Engagements

Social Engagement

It is not possible for me, to help anywhere I would like to help. But I am privileged to live in a rich country. That’s why I like to support people and organizations that are active and help in areas that are important to me.

For this reason I support the following organizations:

Panambi – The Rainforest Oasis in Paraguay

Only 50 years ago, 90% of Paraguay was covered by rainforest. Today it is only 10%. Indigenous peoples were displaced and the forests cut down for profitable monocultures (soy, eucalyptus). The rainforest plays a central role, both as a livelihood for Paraguayans and as an important factor for the global climate.

I have been living part-time in Paraguay since 2022 and know the situation from my own experience. I have also made many contacts with interesting people, both locals and immigrants. This led to the founding of “Panambi” (which is Guarani and means “butterfly”).

Panambi has set itself the goal of reforesting around 500 hectares of rainforest by 2030 and thus creating good jobs for the local population. This is to be financed by donors and investors from Europe. Many of us here in Europe live in affluence. We have often achieved this at the expense of nature and the earth. I have launched this project because it is time for me to give back and compensate. To do what I can to restore the rainforest. To this end, I have founded a tax-exempt association of the same name in Switzerland.

This is a very enriching project for me. The beauty and power of the rainforest is indescribable. And we as a society can learn a lot from the wisdom of the forest.

More information about us, pictures and projects can be found at www.panambi.org.

White Lions Foundation

After nearly 10 years of intense research in scientific and cultural significance of the White Lions Linda Tucker founded the White Lions Trust,  a public benefit organization.

I met her when she visited Switzerland in summer 2019 to tell her story. She was rescued by a Tsonga medicine woman back in 1991 from a dangerous encounter with a pride of lions. She gave up her career in international marketing and has since then dedicated her life to protection of the critically endangered White Lions. Despite their rarity and cultural importance, the White Lions have no protected status and may be the trophy hunted in the wild and in captivity.

  • Connect with the White Lions Foundation and learn more about the White Lions
  • Read Linda’s story in the book “Mystery of the White Lions” and get interesting  and important  information on the roots of human life on the planet.

Through my work in integral organizational development I have learned that the most critical thing we need to develop is to open our hearts and connect with ourselves and other people much more from a heart level. The easiest way to develop this is to connect with mother earth and nature. To me the White Lions are just very beautiful and powerful beings reminding me of this. This is why I love to connect with them.

Permaculture

Permaculture, also called regenerative agriculture, solves many problems that arise from the one-sided management, especially with monocultures and centralization.These have led to an extensive reduction of natural resources and cycles, which manifest themselves among other things in massive humus degradation, disturbed water cycles and insect deaths with far-reaching consequences for various ecosystems.

The cure is to see the systems as a whole, to restore the self-regulating cycles and thus rebuild the humus and the water cycles. From the cultivation of monocultures with agricultural machinery back to the natural management of mixed crops, processed by hand.

The results speak for themselves:
Farmed with permaculture 1/10 of a hectare of land can produce as much yield as a whole hectare, farmed with traditional means and tractors.

I support two organizations that engage for the promotion and dissemination of permacultures, in Switzerland as well as globally.

You can find more information and links about permacultures here.

Pro Specia Rara

At a time when Monsanto’s, Syngenta’s, and Co’s are trying to control the global food market, it is important to preserve natural seed and biodiversity. Pro Specie Rara is involved in this area. It was founded in 1982 to protect endangered livestock breeds and crops from extinction. Website in German, French and Italian.

Tischlein Deck Dich (The Wishing Table)

We Swiss people dump at least 40% of our food (2.8 million tonnes annually). This is an unbelievable waste in the face of world hunger and ecology. There are also people in Switzerland who do not have enough to live on (660,000 people below the subsistence level). Tischlein Deck Dich is an organization that saves food from destruction and distributes it to poverty-stricken people throughout Switzerland. Each week, they reach around 19,300 people in need at their 132 dispensaries. This amounts to 926’000 people in a year. In 2019, they managed to save and redistribute around 4,500 tonnes of food from destruction. In doing so, they make a socially meaningful and ecologically sustainable contribution to the respectful handling of food. Website in German, French and Italian.

Kids of Africa

Built by Burkard Varnholt, a Swiss banker, Kids of Africa offers a family to hundreds of orphans and a brighter future for hundreds of schoolchildren in the region. Burkard Varnholt regularly visits the region several times a year and the donations go to the children and the projects without any deductions for administration and support. Website in English.