Testimonials

Francois Joubert - ESH Lead Africa, Monsanto

There are times in a persons’ life that you meet someone that changes the way that you think. Today I had the privilege to meet such a man. 

Many times you meet persons that talk a lot with lots of impractical plans.  Today I met a man that have practical plans and execute them.  We all hope that we will leave something behind that people will remember us by.  Today I met a man whose work will let the world remember him forever.  It was good to hear a father talking about his sons values that grew from his example. We are going to need a lot of Rene Hallers if we think that we can feed the world.

Bo Kim, Mako Group

"Mako supported Haller through its Dealing for Donations Day.  We were given the opportunity to visit Haller's projects near Mombasa in January 2011, where we saw the positive impact our contributions had made.  With thanks to Rene Haller and the Haller team, we learnt valuable lessons in self-sustainability and what can be achieved by the local communities themselves.  We could clearly see that Haller has successfully transformed the lives of the communities it works with and has helped to give them and other local communities a vision for the future.  Haller looks towards providing a model for practical economic community development that is sustainable and environmentally sound and from what we experienced, that has been put into reality.  We are thoroughly excited to see what progress the projects we saw will make in years to come."

Edward Oately, MBE

"Haller's demonstration farms and farmer field training programme are the Oxford and Cambridge of agriculture.'  

Lord David Steel

"When I visited the Haller project at Mombasa I was deeply impressed by the simple but effective approach to using natural resources to maximise sustainable food production - so impressed that I made a donation, and would encourage others to do likewise!"

Emma Soames - Editor at Large, Saga

"Rene Haller is a legendary figure on the coast of Kenya where his work on land reclamation and small scale ecosystem development is widely admired.... All the health and farming programmes run by Haller are intelligently designed as well as being sublimely simple.... Their methods could be introduced right across areas of Africa equally beset by drought, and soil impoverished by deforestation and traditional farming methods."    

Sita Schutt - Director, Prospero World

"Haller was one of most exciting and inspiring projects we have seen. What stood out for us was the multiple levels at which it operated and the many ingenious solutions it provided to develop the communities in which it works. We are constantly citing Haller as a model of good practice and encourage other NGOs to liaise with them." 

Mary Barry - Director of Community Relations, British Airways

"Haller fits with our community and conservation programme and is one of 100 projects that we support worldwide.  We were impressed by the impact that Haller has on the communities it works with.  They have a strong model for community development which links food, health, education and the environment which fits directly with our community investment priorities." 

Ministry of Environment & Natural Resources

"Dr Haller is a national treasure to Kenya.  He has demonstrated through patience and hard work that deserts can be greened in a sustainable manner.  50 years later he is still working with our fellow Kenyans to make sure they are living in harmony with their environment.  It is an important lesson to people everywhere that whatever we take from the environment we give back - only then can we benefit." 

Mr. Gregory Campbell (East Londonderry) (DUP) - A speech made to the House of Commons 

"....I should also like to mention the work of Dr. Rene Haller, who is from Switzerland. Dr. Haller started experimenting with different trees to see if any would put down roots into the dry, rocky terrain in northern Kenya. The casuarina tree, whose seeds were washed up on Kenyan shores when Krakatoa erupted in the 1860s, was thought to be the best candidate. It produces nutrients in nodules on its roots and so is self-sustaining.

Haller set up a charity and managed to establish many different business enterprises supported by rehabilitated land, both employing and providing food for hundreds of local people. He managed to demonstrate the value of conservation-for example, by showing farmers the benefits of tree planting in preserving water for irrigation. Another activity complements dam-building projects. To prevent the freshwater pools from becoming breeding grounds for mosquitoes, fish have been introduced and the fish eat the mosquito larvae. The fish are also a rich source of protein for the community and they fertilise the water, which makes it even better for feeding the crops. Any surplus fish are sold, providing much-needed income for local communities.  ...."