Life is about transformation

Trust in Transformation

Hannes Schmid is an artist, entrepreneur, visionary – and all this at the age of 75. With his Smiling Gecko non-governmental organisation, he fights hardship in Cambodia and has created a template for a dignified and sustainable life. He talks to PwC about why he feels this project is his crowning work and why he sees transformation as his life philosophy.

Goat herder, electrician, photographer, agricultural engineer, honorary doctor and now, founder of Smiling Gecko. How did you reach this last step on your multifarious path in life?

In 2012, I was in Thailand working on an art project when I came across a Cambodian girl who had been disfigured by her father with a blowtorch so he could sell her to a beggar syndicate. I was shocked. I bought the girl and took her back to Phnom Penh. Then I learned that every year, hundreds of children have acid poured on them and are sold off to beggar syndicates. I found a lot of these children at the rubbish dump. This is when I began to help. First, I started out as a regular aid organisation: I procured rice, milk powder and water. At some point I realised that this was not helping or changing anything.

Next, I bought the freedom for 280 of these children, gave them uniforms and rucksacks and sent them off to school. The school didn’t want to teach the children because they stank like rubbish bags. I then bought a laundry so the children could have clean uniforms to wear. The whole undertaking proved pointless as the teachers could barely read and write themselves.

But you didn’t give up. What did you do next?

As I was approaching 70, had a a financial idea of sorts. I wanted to create something that would empower people to start helping themselves at some point. These destitute farmers have no future in the city. I had to get them back to their farms and set up infrastructure for them.

So I started raising pigs, chickens and fish and planting vegetables. I soon experienced my first setback. The pigs could no longer walk, the chickens didn’t lay any eggs, the fish were swimming on their backs and the vegetables withered away. A doctor friend of mine advised me to start up a local NGO that the government couldn’t swindle, as can happen to aid organisations and wealthy private persons. At the end of May 2013, I founded Smiling Gecko.

We purchased nine hectares of land without the faintest idea how to farm. After three months, our attempts failed miserably. I wrote to all the farming organisations and bodies in Switzerland and went to the Landwirtschaftliche Bildungs- und Beratungszentrum (Agricultural Training and Counselling Centre) in Cham. The director shook his head as he listened to my story. He diplomatically told me, “Mr Schmid, you are an outstanding artist. But you need a great deal of help to become a good farmer.” One month later the Centre sent two agronomists to us in Cambodia.

How is Smiling Gecko different from other projects?

When I do something, I go about it in a targeted manner. My projects need to have a good rationale and be viable. This is why I look for help from the experts for the things we lack. Our partners provide us with financial support or their know-how, or by taking on planning, organising, training, coordinating and monitoring. Cooperation is part of our closed loop and cluster philosophy.

Over time we were joined by the ETH, the ZHAW (Zurich University of Applied Sciences), the veterinarian faculty, the Higher Technical School of Wood Biel, the Swiss Hotel Management School in Lucerne, the Uni Karlsruhe and other renowned institutions. They helped us introduce new composting techniques, prepare the soil properly and optimise the genetics of our sows and taught us how to be better at keeping chickens. We built stock ponds, collected rainwater and professionalised our fish farm. A professor at the ETH sent me 34 students who developed different projects for my school of 780 children and 5 teachers. Our school is currently the leading example of how to build rooms that are naturally air-conditioned in the tropics. We also have a steady stream of students from colleges and universities who come to us to write their bachelor's and master's theses. This helps us keep up with the latest information so that we can continually improve things.

Sustainability is the cornerstone of the Smiling Gecko principle. In what way?

We feel committed to meeting the goals of the UN's 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and aim to set a good example. This is one of the reasons why we are pursuing a holistic model and everything we do is 100% green. We are now up to 150 hectares, and are the largest organic farm in the country. We have a tremendous amount of diversity on our farm, for example, with insects. We aim to sustainably improve people’s living conditions with our integrated cluster project and provide decent work and a sustainable education. Our economic focus means that the cluster projects fund themselves and the education for the children.

How is your project funded?

Potential investors want to see results. So we had to generate revenue ourselves. I we launched a small hotel project. Today, we serve over 100 guests per day at our farmhouse. Our young and talented Mariya Un Noun cooks for them. Before Mariya started working for us, she couldn’t read or write. But she has a very refined sense of taste, so renowned chef Andreas Caminada and his Uccelin Foundation support her.

You’ve used Switzerland as your role model for Smiling Gecko. Why is that?

Because Switzerland is a model for success. 70% of the working population work in SMEs. This is where most innovation takes place. Switzerland's pillars, such as healthcare, social insurance or corporate structure, can not be found anywhere else in the world. There are very few other countries that provide such strong support for their economy as Switzerland does. Top Swiss talent work in every sector all over the world. The foundations for this is a broad-based education.

Why is education so important for the development of a country?

Education is the building block society uses to develop and grow. In Cambodia, the Khmer Rouge killed two generations of people who could read and write. This gap is still being felt today. 80% of Cambodians are illiterate. They aren't able to be role models for their children or for the development of society. Nor is there any tradition in Cambodia where young people learn a trade on the job and then remain with their employer. They receive a diploma after just two weeks and then move on. This creates a state of perpetual flux, which makes it almost impossible to develop anything. The financial industry has distributed micro-loans nationwide. The majority of poor people are caught in a debt trap. When they can’t pay back their debts, the creditors take their land away and turn it into land for development. Hectares upon hectares of rice fields are being lost this way. At Smiling Gecko, we help farmers reduce their debts and safeguard their farmland.

How do you define transformation?

Transformation is a natural process. Sperm fertilises an egg, from which a human grows. The person grows old and then at some point they die. During this period of growth, the person builds up a collection of experiences. Perpetual learning drives the transformation forward. Children are not afraid of falling down. But we adults are because we’ve already experienced falling. Transformation happens in logical stages. One thing leads to another.

It sounds like transformation is your philosophy of life.

Yes, you could say I’m the personification of transformation. I reinvent myself over and over again. It takes courage to begin again. You shouldn’t be afraid to constantly question yourself and seek out expert advice in order to achieve more. Transformation requires a healthy combination of openness and attentiveness. This is an art form that I championed in the “Art of Transformation” campaign together with PwC several years ago. When a company asks key questions – such as how to harness the dynamism in emerging countries, use regulations as an opportunity to create new forms of cooperation or profit from the digital revolution – it will have a successful future.

You regularly give presentations to top-level leaders and decision-makers. What advice do you give them?

Even global companies need creativity and the spirit of innovation. Teams shouldn’t be afraid to ask questions. It’s impossible to know everything. This is why you need to share, learn from more experienced people, make mistakes and be permitted to admit them.

What is the next transformation you are planning with Smiling Gecko?

We have gone from a non-profit organisation to a social enterprise, with 250 employees and an organisational structure on par with a large company. The next stage is the transformation into several self-sustaining individual companies. This means we will be splitting the project up into several businesses, which will then be taken over and managed by local employees. Today, we still need to provide support because the managers are not well educated. But when today’s three-year-olds are ready to take over in 15 years, that will change. And when their children continue running the company in 30 years, that is the moment, when our vision will become a reality - around the year 2050.

What has happened to the artist and creative force Hannes Schmid?

He is currently reinventing himself again. I’m working on a culture and concert hall with its own recording studio. I’ve brought in partners such as Marc Forster and Seven to help me with it. In spring 2021, Norodom Sihamoni - the King of Cambodia and a former ballet dancer - will also become my sponsor. Cultural sponsorship may not fund pigs, but it does fund music. For me, Smiling Gecko is an artistic, creative, innovative holistic work. It's where I combine creativity with entrepreneurship and expertise. In this sense, Smiling Gecko is my life’s work as an artist.

Hannes Schmid, thank you for talking to us today.

Regardless of where it takes us, progress always revolves around people.

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