YPO Harare Chapter : Dairy Culture | Member & Partner Event | 9th February 2013
“The reason why a lot of people do not recognise opportunity is because it usually goes around wearing overalls looking like hard work” – Thomas A. Edison
The YPO Harare FY13 Education chairs decided that the key aims of this event were Quality Learning, Exposure, Out of Comfort Zone and a unique Hands-on experience for both members and their partners. Every detail of this event aspired to echo the key aims in a way that was both exciting and interesting for guests. The Kefalos brand is a household name in Zimbabwe, having successfully survived the challenges of hyperinflation and competition of trusted, quality alternative imported products. Kefalos has an extensive range of dairy products made at the modern Kefalos cheese factory in Zimbabwe. The success of the brand can only be attributed to the high standards of quality and diligence that the Kefalos team pride themselves in – it is undoubtedly a celebration of the triumph of passion, dedication and hard work. This event detailed the Kefalos brand by inviting each guest to experience the dairy “culture” (consider the pun!) and in so doing experience and explore the relationship between their own hard work at the Red Dane Farm and personal achievement in creating the final Dairy products at the Kefalos Factory. According to the Education Year’s invitation strategy, of creating an enticing, themed, physical invitation, Invitations were in the form of a local handmade basket filled with Kefalos products (80gm individual portions of Cheddar, Kefalotiri (parmesan-style), Italian Mozzarella and Vintage Gouda Cheeses, a jar of Apple & Kumquat jam which perfectly pairs hard cheeses, and a variety of yoghurts.) These were wrapped in a picnic style red gingham check cloth, and attached to the basket was a detailed Card Invitation, with directions (2 crisp $1 notes (crisp notes being very hard to come by in Zimbabwe!) money for Toll Fees included.) The basket was delivered to each member in a cold truck to ensure the dairy products’ freshness and quality were maintained in our African heat.
This informative and experiential event was captained by two larger-than-life, passionate and knowledgeable resources: Leif Reeckmann (Kefalos factory) and Ajs Kirk (Red Dane Farm.) Both resources proved to be extraordinary by sharing their fresh and engaging perspectives, their obvious expertise on Dairy culture and the Kefalos brand and Red Dane Farm business secrets. These two businesses work together improving stock and milk type and yield, to ensure better final dairy product, demonstrating a unique situation where two completely different businesses have to work together to achieve greatness and maintain a reputation, while still growing and improving consistently. It was inspiring to see personalities and businesses so positive and determined, working only to world-class improvement and development in the future in our own Zimbabwe. The infectious laugh of bigger-than-life “Leif” proudly striding around his factory, witnessing his team performing in very different circumstances with amateur YPO members thrown into their trade, injected passion into each and every one of us. Ajs shared the most wonderful modern farmer’s expertise and views, without restraint, demonstrating a love of farming, and reminding us that the getting the milk out of a cow is the easy part – it’s breeding, growing and creating exceptional feeds and ensuring the health of his wonderful herds, that really are the core of the whole process that ends in a full milk urn.
The farming and dairy content was deliberately tailored to be something completely different and of intrigue to the successful and curious young CEO. The content was premised on access to the insiders’ view, each activity and aspect of the event investigated what it’s really like to work on a dairy farm or what it’s really like to make dairy products. The carefully scheduled and co-ordinated activities led to what is commonly described as an “only-in-YPO” experience. In an attempt to provide a holistic understanding of Dairy culture, the education chairs successfully organised an event that elaborated on both pragmatic and the scientific aspects of Dairy Culture. Leaders appreciate the successful combination of “know-how” and understanding in any endeavour, and after all the hands-on experiences, while members relaxed with a delicious end-product bruncheon, Ajs Kirk expanded on his business model, why he and Leif believe they are successful and how they manage their employees. Their leadership perspective intrigued members with one quote in particular, where Ajs tells his managers that they are the “managers” and he is the “assistant”, and their job is to manage their areas, and to ask him to “assist” if they need him to. It echoed the reality that our resources were not only Leif and Ajs, but each and every manager who had led us in our experiences in their individual areas…
The Invitation advised all guests to wear very casual clothing with flat shoes. In true farming culture guests drove approximately an hour outside of Harare, to the Farm venue, at a very early six am and were split into two groups. Dustcoats, hats and gumboots were given to the group going to the Kefalos Factory while “Dairy Culture emblem” personally embroidered, white dungarees and gumboots were worn by the group going to Red Dane farm. All guests were given long socks to wear with their gumboots to avoid the inevitable “out of comfort zone blisters”! Each and every member experienced the awful feeling of being absolutely useless at filling 5 litres ice-cream tubs in a production line where there was much inexperienced wastage as a result! Team work was essential while keeping a calf in it’s pen and mucking out old hay, manure and feed, collecting disinfectants, brushing down the walls in teams. Our non-human resources, the cows, performed their roles interactively by knocking over pails, releasing their bowels in disgust at some milking techniques, and even accidentally kicking out on occasion!
RED DANE FRAM EXPERIENCE This experience engaged all five senses, it involved going into calf pens in pairs, to muck out while keeping the calf in the pen with them! The second part of the Dairy Farm experience involved the true “out of comfort zone” of hand-milking a cow. Guests learned the hard way that milking a cow is not as easy as it looks and that first cup of coffee with milk & sugar in the morning, will be far more appreciated!
KEFALOS FACTORY EXPERIENCE Guests were given the opportunity to try their hand at making some of the dairy products. The factory has Yoghurt , Ice-cream and Cheese-making production areas. The packaging and maturation section was also included as part of the experience.
After each experience, guests then walked to the Red Dane office and had morning Tea / Coffee / Yoghurt Terrines, while they sat on hay bales under the trees – a well deserved rest after all that early morning farm work. After the short break the group that was at Red Dane then went to Kefalos and vice versa.
All 5 senses were engaged and even challenged in both the Farm experiences and Factory experiences:
TASTE - from the delicious sneak-tastes of fresh hot mozzarella (55 degrees) which attendees hand moulded into 2kg balls, nibbles on the processed “Lazy Daisy” cheese slices, licks of delicious vanilla ice-cream, all fresh from the cows milked that morning! And of course, taste-buds were delighted with rewarding tea/coffee and silky smooth vanilla yoghurt terrines, cheese puffs and scones, jam and cream, and to wrap up the morning, the enormous selection on the buffet dairy-themed brunch.
SIGHT – driving out to the farm at sunrise, through the crazed outer high density suburbs of Harare, then through wonderful Zimbabwe bush, the wonderful sights and difference in tessellated views of the farm and magnificent cows set the tone that members were no longer in the City! Once all attendees were dressed up in their white dungarees or dustcoats, a sea of white, dairy themed persons littered the meeting place! Eyes were wide open with admiration in the stainless steel, pristine factory, with pipes, pasteurisers, production lines, people, and overwhelming machinery and activity! Eyes were similarly wide open when witnessing the calf pens to be mucked out, and the original dairy with enormous, real cows, with full udders waiting in anticipation!
SMELL - smells and tastes in the factory ranged widely from the strict hygiene liquids and sanitisers, to sweet peach yoghurt, vanilla bean yoghurt and the unctuous mozzarella cheese. The Red Dane Farm duly provided overwhelming manure whiffs, the smell of freshly cut silage and the delicious smell of baby calves and warm milk. The magnificent brunch buffet stunned with enticing smells, and buckets of field flowers on the casual farm picnic style tressle tables, wafted wonderful notes of heady fragrant tuber roses.
TOUCH – the most enormous sensory role was touch, as wheelbarrows and pitch forks were yielded, cows teats were primed and hand milked, cow hides were stroked to reassure, and ice-cream, yoghurt and cheese were HAND made and hand packaged.
SOUND – the sounds of cows moo-ing, calves bleating while their pens were mucked out and disinfected, tractors doing their daily travel around the farm, the loud noises in the factory, laughter and members engaging, and the final pop of a fine magnum of champagne cork, celebrating jobs well done, all played a part in a cultural sensory overload!
Delivering an experience filled with learning that would make members think and interact was one of the priorities of Dairy Culture. During brunch, Ajs Kirk spoke on “Dairy Culture” and the success-formula of the businesses, members asked questions regarding the success of the business and more interestingly how a white farmer had managed to not only keep, but run a successful and prosperous dairy farm during the harsh political climate and history in Zimbabwe. The practical experience of being on the dairy farm, learning about the science behind making dairy products, and also getting the opportunity to make a variety of dairy products, was further complimented by an explanation of how the business works and how the company has faced and overcome challenges. Although guests were given a lovely Take-home gift (a locally made pine cheeseboard with the Dairy Culture / YPO Harare Brand lasercut into it, and leather string, a small Babybelle cheese and intricately sculpted pewter Cheese mouse with spikes as a happy memento of the event, along with a printout with suggestions on how to prepare the perfect cheeseboard, to share with the family), the real take-home value came in the form of introspection and personal development. Many guests commented on how they will forever think about all the hard work that goes into a small tub of yoghurt or a slice of cheese whenever they eat one in the future. The inspirational story of recognising an opportunity disguised as hard work and challenges faced to realise a dream fuelled by passion is one we can all relate to. Our members learnt the details of dairy farming, production and to appreciate that splash of milk in a cup of tea and aisles and aisles of dairy products on sale in supermarkets!
Dairy Culture used active exercises to ensure group interaction and to get to know more members in the chapter. It facilitated members uncontrollably getting to know each other better! Working hard as a group on the Dairy farm and then making delicious dairy products was a successful team building and bonding exercise. Guests really got a chance to socialise and interact over a scrumptious brunch in a Farm-style setting with rustic trestle tables, red gingham check overlays and jugs filled with beautiful field flowers. Kefalos branded Crates were stacked around the brunch area, milk cans and buckets were intermittently placed around the area to compliment the rustic dairy theme. The rustic and farm-style ambience was the perfect setting for a mouth-watering, creative gourmet picnic menu – using Kefalos’ very own dairy products.
Prizes are always significant to our ambitious YPO members and partners, who relish the chance to get involved in competition! The prizes of Best Cheese-maker (a themed engraved YPO Dairy Culture Cheese Camp Cheese knife), Mucking Champions (embossed “Mucking Champion” garden forks), Best packager (engraved YPO Dairy Culture Best Packager glass cheese bell jar), Milking Champion (an engraved YPO Dairy Culture Milking Champion Milk bottle with cow patterns filled with fresh milk!), Yoghurt Champion (an embossed “Yoghurt Champion” Nivek ceramic Yoghurt tub container) and Ice-cream champion (an embossed “Ice-Cream Champ” Nivek ceramic Ice-cream tub container.) Ad hoc prizes including graters and cheese storers, cow ice-cream scoops, etc, were also awarded to unique performances positive AND humorously negative, and even to someone who lost their calf and another who was fired from the packaging section!
After the truly memorable brunch guests were enticed by a cone of lovely Kefalos ice-cream with exciting flavours such as Mango, Hazelnut, Cappuccino, Vanilla Bean and Belgian chocolate. Furthering the thought processes, these were packed in two Ice-cream vendor carts (consider that the most ice-cream sold by Kefalos is the cheap market brand Cortina, which is sold all around Harare in these carts by vendors whose daily profession is to sell ice-cream.
