Ever wondered what you pack for research in Afghanistan, a conference in Tanzania or a trip to Argentina? Anna Barker talks to her jet-setting colleagues about packing, pleasant surprises and post-trip regrets.
Yolande Kyngdon-McKay - Manager, Gems and Jewellery
1. Where did you recently travel?
Chile, Brazil and Argentina
2. What 5 things did you pack?
• Amazon Kindle, filled with everything from Charlotte Bronte to Charlaine Harris
• Sony Cybershot
• Malarone, which I took for three days in the Pantanal before realising there were zero mosquitos
• Factor 60+ sunscreen
• Macbook Air
3. What did you wish you'd brought?
• A definitive butterfly handbook
• A personal fan—sitting on a boat in the Pantanal sun is excruciatingly hot
• A bigger camera lens—mine felt decidedly tiny next to those of the professional photographers
4. What was the biggest achievement of your trip?
Getting some amazing shots of jaguars in the wild. They are very difficult to spot in the dense foliage of the Pantanal wetlands, and taking photos in a rocking speedboat can be very tricky.
5. What was the biggest challenge of your trip?
Trying to figure out what to do when an 8.3 earthquake hits. I somehow eventually remembered a random documentary I'd seen that said you should stand under a doorframe. Not sure it would have helped much had the building collapsed (we were on the 8th floor), but it turned out fine for us (others in Chile were sadly not so lucky).
6. What were you most astounded about?
How beautiful jaguars are. They have the most stunning faces. They're also like leopards and cheetahs insofar as they hold your gaze, whereas lions just disinterestedly look away (in my experience, anyway!).
Estelle Levin-Nally - Director
1. Where did you recently travel?
Switzerland
2. What 5 things did you pack?
• Client documents (ever on top of it)
• Laptop (ever busy)
• Mongolian gold jewellery (ever vain)
• Sunglasses (ever the optimist)
• Umbrella (ever the risk manager)
3. What did you wish you'd brought?
• Flat shoes
• Swiss charger
• My children, because their eyes would have boggled with what I saw.
Asher Smith - Associate
1. Where did you recently travel for Levin Sources?
Arusha, Tanzania, to a Mining Conference on artisanal and small-scale mining formalisation
2. What 5 things did you pack?
• Passport w/visa
• Peanut butter & hunk of French cheese
• Hiking boots and hiking socks
• Blazer/suitcoat
• Notebook & pen
3. What did you wish you'd brought?
• Enough cash to buy one of the Uru Diamonds bracelets that are blowing up the East Africa jewellery scene.
4. What was the biggest achievement of your trip?
Learning - from the miners themselves! - about the similarities and differences between gold and colored gemstone mining cultures.
5. What was the biggest challenge of your trip?
There were so many fantastic people gathered doing interesting, inspiring work, and not nearly enough time to meet with all of them to learn about their work.
6. What were you most astounded about?
A conference like this is representative of the gender dynamic in the mining industry's policy makers and power shakers: maybe 1 in 10 participants was a woman. This is not the case on the ground, where there are many women involved in the mining sector, but is the case amongst the decision makers. When I asked folks at the conference about this, they acknowledged the same is true in their home countries: in government - few top ministry of mining government officials are women; in academia, not enough women are studying the relevant specialties - geology, gemology, engineering, mechanics at university, when you move up the value chain, fewer women are in charge.
Nevertheless, what astounded me was just how awesome women in the mining industry are. I was impressed again and again by my female colleagues. It was a privilege to meet these women who mine, own mines, trade gemstones, advise governments, and advocate for changes to their sector. I'm so excited for women to continue to gain leadership, decision making, and advisory roles.
