Hawai’i, USA
Intern #110
E-mail: carlyldelacruz@gmail.com
Website: eatdrinkcozy.com
Before Obubu
While my background and experience is in Finance and International business, I found that my true passions lie in food culture and gastronomy. After university I worked for a global airline manufacturer for four years and then decided to pursue a masters in Food Culture, Communication, and Marketing at the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo, Italy. As a part of my program I needed to fulfill a related internship of my choice.
Why Obubu
I was interested in interning at Obubu because I wanted to learn more about agricultural tourism through a culturally significant gastronomic product. For me, it was tea in Japan. I had been to Japan many times before in different capacities, as an undergraduate student, as a tourist, and for work, but I wanted to return again and experience Japan in a whole new way — this meant experiencing a life in the countryside of Japan.
Obubu’s internship was very attractive for multiple reasons, 1) it was established and had a well organized and developed program, 2) it is an international company with other interns and staff members from all around the world, and 3) Obubu is a small company who focuses on producing high-quality tea.
During Obubu
During my time at Obubu, I participated in various activities including leading tea tours, harvesting and processing tea, daily operations such as packing and restocking the store, and I also had a personal projects.
My personal projects revolved around creating content through visual communication, photography, and design. Some examples of my projects include postcards which were designed to be educational material about tea, digital flyers to supplement the International Internship Program outreach project, creating new slides for the tea tour revamp, and producing videos for Intern Interviews.
After Obubu
After Obubu I would like to use my visual communication, content creation, and design skills in the setting of an agricultural business who incorporates tourism into their business model. I would like to create, design, and strategize a communication strategy for these types of companies. I am a passionate gastronomic storyteller and my hope is to work in a dynamic environment combining my marketing and communication skills with my passion in agriculture tourism, food culture, and sustainability while facilitating meaningful cultural exchanges through education and community engagement.