Clara Drescher Link 
@linkclaradrescher

Partnerships lead to accomplishments

“In 2022, I was an apprentice at the Growing Up Right Institute, which provided me with much knowledge and self-improvement. Perhaps my most important intellectual achievement may have been the importance of partnerships, as they connect everybody in personal and impersonal form. At the Entrepreneurship and Rural Management course, we had a perfect idea of how a partnership works, either in performing a simple activity or a more complex one, like a cooperative or a company. To me, a personal partnership is the most important because it is rather related to lending support to a friend or acquaintance, thus establishing connections. A commercial partnership is also very relevant to our business and to the farmers. We are all connected by these mutual co- operations and it is joint work that gives rise to great social enterprises. Moreover, the Growing-Up results from partnerships, and it is an Institute that provides adolescents like us with the incredible opportunity of attending a course as apprentices.

The opportunities of the course were also a great help to us in terms of self-knowledge, in coming to know what we really want, in detecting our potential. It helped me grow and mature. I came to know about the history of my family and made friendships. The year I was an apprentice, I came to grips with many new things and some of them related to technology, to the use of reusable materials and about diversification. Much of this knowledge was acquired during the study trips and visits to partners.

As a daughter of farmers, I have already considered the option of engaging in rural activities, but it is not what attracts me as a life project. To me, the rural area is the best place to live, to have my house and cultivate vegetables, grow fruit trees in an orchard, a small lake and raising pigs, chicken and cattle. I do not imagine leaving the countryside because it is a cozy, calm and harmonious place for both nature and man. However, as a life plan, I am considering two options: the first is to take a Pedagogy Course and the second, an Architecture course.

If I happen to become a teacher, I will try to work in my municipality. If I chose the area of architecture, maybe I will have to work somewhere else, but I intend to keep connected to my locality. At the Learning Course, I realized that young people who opt for agriculture have good chances to succeed, as they are going to rely on help from their parents, right from the beginning, as well as guidance from Emater, Municipal Administrations and from incentive programs. Therefore, these young farmers will grow fast, with access to technology that makes their daily work easier. In addition, agriculture comprises several areas, with diversification possibilities and strategies to boost their income, seeing that if one crop fails, there will always be another one as a guarantee.”

Clara Drescher Link, 17 was a young apprentice in 2022 at the Rural Professional Learning Program held by the Growing-Up Right Institute, in Paraíso do Sul (RS). 112%