Our History
In the year 2002 Siegfried Ramming founded Gaia Protection as a Foundation in Costa Rica. Siegfried was born in 1966 in Bayreuth and came to Costa Rica at the age of 21 years. There he bought a farm in the mountains and was one of the first pioneers to build a self-sufficient farm. He experimented with renewable water electricity, organic farming methods and natural construction.
In the early 90’s, many farmers sold their land for a very low price to foreign investors and cattle holders. The deforestation of the rainforest, the exploitation of flora and fauna and the expansion of livestock breeding and conventional agriculture were widespread. Siegfried was a foreign migrant into a new country, but he connected deeply with the local community and the protected of indigenous land.
Siegfried’s long-term vision was to protect the primary rainforest in Costa Rica and around the world for the conservation of natural habitat and biodiversity. Putting his vision into action he founded the Foundation Gaia Protection in 2002. The foundation allowed people from Europe to protect the wild rainforest in Costa Rica by donating into bioreserves and reforestation campaigns.
In this way, it was possible to demand long-term legal obligations on the part of the state by purchasing new land to already existing national parks and thus guarantee the protection of forest areas against the misuse of its natural resources.
Siegfried died in a car accident in Costa Rica in the year 2005. His unexpected death marked the end of the Gaia Protection Foundation, as his loss meant that the entire network lost its leading power to successfully complete ongoing projects and develop future developments.
His daughter Lila Behr realized at the age of 15 what her dad’s mission was and decided to carry on this legacy for the conservation of natural resources and people in need. After her graduation from high-school and a journey to South East Asia in 2017 she followed her father’s footsteps and brought his vision back to life.
During her journey to South-East-Asia she experienced the world in destruction caused by Palm Oil Plantations, Plastic Waste and local communities living in lack of basic needs like Food, Water and Shelter. Driven by the sense of purpose she began her first communitarian project in Bukit Lawang, Sumatra, Indonesia. At the doorway to the Leuser Nationalpark where the last Orang Utans on planet earth live surrounded by Palm Oil plantations she began to work with a local school to build plastic recycling machines that would clean the environment, provide new job opportunities and raise the environmental awareness.
Inspired by the simplicity of action, she decided to organize the environmental day event called Project Earth back in Bamberg, Germany. This is where she found a group of like-minded family members, friends and passionate individuals who believed in the vision of a more sustainable world for future generations.
Gaia Protection was then brought back to live on the 11th of November of 2018 with her mother Andrea Behr as a founding member. The new Gaia Protection team was completed with Lila’s friends Darius Pscherer, Livia-Emma Hog, Pascal Raps, Alina Chaoui and Pauline Heucken.
