snowball. Thus this consideration for improvement falls on
both sides. Personal and institutional improvements in communication and collaboration will
lead to stronger programs and a more productive work environment going forward.

Conclusion
The experience of living, working, and managing my first independent research project
in a different country than my own was extremely challenging and often stressful, but was no
doubt made much easier and immensely more enjoyable because of my internship with ORM. I
am extremely grateful for the patience and support shown by the ORM team. They offered an
exemplary introduction to their work and their communities. After helping me learn the ropes, I
appreciate that ORM trusted me with the freedom and independence needed to try things on
my own while still offering assistance when things didn’t go as planned. In the process, I was
constantly learning and being exposed to new challenges, new information, and new ways of
thinking. I am proud to have achieved immense personal and professional growth over the past
nine-months, and the most important aspects of this growth lie in the tougher lessons I
learned. I am most proud to take with the understanding of the value of doing things together. I
believe this understanding is summed up well by the African proverb: “If you want to go fast, go
alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

Estamos juntos!