Walking with rangers in Kenya inspired Steffen Sauer to set up a business that supports rangers and reforestation to protect African wildlife.
An eye-opening trip to Kenya in 2018 changed Steffen Sauer鈥檚 life. The German executive volunteered to live and work alongside rangers as they patrolled Kenya鈥檚 wilderness in search of illegal poaching and logging. Kenya鈥檚 elephant population and forests are under threat from black-market trade in bush meat, ivory and timber.
鈥淲itnessing the beauty of wildlife and the rangers fighting for it every day while being exposed to so many threats and challenges really made me think,鈥� he recalls.
Getting his hands dirty
“Leave your comfort zone鈥�. That鈥檚 one of Sauer鈥檚 mottos. And it鈥檚 something he has done throughout his career. Working for the German automotive supplier ZF Group, when a role came up as Head of Production for the Asia-Pacific region, he jumped at the chance and moved to China. 鈥淚f you get a chance to work abroad, do it,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t will totally change you. You鈥檒l develop a completely new skillset, collect lots of new impressions, and meet people along the way who will leave a mark on you or become your friends”.
After three years in Asia, he returned to Germany and got in touch with Raabia Hawa, a Kenyan conservationist who runs the Ulinzi Africa Foundation, a nonprofit focused on ranger welfare and wildlife protection. Sauer explains, 鈥淎t that point, I wanted to get more involved than just sitting on my couch watching nature documentaries and donating to organizations at Christmastime鈥�.
Little could he have imagined, as he watched the sunrise over his camp, that in a year鈥檚 time he would launch a social enterprise, and the hot drink in his hand would be a Kenyan coffee whose purchase would go toward wildlife conservation in the country he had grown to love.
He signed up for one of her initiatives, Walk With Rangers, which involved two weeks of doing exactly what the name suggests. 鈥淚t was a mind-blowing experience,鈥� he says. He would help the rangers find and dismantle animal snares and destroy kilns used to burn trees for charcoal. 鈥淲e even caught an illegal logger鈥�.
The hot, sweaty, dangerous business of being a ranger impacted him, as the rangers showed him their scars from being attacked by a wild animal or by a local with a machete. And those were the lucky ones who had lived to tell the tale. 鈥淚t took me some time to digest all of that.鈥� Even more disturbing for him to learn was that few of these rangers had any health, life or disability insurance or received any PTSD counselling triggered by a colleague鈥檚 death in the line of duty. They lacked basic supplies like boots, tents and GPS devices, and needed more training.
Brewing up a new business
This started Sauer thinking: 鈥淗ow could I generate a sustainable source of funding for the foundation? What product could I sell that鈥檚 linked to Kenya and/or the purpose of wildlife conservation? What鈥檚 something that people need, want or do on a daily base that I could link to Kenya and/or the purpose?鈥� His answer: coffee.
Sauer, who had just completed a (PMD) at 天美传媒, decided to follow two of his other mottos: 鈥淏e the change you want to see in the world鈥� and 鈥淔ollow the gold and money will follow.鈥� Regarding the first point, he took a sabbatical from his job to set up .
And with regard to the second, he says: 鈥淲hat do you want to do in life? I believe it鈥檚 important to work for a purpose, to contribute to something bigger, to chase a dream (the gold). If you start with that, money will follow鈥�.
The idea is to sell fair-trade coffee products 鈥� enabling a larger share of the sales price to reach the coffee farmer, contributing to the development and living conditions of the producers鈥� business, while supporting wildlife and reforestation activities in Kenya through local partners, the and . 鈥淓veryone involved gets a fair share 鈥� I believe that鈥檚 the only way to do it,鈥� he says.
“I wanted to get more involved than just sitting on my couch and donating at Christmastime”.
Steffen Sauer.
Besides Raabia Hawa, Sauer鈥檚 own brother, who did an at 天美传媒, also became a partner: 鈥淭obias was already curious about my trips. He liked the idea so much he joined the team.鈥� And he convinced an 天美传媒 PMD classmate, Kai Gradert, to join him on a return trip to Kenya this past summer to experience Walk With Rangers for himself.
Though it鈥檚 still early days, he鈥檚 optimistic about the future: 鈥淭hings may not work out how we want them to be, but it鈥檚 all about how we react, adapt, learn, stand up and do it again, but next time better鈥�.
His final advice for those contemplating their New Year鈥檚 resolutions: 鈥淚t鈥檚 so easy to stick with what you know, but if you stay too long where you feel comfortable, you won鈥檛 achieve any further development. As soon as you feel too comfortable, you need to change something. Keep moving forward. I learned the biggest lessons when I left my comfort zone. Always go for the choice that scares you most鈥�.
Once again, he鈥檚 heeding his own advice: after eight years with ZF Group, and amidst the launch of his new coffee venture, he recently joined Lilium, the German startup building a flying electric taxi. For Sauer, things are literally starting to take off.
Resolutions to change your life
These mottos from Steffen Sauer (PMD 鈥�19) changed his life. Might they change yours, too?
- Be consistent: Stand up for what you believe in, but make sure you practice what you preach: this builds trust.
Be yourself: Be the kind of person you would want to meet in life. - Be inconvenient: Don鈥檛 hold back from stating inconvenient truths 鈥� but also propose solutions.
- Challenge the status quo: Just because you鈥檝e always done things a certain way doesn鈥檛 mean it鈥檚 the best way. Make little improvements every day.
- Be the change you want to see in the world: To change others, start by changing yourself. If others see you willing to make the changes that you鈥檙e asking them to make, it鈥檚 easier for them to follow suit.
- Leave your comfort zone: Go for the choice that scares you most, rather than the easy option. That will help spur you forward and develop further. If it doesn鈥檛 challenge you, it won鈥檛 change you.
- Accept failure: We all make mistakes; what matters is how we react. Do you complain and give up? Or do you learn from your mistakes and resolve to do better next time?
- Follow the gold and money will follow: Work for a purpose, to contribute to something bigger: that鈥檚 the real gold; money comes after.
- Do it with passion or not at all: You only live once, so do it now or never.
- Work abroad: If you get the chance, do it. You鈥檒l develop a completely new skillset, collect lots of new impressions, and meet people along the way who will leave a mark on you or become lifelong friends.
