Internship (Green Champion – Youth Regenerative Farming Extensionist) at Aga Khan Foundation

Madrasa Early Childhood Programme, Zanzibar (MECPZ), in collaboration with the Aga Khan Foundation (AKF), is excited to announce an opportunity for passionate young people to join our team as Green Champions!
Are you a young, motivated individual eager to build your skills in sustainable and regenerative agriculture? Do you have a passion for working with communities and helping farmers adopt greener, more productive farming practices? If yes, this opportunity is for you!

We are seeking Youth Regenerative Farming Extensionist Interns who will receive both classroom and hands-on training in regenerative agriculture, using the Farmer Field School model. Interns will then work directly with smallholder farmers and community groups to promote and demonstrate practical, sustainable farming techniques.

This is an excellent opportunity for individuals looking to expand their knowledge, gain field experience, and contribute to community transformation and environmental conservation.

 Key Responsibilities

Deliver one-on-one and group training sessions to smallholder farmers and horticulturalists on regenerative agriculture, including:

• Organic input production and use
• Soil health management
• Water conservation techniques
• Crop and plant selection
• Human Nutrition
• Basic livestock care within regenerative systems

Build and maintain strong relationships with farmers and horticultural communities to increase awareness and adoption of sustainable practices.

• Support farmer recruitment into the regenerative agriculture program.

Use digital survey tools to collect data on:

• Farmer productivity
• Adoption of sustainable practices
• Income changes

Other key performance metrics

• Prepare and submit weekly field reports, including success stories and lessons learned.
• Participate in community events and outreach campaigns to promote regenerative and organic farming.
• Mobilize farmers to join the program and transition to sustainable agricultural methods.
• Mobilize and train farmer groups to join Community-Based Savings Groups (CBSGs) to enhance their financial resilience and support agribusiness growth.
• Perform other duties as assigned to support community and environmental impact.

The requirements

Requirements:

• Diploma or Degree in Agriculture, Agronomy, Horticulture, Human Nutrition or a related field, or equivalent experience
• Strong passion for agriculture, farming, climate resilience, and the environment
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to engage with youth and community members.
• Unemployed youth aged 20 -35 years.
• Willingness to work flexible hours, including evenings and weekends if needed.
• Ability to work independently and take initiative, as part of a team
• Knowledge of and experience in sustainable farming practices are a plus.
• Ability to convey knowledge to others, especially farmers in the local context.
• Comfortable working in a farming context and engaging with smallholder farmers one-on-one.
• Possesses social organization skills and experience in any of the agriculture value chains.
• Ability to use common software programs (e.g., Microsoft Office, Google Docs) and educational software.
• Preferably from Zanzibar (Unguja and Pemba).

“AKF/MECP is an Equal Opportunity Employer and is Committed to Safeguarding and Promoting the Welfare of Children and Vulnerable Adults and Expects all Staff and Partners to Share this Commitment”

The MECPZ/Aga Khan Foundation is an agency of the Aga Khan Development Network (www.akdn.org).

Qualified female candidates are highly encouraged to apply

Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted

Sector

Social Development

About the Agency

The Madrasa Early Childhood Programme (MECP), an affiliate of the Aga Khan Foundation, was established in East Africa in the 1980s to improve access and quality of Early Childhood care and services in marginalized communities on the Coast of Kenya, Zanzibar and Uganda. As a locally rooted entity with an entirely local staff, MECP has been a driving force in championing affordable, high-quality Early Childhood Development (ECD) programs for the past four decades.
MECP works with key stakeholders to deliver (ECD) interventions for children ages 0-8. MECPs have been working closely with governments to enhance delivery of quality ECD interventions focusing on supporting front-line education and health workers and influencing ECD policy and practice, including quality teacher training. To date, MECP has trained over 8,000 teachers and reached over 1 million children. MECP's technical proficiency spans across various domains, including teacher capacity development, curriculum design, community engagement, and program evaluation. Graduates of MECP have successfully and consistently transitioned to higher levels of education, and over 10,000 have gained employment as ECD teachers, head teachers, caregivers, and community development workers.