African student learns to farm in Green County
Sep. 22—Issa Conombo made the decision in 2016 years ago to leave his home in Burkina Faso, Africa, to pursue his dream of being a farmer.
At a time when climate change, extreme weather and hunger afflict millions of people around the world, he said he wants to help feed the world.
After finishing high school, he made the trek to the United States. Conombo spent the next five years in New York City working as a dishwasher and Uber driver and saving his money for further schooling. He cited popular culture as one of the reasons he chose to move to the Empire State.
"I used to see New York on TV," he said, adding that he related to Eddie Murphy's character in the movie "Coming to America."
After searching for institutions that offered agricultural programs and discovering the abundance of farms in Wisconsin, Conombo moved to the area in August to attend Blackhawk Technical College in Monroe. With a desire to learn more about soils, crops, livestock and farm machinery operation, Conombo enrolled in the agribusiness and science technology program.
To help Conombo gain on-the-job experience, Blackhawk Tech staff connected him with Dan and Ashley Wegmueller, who own Wegmueller Dairy southeast of Monroe. The couple offered him an internship.
"It is a joy to have Issa on the farm," Dan Wegmueller said. "He has left me with an enhanced appreciation for what I have. And he will return home with a much broader outlook on agriculture and food production."
Wegmueller was once an international student himself. He spent time in Australia and Switzerland. He said he understands leaving home can be difficult, especially moving nearly 5,000 miles away.
Wegmueller commended Conombo for his bravery. "It takes a lot of courage to take yourself out of your comfort zone and explore," he said.
Conombo's unpaid internship isn't earning him credits toward his degree, but it is providing him with real-world experience.
"He just wants to learn as much as he can," Wegmueller said. "Through this experience we will have helped each other. I can't think of a better way to heal the world."
Wegmueller describes the internship as job shadowing that includes milking cows and harvesting crops—even birthing calves. In Conombo's native Africa, farming is manual labor done by hand, contrasting sharply with how things are done on American farms.
Since leaving his homeland, Conombo has had to be self-sufficient. He lives in an apartment in Beloit and still drives for Uber, as he did in New York.
After he earns his degree, Conombo said he plans to Burkina Faso and operate his own farm. He said he wants to buy tractors here to send home so his farm will have modern equipment.
"If I learn how to grow food, and have the chance to operate my own farm, I will contribute to feed the world," he said, adding, "I will contribute to feed people from my country."
