Beginnings

 

I was born in Austria and spent my childhood in the foothills of the central Alps. The beauty and rhythms of this spectacular environment made a deep and

lasting impression on me. Growing and preserving food encouraged a harmonious relationship with my surroundings and taught me the foundational elements of living self-sufficiently.

 

However, my idyllic circumstances were profoundly ruptured by the suicide of my father when I was thirteen years old. Suddenly my adolescent life was engulfed by despair and I experienced intense sadness and unrest for many years. The oppressive impact of this early trauma threatened to overwhelm me so I began searching for ways to surmount it.