Kurt Pfister, 25 years as President of the Board: Thank you very much.
Dear donors and sponsors Dear project partners in Ethiopia Esteemed representatives of authorities, agencies, and involved companies in Ethiopia and Switzerland Dear friends, relatives, acquaintances, and strangers Ladies and gentlemen
After 25 years of building and leading the Foundation Green Ethiopia, Winterthur, Switzerland, I am, due to age and especially health reasons, handing over my work for the foundation to younger hands. I relinquished the chairmanship at the end of the 2025 fiscal year and am retiring.
I do this with the greatest gratitude towards:
To the many loyal donors for their invaluable support and encouragement over the years: individuals, organizations, companies, foundations, churches, legatees, friends, family members, acquaintances, and even strangers, primarily in Switzerland, and increasingly in Europe as well.
To all our project partners and their staff, as well as the representatives of the local authorities. I am especially grateful to the thousands of farmers in the various project areas of Ethiopia who have actively implemented our ideas and goals.
To all my former and current board members, and especially to
my wife Irene and our two sons Adrian and Simon, who have provided invaluable support in building and managing the foundation over the past 25 years and have lovingly accompanied me through thick and thin.
You have all contributed to reforesting many thousands of hectares of land, irrigating thousands of hectares of farmland, and creating the conditions for a better future for tens of thousands of people in their homeland. From the bottom of my heart, I thank all of you who have accompanied and supported me and us. You have helped me to have an incredibly rich and fulfilling time in this third phase of my life. Fantastic! Thank you so much.
Water thanks to forests, food thanks to water, the foundations for a life of dignity.
Farewell
Now I bid you farewell with great satisfaction for all that has been achieved thanks to our fruitful collaboration over the past 25 years. I confidently hand over the leadership of the foundation to my successor, Dr. Alexander Hasler. I wish him every success, widespread acceptance among donors and partners in Ethiopia, and much joy and fulfillment in his work and its results. I extend the same wishes to the newly elected Vice President, James Hug. I thank them both for their willingness to assume these responsibilities.
Saying goodbye to the many people who have become dear to me over the years is very difficult – the relationships that developed over time were simply too beautiful. But that can’t be changed; that’s the way of the world.
Thank you again very much and all the best.
Kurt Pfister,
Kurt Pfister, Honorary President
January 2026
A boy herds the family’s goats in front of the Adwa Mountains using a traditional lyre-like instrument called a ‘krar’.Sunset at Seglamen Hill near Axum.
PS: I have compiled the results of our work in a photo book, which can be ordered at «info@greenethiopia.org», unfortunately only in German and in a limited edition.
Kurt Pfister, 25 years as President of the Board: Thank you very much.
Dear donors and sponsors
Dear project partners in Ethiopia
Esteemed representatives of authorities, agencies, and involved companies in Ethiopia and Switzerland
Dear friends, relatives, acquaintances, and strangers
Ladies and gentlemen
After 25 years of building and leading the Foundation Green Ethiopia, Winterthur, Switzerland, I am, due to age and especially health reasons, handing over my work for the foundation to younger hands. I relinquished the chairmanship at the end of the 2025 fiscal year and am retiring.
I do this with the greatest gratitude towards:
You have all contributed to reforesting many thousands of hectares of land, irrigating thousands of hectares of farmland, and creating the conditions for a better future for tens of thousands of people in their homeland. From the bottom of my heart, I thank all of you who have accompanied and supported me and us. You have helped me to have an incredibly rich and fulfilling time in this third phase of my life. Fantastic! Thank you so much.
Water thanks to forests, food thanks to water, the foundations for a life of dignity.
Farewell
Now I bid you farewell with great satisfaction for all that has been achieved thanks to our fruitful collaboration over the past 25 years. I confidently hand over the leadership of the foundation to my successor, Dr. Alexander Hasler. I wish him every success, widespread acceptance among donors and partners in Ethiopia, and much joy and fulfillment in his work and its results. I extend the same wishes to the newly elected Vice President, James Hug. I thank them both for their willingness to assume these responsibilities.
Saying goodbye to the many people who have become dear to me over the years is very difficult – the relationships that developed over time were simply too beautiful. But that can’t be changed; that’s the way of the world.
Thank you again very much and all the best.
Kurt Pfister,
January 2026
PS: I have compiled the results of our work in a photo book, which can be ordered at «info@greenethiopia.org», unfortunately only in German and in a limited edition.
IT IS TIME TO SAY GOOD BYE
Categories: General news, Newsletter