The Butterfly Help-Project

Who we are

Who We Are

Swiss Committee

  • Andrea Sherpa-Zimmermann

    President

    The Himalaya in the core of her passion, married to Norbu Sherpa,  Andrea Sherpa-Zimmermann is close to the culture of the Sherpa people. Further to the death of a close Sherpa friend of Norbu’s during an expedition, Andrea and Norbu decided to create an association to help the Sherpa’s families in order to allow the children to continue their schooling.

    Andrea is a sports lawyer and co-founder of the trekking and expedition agency “WILD YAK EXPEDITIONS” which supports the association by donating a percentage of each of its trips. Andrea also became the 9th Swiss woman to have climbed Everest, on May 21, 2016, accompanied by her husband Norbu.

  • Camille Schoenenweid

    Secretary

    My principal activity being the forensic science, the family link made my encounter Andrea Sherpa-Zimmermann

  • Gabrielle Gachet

    Treasurer

    Originated from Canton Vaud, I am domiciled in Beaufort-sur-Doron since 2011. I am married and…

  • Monique Gonet

    Events

    Passionate about trail running, hiking and cross-country skiing, I joined the Butterfly Team after my husband Gilbert went to Nepal to participate in the reconstruction of schools destroyed during the earthquake of 2015!

    Knowing Andrea for a long time …. it was easy for me to find the reasons for my commitment to our association!

The Sherpa People

The Sherpas migrated to Nepal, Solu-Khumbu four or five centuries ago from eastern Tibet and nowadays represent Nepal’s most famous ethnic group. Their name, locally pronounced ‘sharwa’, means ‘people from the East’. They still maintain the highest permanent settlements in the world, up to 4,700 meters , which accounts for their legendary hardiness at altitude.

Before the 1830s, until the arrival of potatoes cultivation enabled a settled lifestyle, the Sherpas were nomads, driving their yaks to pasture in Tibet and wintering in Nepal. Cross-border trade is currently mostly one-way, with everything from butter, noodles, and meat to electronics, carpets and cement making its way south from Tibet. However, such commercialism does not mean Sherpas are not devout Buddhists, and most villages of note support a Gompa (Monastery) and a few monks/nuns. With the beginning of the first expeditions, the Sherpas worked as high-altitude porters, giving them the reputation of ‘tigers of the snow’ and at the same time teaching them climbing techniques. With the success of the British Expedition in 1953, Tenzing Norgay achieved worldwide fame for his people.

Nepal Team

  • Norbu Sherpa

    President

  • Sonam Sherpa

    Vice-President

  • Dawa Sherpa

    Treasurer

  • Keyur Lama

    Administrative officer

  • Tendel Sherpa

    Accountant