About BANYANEER
The TREE At our roots
Banyan trees are strong: their multiple root structures make them withstand many storms. They can be found across Asia (and beyond), and are a symbol of resilience in many societies. In some communities, people still gather in the shade of a Banyan tree to discuss the latest village affairs and plans.
When we founded Banyaneer in 2010, we had that picture in mind - and turned the tree into a process: to banyaneer is to engage community members in a participatory process to strengthen their resilience. We look forward to helping you banyaneer.
Our mission
We support non-governmental organisations (NGOs) as well as Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies at the highest professional standard. Whether it is training, project design, remote support/coaching, evaluations, baselines or research - we always go the extra length to ensure that the gains and insights can be easily used and followed up.
Our reports are rigorously researched and professionally presented. They include substantiated findings and concise recommendations. Our interactive trainings ensure that participants can take new insights to the field - and we believe that training must be fun too! We are your professional surge capacity.
With our strong mix of conceptual, analytical and practical expertise, we are a back-up resource for every development practitioner. We are here to help enhance project effectiveness, share good practice, and tackle challenges.
We’re here to help you reinforce resilience.
Our team
Banyaneer Consulting has a core team of regular contributors as well as a pool of independent experts. All of us have years of practical field experience, strong skills in communication and analysis, and a robust understanding of local cultures and conditions.
Patrick Bolte
Director & principal consultant
Patrick founded Banyaneer in 2010 and has conducted or supported over 75 studies since. In his 17 years of development experience, he has gained a field perspective of success factors in development programming. Patrick is passionate about resilience, and conceptualised the resilience radar as a practical tool for measurement.
Prior to starting Banyaneer, he worked with the Center for International Peace Operations (ZIF) in Berlin and as an Organisational Development Delegate with German Red Cross in Indonesia. He holds an M.A. in Political Science and a Graduate Diploma in South-East Asian Studies.
Patrick is based in Adelaide (Australia), where he volunteers as a firefighter and bushfire prevention representative with the Country Fire Service (CFS).
Samadhi Marr
Evaluation & learning specialist
Samadhi joined Banyaneer in 2012 and specialises in evaluations, learning and strategy development. With 19 years of experience in international development, her skills in holistic project design and management as well as in communication have been instrumental to more than 20 Banyaneer studies so far.
Previously, Samadhi worked with Australian Red Cross (Myanmar, Indonesia, Cambodia), Care International (Myanmar), International Rescue Committee (Pakistan), and Australian Volunteers International. She began her development work in Costa Rica with Reto Juvenil Internacional, first as a volunteer and then as a staff member.
She holds an M.Sc. in International Development and a B.A. in Communication. Samadhi is based outside Byron Bay (Australia).
Su Myat Yin Chaw
Research & health consultant
A medical doctor by training, Su Myat Yin Chaw has been working with Banyaneer since 2016. Her strong local expertise in many parts of Myanmar as well as her professional skills in monitoring and public health have benefitted ten Banyaneer studies in Myanmar so far. With 13 years of experience in community-based programming, Su Myat Yin Chaw excels at facilitating community workshops and at supervising survey teams.
She has worked with Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Burnet Insititute Myanmar, and Norwegian Refugee Council, amongst others.
She holds Bachelors in Medicine and Surgery, as well as a Diploma and a Postgraduate Diploma in Family Medicine.
Su Myat Yin Chaw is based in Yangon (Myanmar).
M. Fitri Rahmadana
Statistical analyst
Fitri has been with Banyaneer since 2011 and has contributed to more than 30 studies since.
In his work for Banyaneer, Fitri specialises on surveys, and provides the statistical analysis of data collected from the field. He has also been engaged in several field studies directly.
He is a lecturer at the Economic Faculty at the State University of Medan and has been consulting several government agencies and NGOs in the realm of public and socio-economic policy. As a long-standing member of the Red Cross, he applies his humanitarian spirit to the management of youth and volunteers.
Fitri holds a PhD, a Master of Science, and a B.A. in Economics.
He is based in Medan (Indonesia) and serves on the board for the North Sumatra chapter of the Indonesian Red Cross.
Our clients
Over the past twelve years, we have collaborated with more than 20 NGOs and Red Cross Societies. Many of our clients have a long-standing relation with Banyaneer - see what some of them had to say:
“I received some very positive feedback regarding your study. People who read it were impressed by the clear structure, good presentation and graphic quality of the report, and touched by the most significant change stories. It seems to be one of the outstanding evaluations in our organisation.”
Ralph Gust-Frenger, Welthungerhilfe
“Thank you for your excellent work in relation to our baseline study in the context of our climate vulnerability and capacity analysis. The culturally and technically diverse team successfully trained our field teams in household survey techniques and analysed the surveys with a very good result. The survey provides an important input for our climate adaptation project in Thailand and Indonesia.”
Katrin von der Dellen, Care Germany-Luxembourg
“Many thanks indeed for all of your work on this excellent report. It is a very detailed document that will be extremely useful, both in this phase of programming and in any follow-up we prepare.”
Louisa Whitlock, Austrian Red Cross
“Having worked together with Banyaneer a number of times in the context of project evaluations in Sri Lanka and Vietnam, I have come to appreciate the diligence with which their consultants do research and the high quality of their evaluation reports.
Recommendations have always been well explained and substantiated, and we have taken Banyaneer’s recommendations up in our programming.”
Marina Hovannesjan, German Red Cross
“Banyaneer has provided valuable services to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies by undertaking a number of evaluations and studies. The findings and recommendations were instrumental in optimizing our support to vulnerable people and the building of safe and resilient communities.
The process of strengthening resilience requires the combined efforts of all stakeholders. I am happy that we can count on the Banyaneer consultants’ professional skills and knowledge in pursuing our noble cause.”
Chang Hun Choe, IFRC