Olivia

About me

I worship nature, the spiritual and physical world  of all living and non living things that occur without human intervention. I am passionate about finding ways for us humans in which we can live in this world without deteriorating it. I have been working in nature conservation, sustainable management of natural resources and rural development since I finished my MSc in Ecology. My PhD specialiced me on social issues in nature conservation and I became interested in the question about how people can create a livelihood while conserving their natural environment. I first worked as community engagement manager in a national park in Northern Congo. Then I worked on issues of sustainable forest management as expert in governance and  biodiversity conservation. In this role I also led a project on capacity building of indigenous peoples, still in the Congo. I became a mother and moved back to Switzerland. My work in the design of conservation and development projects and on the development of social safeguard tools in such context was super interesting, but mainly desktop based. The urge arised to be in closer daily contact with nature, but also with people. And I needed to think about how I could be present for my son. I learnet about permaculture and regenerative farming. These principles and ideas seemed to me like a pathway to create sustainable livelihoods. I chose this pathway for myself. I wanted to buy impoverished farmland and regenerate it together with others. Instead I fell in love and bought, all alone, land and buildings that have been abandoned in the 70s and where forest has been regenerating taking over pastures. It does not need to be restored. Thus I am again confronted with the question of making a livelihood while preserving nature. This time it is about my own livelihood, and I hope of others that I wish to involve. This is the path that I am on. First steps: restoration of buildings and thedevelopment of an infrastructure for water collection and management, finding others that want to share this adventure and planting trees. I have just grafted my first 30 trees.