What one person cannot achieve, many can

Sarah is a philosopher and farmer whose experience in theoretical ethics led her to realise that saving the world requires action, not just words. In 2013, she founded Hof Narr, a sanctuary farm near Zurich, together with her husband Georg and her friend Melanie. The farm was intended not only as an opportunity to put plant-based agriculture into practice rather than simply advocate for it, but also as a place of learning and education, alongside the rescued animals who live there.

Today, Hof Narr is not only a working farm that demonstrates how agriculture can be done differently while feeding many people; it is also a popular educational destination for school classes, companies and families. Since 2018, it has also become a point of contact for farmers interested in transitioning to productive agriculture without livestock.

Sarah Heiligtag brings together the theory and practice of ethics with the foundation of human life: agriculture. She is committed to helping people rethink their relationship with animals through direct experiences and to shaping a future that is fit for generations to come.

Florian supports farmers who want to rethink their farms and develop them in a future-oriented and economically sustainable way. Within TransFARMation, his particular focus is on the economic aspects of farm transitions — from financial analysis and modelling to developing value creation models and addressing supply chain issues.

He combines his background in business administration (M. Sc. in Accounting, Taxation and Capital Markets) with his long-standing engagement with animal ethics, sustainable agriculture, and our relationship with the environment and the beings who inhabit it. Florian helps farms identify their economic potential, develop sound business models, and implement solutions that make plant-based agriculture financially sustainable and successful.

Corina advises farmers who want to rethink their farms and develop them for a sustainable future. She supports farms in transitioning to plant-based agriculture—from the initial idea and development of new farm business models to marketing, sales and innovation.

Combining agricultural expertise with a strong eye for new opportunities, she helps farms build on their strengths, explore new paths and create a sustainable and successful future for their businesses.

Carola supports the TransFARMation team with back-office tasks and a wide range of projects. She keeps things running smoothly behind the scenes, taking care of organisational and administrative tasks.

She researches agricultural and scientific topics and helps maintain and develop our website and social media channels. She enjoys working behind the scenes, but also wants to play an active role in bringing important topics and ideas to life — and helping make the transition towards a more sustainable and future-oriented agriculture visible.

In 2019, Alex Ottinger began bringing the idea of sanctuary farms into the foundation’s emerging strategy. Alex has been working for years to help build a future-ready world, so it was a natural next step to bring Sarah and her TransFARMation initiative on board. Over the years, the project has continued to grow, and the NEB Animal Welfare Foundation has become an important pillar in advancing the transformation of agriculture.

At the NEB Animal Welfare Foundation, Alex supports existing and future sanctuary farms and is responsible for the administration of the foundation’s office.

Alex is also responsible for a professional development programme for farms, supporting them in bringing their visions to life and reaching even more people.