One skill that I’ve definitely improved on during my time in India is thinking on my feet. This is something we watched Pollinate’s Hyderabad city co-founders Paul and Pascal do every day as they ran the local office, known as the Hive. Examples of some of their hurdles included having the washing machine break down while there were 10 extra guests in the house. We witnessed the successful installation of the Hive’s first air-conditioning units; however, the installation team made an electrical error that left us without electricity for several days.

As we started to make progress on our Working Bee projects, the co-founders encouraged us to take on more responsibility around the office. This gave us a taste of the chaos and the rewards of their day-to-day work. On the day that I was to give a presentation to five women who had expressed an interest in becoming Pollinators, we had a six-hour power cut. To add to the challenge, we soon discovered that all five of the women only spoke Hindi. All of the presentation material was either in English or Telugu (the local language in the state of Telangana). We ended up running the presentation off of my half-charged laptop — translating the English messages from the slides and videos into Hindi with the help of Sweta, Pollinate Energy’s human resources manager. We then approached all of the Hindi speakers in the office for help, and interviewed each of the applicants in teams of three.

We all had a chance to practice thinking on our feet each evening as we entered communities with trainee Pollinators. Every community was different; sometimes, we received a warm welcome, and at other times we were met by a skeptical crowd. Every sale had to be approached from a different angle once the needs of a particular community were understood. Some communities already had access to electricity, but supply was unreliable and came at a high cost. Meanwhile, other communities had an alternative source of light (such as coconut oil lamps) but were paying daily to charge their mobile phones at local stores. The new Pollinators had to figure out which benefits of the solar product to focus on, and it was our job to prompt them with ideas if they got stuck. A good sales pitch and a dose of persistence were often rewarded, and it was always great to see smiles on the faces of both the customers and the Pollinators each time a sale was made.

Although the air-conditioning is usually working in my office, and I know I’m unlikely to lose my electricity if I pay my bills, my life at home, of course, has its own hurdles. I’ll definitely be using my new problem-solving skills long after my plane hits the tarmac in Melbourne, and I know I’ll always think back to my experience in Hyderabad. I’d strongly encourage anyone who’s looking for an unforgettable challenge and a dose of inspiration to apply for next year’s YPP.

Visit the Pollinate Energy website for more information on how you can become part of its Young Professionals Programme.

Zara Marais (Zara.Marais@archtam.com) is a professional environmental scientist with ArchTam’s Impact Assessment and Permitting team in Melbourne, Australia, and an enthusiastic bird-watcher. She is still buzzing from a recent encounter with an Eastern Ground Parrot during a trip to southwest Tasmania.
LinkedIn: Zara Marais

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Sean, Louis and I have been here for four days now, working with the team from Pollinate Energy as they set up their operations in Hyderabad. We’re starting to settle into the routine of life in “The Hive,” Pollinate Energy’s headquarters in Hyderabad, and learning more every day about the challenges and joys of establishing and expanding a social business.

The two members of the Pollinate Energy team responsible for building the business in Hyderabad — known as the “city co-founders” — are Paul and Pascal.

Paul is originally from New Zealand, and has a background in corporate law and environmental policy. Pascal is a French surfer who used to work in advertising and fiercely guards his imported parmesan cheese. Paul and Pascal will spend a year here in Hyderabad training the local operations manager and sales manager, as well as recruiting a team of Pollinators — ensuring the business is capable of sustaining itself in the long term. Also living with us in the Hive are Emma (one of Pollinate Energy’s original co-founders) and Boris, who will both be the city-cofounders for Pollinate’s next expansion city. With so many people working together, the Hive (pictured below) is usually a bustling hub of activity. The best work is done in the kitchen, where “Pinky” the cook, whips up delicious curries for us every day!

As Sean explained in his previous post, we’re here with a team of nine young professionals to help Paul and Pascal work on four key projects. The objective of the project I’m working on is to increase recruitment of female Pollinators. With my team, I’ll be focusing on barriers to recruitment of women in India and how Pollinate can break these down to ensure they’re providing equal employment opportunities. As well as these projects, we’re also training the new Pollinators that have already been hired. So far we’ve worked with two new Pollinators (Kalyan and Anil, pictured with us below).

We run through theory with them in the morning, and then head out to the communities with them in the evenings to continue training in the field. Below is a picture of Kalyan, showing the leaders of a community how Pollinate Energy’s solar light product works.

Exploring Hyderabad has been an incredible experience so far. It’s a city of contrasts — old and new, loud and serene, rich and poor, beautiful and confronting. The Hive is located in a peaceful neighborhood, but only a few hundred meters away is a chaotic main street packed with people, traffic and street food vendors. Further into the city, we’ve seen ancient architecture standing beside the vast, modern office buildings. As we’ve started to enter the communities, we’ve met people who live without access to basic services like water and electricity. At the same time, most families within these communities will own a mobile phone, and it’s not uncommon for us to see satellite dishes attached to tents. We still have a lot to learn about the city and its people, and what role Pollinate Energy can play in addressing key social challenges.

The journey has only just begun; more from us soon!

Zara Marais (Zara.Marais@archtam.com) is a professional environmental scientist with ArchTam’s Impact Assessment and Permitting team in Melbourne, Australia, and an enthusiastic bird-watcher. You can also check out her previous ArchTam Impact blog post titled “Award-winning environmental practitioner shares three tips for new consultants.”
LinkedIn: Zara Marais

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Like many graduates, I left university with slight apprehension and a handful of vague ideas about the future. I had spent most of my spare time volunteering with conservation organisations and enjoyed this work immensely. At the same time, I felt a need to broaden my horizons and try something new. I took the leap and applied for a consulting job. Since joining ArchTam in 2012 as a graduate environmental scientist, I haven’t looked back — simply because I’ve been too busy to look anywhere but forward. Drawing on my own experiences, I thought I would share three tips for new graduates entering the world of consulting:

1. Find a mentor or two

The best thing about joining your first company is that it immediately places you within reach of senior professionals in your field.  Most are approachable, and many are willing to offer guidance and support if you ask for it. My own mentoring relationships have varied in purpose, formality and duration, but have all been valuable. Although your own company is a great place to find a mentor, the independent perspective of an external mentor can also be useful. Some industry associations hold social events for this purpose and some, like mine, even run mentoring programs. Having benefitted greatly from the mentoring program offered by the New South Wales division of the EIANZ, I’m currently involved in trying to roll the program out in other states.

2. Join your industry or professional association

Obvious benefits of becoming a member of your professional association include gaining access to industry events and training, networking opportunities, and professional accreditation. If you take one step further and join their committees, you also stand to learn how to run successful events, be the first to hear industry news, and form friendships with some of the most passionate people in your profession. Less than a year after joining my local EIANZ committee, I was lucky enough to be able to attend their 2014 Annual Conference in Hobart, Tasmania — and even luckier to receive the Tor Hundloe Award. Although I suspect I’ve benefitted more from my involvement than they have, I hope to continue contributing to their work and building a stronger relationship between ArchTam and the institute.

3. Never stop applying

After surviving the graduate-recruitment process, you may be tempted to settle into your new desk, throw away your CV and breathe a sigh of relief. Although it will hopefully be some time before you apply for a new job, it’s a good idea to practice by applying for every internal project, promotion or committee that interests you. Even if you don’t succeed, you’re bound to learn something from the experience. After replying to an email about an opportunity in ArchTam’s Melbourne office, I’m now exploring a new city and working as the environment coordinator for a major electrical infrastructure project. Yesterday, I filled out a very different application, for an Indian business visa, after having successfully applied for the 2015 Pollinate Energy Young Professionals Program. If the visa application goes to plan, ArchTam will sponsor me to travel to Hyderabad with Pollinate in April to help them facilitate the distribution of socially and environmentally beneficial products to the city’s urban poor. I’m looking forward to contributing to the ArchTam Impact blog later this year about my experience in India.

Are you a new graduate entering the world of consulting? If you have any questions, leave me a comment below!

Zara Marais (Zara.Marais@archtam.com) is a professional environmental scientist with ArchTam’s Impact Assessment and Permitting team in Melbourne, Australia, and an enthusiastic bird-watcher. She is still buzzing from a recent encounter with an Eastern Ground Parrot during a trip to southwest Tasmania.
LinkedIn: Zara Marais

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