Interview Gerrit Hiemstra
The slow march of sustainable development
This year, Weather Impact celebrates its 10-year anniversary! To mark the occasion, we reflect on the last ten years and speak to both former and current colleagues who helped shape the company into what it is today.
This week, we talk to Gerrit Hiemstra, co-founder of Weather Impact. Gerrit and Arnold Lobbrecht founded Weather Impact ten years ago. As we celebrate this milestone, Gerrit takes us through the highlights of the last years.
Discovering a real need
I’ve known Arnold Lobbrecht for a long time. In 2002, we developed a course titled, ‘Weather and Water Management’ for the water boards and municipalities in the Netherlands. There was a real need for such training and now, over 20 years later, it’s still going strong.
However, we soon realised that we could make even a greater impact by providing reliable weather information in the context of climate change. A few years later, in 2014, we founded Weather Impact BV. When we started, our focus wasn’t specifically on Africa, but we quickly discovered that delivering weather and climate data was really a niche in these areas. There is a real need for practical solutions there, and hardly any other companies were reaching smallholder farmers the way we aimed to.
A different and amazing world
I no longer fly, but back then I travelled to Ethiopia and Kenya. I will never forget those trips. The people are so happy and welcoming. I noticed that they truly lived in the moment, which is very refreshing.
The environment was unlike anything I had seen. For instance, I saw a company build scaffolding from tree trunks, there are bumpy sand roads that turn into asphalt, and then suddenly into sand again. Streetlights were rare then, and power outages were so common that you’d find yourself plunged into darkness in the middle of a meal at a restaurant. Or you’d encounter a herd of sheep in the middle of the street in town. These experiences taught me to realise that you should take nothing for granted.
While the people we worked with were happy with our help, doing business as a Western company, from the Netherlands, can be challenging. We cannot just arrive and dictate how things should be done. You need to travel there, build trust, form partnerships, cooperate with local communities, and most importantly, listen to their needs.
Providing a sustainable service
Weather Impact largely operates on subsidies, grants, and funding to run our projects. Our goal is to channel these resources into the economies where we work. We strive to do this by building local capacity – training people from the local meteorological institutes to use and eventually manage the services we provide. We are deeply committed to finding and delivering lasting sustainable solutions.
One of the greatest strengths of Weather Impact has been its people. Our team has always had a significant role in shaping the direction of the company, deciding what we do and how we grow. Looking back over the decade, it’s amazing to see how much has changed – you can never predict how a company will evolve. We really struggled when Covid-19 hit. A lot of our funding was frozen, and we had a drop in projects. Had the situation persisted, the company might not have survived. But fortunately, new opportunities arose, allowing us to get back on track.
Although I have stepped back from the day-to-day operations, I am incredibly proud of what we have accomplished. I’m excited about the potential for our team to grow and deliver impactful projects around the world.
