Laura Koot is referring to the Fairlight Foundation, the female-only training institute in Northern Southland of which she is executive director.
Now in its fourth year, the aim was to create mentors and role models in the rural industry who could then go out and influence and inspire other women.
It is based at Fairlight Station, a 2500ha property near Garston, owned by Simon and Lou Wright, and Doug and Mari Harpur.
A recent impact evaluation of the programme, undertaken by Dr Lesley Petersen, with funding provided by Food and Fibre Centre of Vocational Excellence, showed it was having a meaningful impact on advancing women’s careers in agriculture.
Participants highlighted the programme’s success in bridging the gap between academic learning and hands-on farming experience.
Through a combination of practical training, leadership workshops and mentorship, the internship helped participants build essential technical skills, such as livestock management, machinery operation and fencing.
It also strengthened core transferable skills such as communication, teamwork and critical thinking, preparing participants to adapt to diverse roles in the industry.
Several practical and structural enhancements were identified and were reflected in the recommendations, including opportunities to strengthen skill development, increase intern autonomy and involve graduates more actively in programme delivery.
Dr Petersen said the programme’s emphasis on leadership development and promoting female representation was a defining strength.
Graduates and current interns credited their experiences with boosting confidence and inspiring them to pursue leadership roles.
The programme had demonstrated its ability to prepare participants for leadership and operational roles while addressing critical industry needs.
"This evaluation highlights its broader potential as a replicable model for other industries, advancing gender equity and professional development across the food and fibre sector."
While delighted with the evaluation, Mrs Koot said those behind the foundation had a "massive" 100-year vision and there was so much more they wanted to achieve.
But the report was confirmation they were on the right track.
Back in 2020, the drivers behind the initiative came up with a mission and vision.
They wanted more women advancing their careers into leadership roles in the agricultural sector.
Since then, every person she had contacted — whether it was to ask for their experience, industry support, passion or networking — had helped to execute what that vision was.
On reflection, she was not sure whether they had a realistic vision of what was going to happen.
But that success had been down to everyone that had contributed to the programme.
A key factor was ensuring the course stayed fit-for-purpose and the women involved needed to be advancing their careers. So they were constantly re-evaluating the course.
After graduating, contact remained with the women and both Mrs Koot and Mr Wright heard from them weekly, helping them transition into different roles.
The women were also helping each other. For Mrs Koot, the highlight had nothing about watching the women succeed professionally.
Rather, it was about watching them grow, gain confidence in their own abilities, make decisions to drive their own lives.
"If you don’t have confidence in yourself, you let other people make decisions for you and that holds you back."
Her own circumstances have changed since the programme’s inception.
She is now mother to Isla, 3, and Joseph, 1.
She believed becoming a mother meant she was a far better mentor.
"What better way to prepare them [the women] for the reality of having children in a rural area than have the executive director bring her kids to meetings?"
The reality of raising children in rural New Zealand was there was often no daycare and a "village" approach was needed. The foundation fully supported her working as a mother and she incorporated it into her role. There was a great bunch of interns at Fairlight this year.
"Every year we are getting better at articulating what the programme is so we’re attracting applicants that really buy into that.
"We are not here to spoon feed these interns what they need.
"We facilitate, we support, we don’t throw them in the deep end, but it’s hard. It’s intense.
"We have 12 months to prepare them as best we can for the rest of their lives.
"We make no apology for how intense the year is. "All they want to do is make their mark in the ag industry — and we are all about it."
