About us
Our Vision
We dream of a flourishing and diverse natural environment where people and wildlife coexist harmoniously, maintaining balanced ecosystems.
We envision a green and sustainable Paraguay with a healthy and stable ecosystem. Our goal is to create examples and habitats where living in harmony with nature, with mutual respect and fairness, becomes the new normal.
We believe that happiness is a human birthright and closely connected to having a healthy relationship with nature. Together with forests, animals, and fellow humans, we work spiritually and practically as pioneers exploring the possibilites of new societies and communities, as implementers of ideas, and we wish to be role models and inspire others to do the same.
How Panambi came to life
I am Silvia Hagen and I am the founder of Panambi. My aim is to do whatever I can to support the reforestation of the Atlantic rainforest in Paraguay. Only about 50 years ago, 90% of Paraguay was covered by rainforest. It provided a beautiful habitat for the people and the animals and an incredible diversity of trees and plants. It was a perfect, selfsustaining ecosystem. Today the forest area has been cut down to about 10% of the land.
I have been an organizational consultant and coach for many years and worked with organizations and people worldwide. I saw the dysfunctionality in many organizations and in our societies and I wondered what could be the way to heal this and move into a healthier and more lifesupporting culture.
Then I discovered the concept of permaculture and by diving into the principles and values of this holistic perspective I realized, that the principles that guide nature to be so perfect and selfsustaining could be applied to our organizations and societies. So I integrated this understanding into my consulting work.
Then I met Ingo Klugert in Paraguay. A German guy who lives in Paraguay since many years. He is an agricultural engineer with extensive experience in organic farming, organic seeds and agricultural consulting. He shared the same passion for the forest. And our vision about what we wanted to create was very similar.
So we decided to join forces. We are a great team as our talents and specialties optimally complement each other to provide all it takes to build and manifest our vision. Then I bought 10 hectares of rainforest, a beautiful property and the birth moment of my project Panambi.
My motivation to do this
● I have spent almost 30 years in consulting and coaching for large and mostly international organizations. I learned a lot about the dynamics of organizations and dealing with resistance towards change and transformation.
● I learned about the twelve principles of Permaculture about ten years ago. These describe how nature is so successful in self-sustaining cycles, capacity for adaption and waste management.These twelve principles can be applied to our society and to organizations almost one to one.
● I always had a passion for nature and especially the forest. As a child I spent hours and days in the nearby forests alone with my dog. The forest was the place where I felt most comfortable and safe. And my name Silvia derives from the latin word "silva" which means "forest".
● I am doing this reforestation work as an expression of my passion for the forest. It is what my heart loves to do most.
● I am not doing this to make money. I have made money with my organizational consulting work. And we all made a lot of money in our economy, often at the cost of nature.
● For me it is now time to give back what I have received. I consider myself blessed to be able to do this by following my lifelong passion for the forest and for nature.
● Panambi – my rainforest project in Latin America – is a non-profit organization created to support the rainforest and the people in Paraguay. Panambi is Guarani, the second official language of Paraguay and means Butterfly.
Our team
Our team of Paraguayos working with Ingo - from left to right:
Roman, Dario, Ingo, Fermin, Anakleto
Ingo: I am working professionally with these guys, they have been my "Agriculture team" for many years; we know, understand and appreciate each other. I can rely on each of them and they can rely on me. That is why we are not only together at work, but also meet regularly with our families for Asado or football. They appreciate my expertise and professionalism and I appreciate their loyalty and reliability. Our work, even if it is sometimes hard, is always a pleasure because of the way we treat each other.
It is very important for me to have an experienced and reliable team that wants to work with me and not against nature, because organic agriculture and organic forestry are almost non-existent in Paraguay, permaculture and agroforestry systems are not integrated in the official educational systems..