Sylvain Garraud

Passionate about botany and ornithology, trained in ecology, I have long worked in environmental protection, rural development and adaptation to climate change in the Sahel.

Coming from a family of (small) farmers in the West of France, my initial training focused on the management and protection of nature. My associative activities have also allowed me to develop a solid naturalistic culture.

My professional career began with a regional development project in the Alpes de Haute-Provence. Afterwards, I was an ornithological animator in the Eastern Pyrenees. At 25, I went to Niger and worked there for 7 years, first as an international volunteer (France volunteers) then as a technical advisor for the German cooperation services (DED/GIZ). After a brief return to France and a visit to Canada to perfect my English, I went back to West Africa - this time to Senegal where I coordinated a climate change adaptation project for a French NGO.

Tired of the contradictions of the associative and institutional milieu, I finally chose to fly on my own while keeping a privileged link with nature. While my stays in so-called "developing" countries have led me to grasp the fragility of life, it is quite naturally that I wanted to take a closer interest in health.

I then trained in naturopathy with the Herbothèque (Quebec) and the Mandorle School (Switzerland), and specialized in scientific aromatherapy with Dominique Baudoux. I also returned to my first loves: botany and the study of plants. Settled in Switzerland since September 2015, I also trained as a mountain leader at the Saint Jean d'Anniviers school in Valais. I opened my naturopathic practice in Neuchâtel in the summer of 2016 and am a member of the Syndicat des professionnels de la naturopathie (SPN) and the central committee of the Association suisse des accompagnateurs en montagne (ASAM).

Two caps - naturopath and herbalist and hiking guide - for the same passion: nature. My vocation today is to share and transmit i