Help a Dedicated Woman, Her Animals, and the Environment
Donation protected
My name is Lisa and I am from Vienna, Austria. I met Elisabeth during an internship in the Netherlands almost ten years ago. She is one of the reasons I turned vegan. Elisabeth was always very inspiring to me and now I want to support her. Please don't be confused about the location. Gofundme doesn´t allow to set it to Greece.
Meet Elisabeth, a resilient woman living alone in a remote part of Greece with her two dogs and cat. Despite her struggles, Elisabeth has dedicated her life to helping others, rescuing animals, and protecting the environment. Now, she needs our help because she is burnt out after 16 years of non-stop activism and suffers from empathy fatigue (commonly known as compassion fatigue).
Elisabeth’s Challenges
Elisabeth faces numerous obstacles, from finding a decent remote job to battling mental & physical health issues. She lives off the grid in a tiny house on wheels since October 2021, in an olive groove which she is trying to transform into a green haven from the dry piece of land that it was when she got it, through vegan permaculture / veganic gardening and regenerative agriculture practices... She is relying on solar power and rainwater, but she only has 12 batteries to store the energy whilst the solar panels produce more energy than what these batteries can store.
Elisabeth needs this energy stored desperately, especially during summertime, as she just installed air conditioning (although she didn't want to) because otherwise the temperature in her house gets unbearable and last year, she had to flee with her dogs several times to protect them from a possible heat stroke.
Buying 12 more batteries and bringing an engineer from Athens to install them will cost around €2000. Without these batteries, Elisabeth's dogs will suffer from the heatwaves and this could even be fatal for them. The batteries need to be installed by September at the latest to be aligned with the 12 old batteries that she already has. Otherwise, if the old batteries turn more than 3 years old, they can't be (technically) aligned with new ones.
Her Passion and Purpose
Elisabeth is not just focused on her own survival. She’s a committed environmentalist who avoids flights and reduces plastic use, actively working to make a positive impact through her website, and social media but also through her daily life. In the past, she had supported refugees during the "refugee crisis" as well as poor Greek women, victims of patriarchy - while she has rescued many abandoned, injured, or sick animals by finding new homes for them or sanctuaries to look after them.
Caring for her dogs
Elisabeth’s dogs are her loyal companions. However, one of them, Caramelo, has behavioral issues and has bitten many people (including me), making it impossible for her to have visitors (she wanted to join the 'work away' platform to bring volunteers for her permaculture project but due to Caramelo's behavior this can't happen as long as he is alive and Elisabeth has even designed her tiny house based on his needs, while she selected this remote location for him to be as calm as possible). She has invested more than 2000 euros in several dog trainers & behaviorists to address this issue but the situation in Greece (stray dogs or unattended owned dogs roaming free everywhere or people poisoning dogs all the time) in combination with the isolation due to the pandemic didn't help them to practice what the trainers were recommending and Caramelo can't "be fixed" by now as he is reaching the age of 9 years old. This isolated setting of living is having a toll on Elisabeth's mental health who was a very social person throughout her life before adopting Caramelo, and she was always having people around her, hosting people, going on volunteer projects, etc.
In the meantime, Caramelo developed a chronic kidney sensitivity due to his fears and anxiety and Elisabeth is cooking for him daily, adding in the food many supplements - and she has achieved by this way to keep him thriving instead of ever getting any symptoms from CKD. However, this is contributing to her empathy fatigue as you can imagine...
Her other dog, Misoy who turned 11 this year was recently diagnosed with a heart disease due to aging, and the medication is very expensive.
Elisabeth is relying on a small income which can only cover her monthly expenses and taxes.
Greece is the 2nd poorest country in the eurozone, and while prices get only higher, Elisabeth's income isn't getting any higher so she is at a dead end.
Threats from Climate Change
The area where Elisabeth lives is becoming drier, and wildfires are an increasing threat due to climate change. This makes her situation even more precarious, as she navigates these challenges on her own. In addition, she often has no water which is extremely stressful and she has invested her last savings into fixing the water shortage issue but it still isn't 100% fixed. It's an ongoing fight due to the lack of rain...
How You Can Help
Your support can make a significant difference in Elisabeth’s life. By contributing to my campaign for her, you will help:
Buy the extra batteries and install them (€2000): Ensuring she has a reliable power source.
Cover medication costs for her dogs: Providing essential care for her furry friends.
Support her continued efforts to help others and rescue animals and plant trees around her tiny House to provide some natural shade that could cool a bit the area...
Every contribution, no matter how small, will help Elisabeth continue her vital work and provide a safe, sustainable life for herself and her beloved animals.
Here are two links to get to know her better. She runs her own website, where she writes about different topics related to climate crisis, antispeciesism and so on:
https://ethosandempathy.org/en/2023/03/31/for-how-much-longer-are-we-going-to-keep-living-like-this/
Her life dream was to start a sanctuary at the place where she is living now. However, with the ongoing climate breakdown her land will get drier and she faces problems with water supply so she is currently grieving her dream and trying to see how she will move forward.
And here you can read her testimony from the last summer which was a nightmare for her and her pets due to the extremely high temperatures:
The New Abnormal? – Tourism During Climate Breakdown - Safe Landing
We discuss the recent heatwave sweeping China, Europe and the US and ask: what is aviation's role in all of this? Do we have a future in it?
safe-landing.org
Thank You for Your Support
By supporting Elisabeth, you're not only helping her sustain her way of life but also contributing to her mission of making the world a better place for both people and animals. Thank you for your generosity!
Organizer
Elisabeth Ritzer
Organizer
Vienna, W