‘our actions and behaviours influence the world of the future’

Hanne (1960) grew up on a farm in Denmark and is trained as a technician and welder. When she learns about Greenpeace during a visit of a ship in the harbour of Copenhagen, she is immediately taken by the strength and decisiveness of the organisation. She applies for a job and is taken on board of the Sirius as engineer. She campaigns and travels with the Sirius in Europe before she joins the Rainbow Warrior in 1984 in America. There she participates in the conversion of the vessel into a sailing boat.

The Rainbow Warrior takes of on the Nuclear Free Pacific Tour and Hanne is involved in the evacuation of the people of Rongelap. The sorrow of the people and the devastation of the atoll have a huge impact on her. She hopes to tell the world this story of injustice, and put an end to nuclear testing, when the Rainbow Warrior arrives in Auckland. Instead the French secret service bomb the boat and sink the Rainbow Warrior. All attention is now focused on the spy story it becomes and nobody is interested in the tragedy of the Rongelap people.

The bombing leaves Hanne disillusioned and traumatised. After a while she sets of on one more journey with Greenpeace to Antarctica but she feels drained and tired. She decides to leave the organisation but she doesn’t leave New Zealand. There she meets her husband Rob who owns a small cabin on Waiheke Island. They start a tree nursery and together with Bunny, Henk and Susi they buy the surrounding land called Awaawaroa. With some other families they start an
Eco-Village: a small sustainable and ecological community. They try to be self-sufficient: grow their own food and generate their own electricity. Decision making is done by consensus and there are frequent meetings, or so called ‘working bees’ in the community centre they build together.

Hanne is dedicated and committed to make the Eco-Village work. She hopes they can set an example for the rest of the world. Hanne and Rob have a tree nursery and they replant trees to restore the original vegetation of the island. They also hope to reintroduce extinct birds. Hanne teaches her daughter Tilda at home.