During the ongoing harvesting season we have the pleasure of hosting three trainees. Celie, Chantal and Emilie are all studying in the field of agriculture and are working on dedicated projects while being part of our team this spring. In their own way, all of them have already brought new perspectives and fun into the team, as well as French, Japanese and Dutch translations to our own TANGO Seaweed dictionary.

Seaweed trainees Spring 2022: Celie, Emilie and Chantal. (© TANGO Seaweed)

We will let them introduce themselves:

Celie Carmona. (Copyright: TANGO Seaweed)

Hello! My name is Celie Carmona and I will be an intern at Tango Seaweed until the end of August. I study Organic Agriculture in Wageningen, the Netherlands, but I am originally from Tokyo. There, I grew up surrounded by an almost dizzying range of food cultures, but what stuck by most was all the different types of seaweed incorporated into our traditional meals. There would be kelp, sea lettuce, wakame, and more on our table, made into fried snacks, soups, salads, or garnish. However, it was only after I left Japan as I realised how lucky I was to be surrounded in such variety. Ever since that moment, my interest for seaweed has grown steadily, culminating in arriving in Norway to study how they are grown. My personal goal is to come up with seaweed recipes for everyone to try!

During this internship, I will be primarily looking at the adaptation of organic certifications for aquaculture and seaweed production in Europe, but also in Japan and North America as a comparison. Regulations regarding seaweed production is not yet well established in Europe. Thus, providing a full scope of the current situation is key to laying the groundwork for certifying high quality and sustainable seaweed. I will also look into consumer perceptions of organic certifications across countries to understand how labels influence product choices. And, last but not least, I will be participating in the upcoming harvest of the kelp and help with tasks around the company. I am very excited to take part in this endeavour and learn more about seaweed and the people of Tango Seaweed. Say hello if you see me around the office in Haugsbygda!

I am Chantal Leenders, 22 years old from the Netherlands. For 10 weeks this Spring, I am doing my internship at Tango Seaweed AS. The internship is about going abroad and experience the plant and food sector from a new perspective. This will broaden my knowledge and view on these sectors. I am studying Applied Biology in Venlo at HAS University of Applied Science and choose the directions of the plant and food sector. Since I was young, I did swimming, and the water feels like a home to me. Also, I love being in the nature, seeing various places, and taking photographs of the surrounding. I always wanted to go and travel to another country and thought that Norway will be a wonderful place to visit at least once.

During my stay in Norway at Tango Seaweed AS, I will help with the harvest and do experiments on the cultivation aspects of the seaweed. How can the cultivation of the seaweed be perfected looking at the seeding methods (twine seeding and direct seeding) and the seeding solutions of seaweed (sporophytes and gametophytes)? With the harvest I help in all the processing steps and most of the time I am working in the office or the factory of Tango Seaweed AS in Haugsbygda. However, sometimes I am on the boat at the sea farm. I am looking forward to broadening my knowledge and getting new experiences in the coming weeks.

Emilie Francois. (Copyright: TANGO Seaweed)

Hello I am Emilie François a 20 years old student from France. I am doing a two-year university degree in technology of agronomy in Angers, a city on west of France. Agronomy is the sciences and technology of producing and using plants to produce food, fuel or even chemicals. During my two years studies I have mainly been focusing on land agriculture.

Coming from Brittany I always had a close contact to the ocean and it has always been a source of curiosity, especially seaweeds. I was astonished by all the different uses the seaweeds could have and in how many fields it was used. This is why doing my internship in a seaweed farm was my main goal, I was really interested in seeing the whole process of growing seaweeds from start to finish.

In the upcoming 10 weeks I will realise my final year internship at Tango Seaweed. My training period will consist of assessing the effects of seeding methods and seed quality on yields in seaweed cultivation. I am really thrilled to be part of this project, it will allow me to comprehend the seaweed cycle and production and secondly I will be able to apply the knowledge I have acquired during my two years studies.

During my stay I will participate in the different activities of the harvest and especially the hanging of the seaweeds during which I will assess the harvest on multiple criteria. I am looking forward to going deeper into the project I am assigned for and find some answers during my stay in Haugsbygda!

Trainees bringing new perspectives and fun to the TANGO team