In Memory of Reto Ingold

I met Reto Ingold in 1997 during his visit to the SEKEM farm. During this meeting, we laid the foundation for our first collaboration. Together with Karl Keller and our friends from Isik in Turkey, we developed a project in which we were able to intensively promote biodynamic developments in Tunisia, Egypt, and Turkey until 2002.

Since that time, Reto has always been a friend and colleague to me, with whom I had the good fortune to work in various contexts. What made our collaboration special was the mutual respect we had for each other. Even when we had differences in approach or opinion, Reto always managed to keep our fundamental common ground in sight.

Our joint work with Thomas Schmidt on the consultant quality assurance process deepened this special quality of our collaboration even further. With Reto, I could always discuss professional questions, whether it was about cultivation, certification, interpretation of standards, or culture-specific issues. For him, collegial cooperation was always paramount, never competitiveness.

I want to thank you, Reto, from the bottom of my heart. Your much too early departure is hard to bear. I feel that there is still so much ahead of us that needs to be done on this earth. The certainty that you will accompany us from the spiritual world is, however, a comfort.

In silent remembrance, Klaus