animiert magazin nummer14 sommer

Sepp Infanger ist leidenschaftli- cher Bauer. Als Bürgerpräsident denkt er unternehmerisch. Sepp Infanger is a farmer by vocation, but his role as president of the local commu- nity organisation means he has to think like an entrepreneur.

“It’s an honourable position,” says Josef Infanger of his role as president of Engelberg’s commu- nity organisation (Bürgergemeinde). The Engelberg native is proud to be in charge of the seven-strong council that decides the destinies of the community. One of the organisation’s main tasks is forest management, largely the responsibility of forester Thomas Achermann. The Bürger- gemeinde owns over 800 hectares of forest in the valley, leases around 700 hectares from the Abbey, and manages much of the 500

around 800 of Engelberg’s almost 1,000 inhab- itants are eligible to vote. As the organisation’s proper ty is spread across the entire valley, there are always people asking for permission to use a pathway or plot of land. “We make deci- sions in the public interest, as we want to make our community attractive to as many people as possible,” explains Sepp. The farmer and family man always has the nex t generation in mind: “I think it’s impor tant that we leave the kids who are growing up today a good inheritance.” Sepp approaches most of his tasks as

hectares of private forest. It also owns agricultural land, an apar tment building, Dürrbach car park, various stocks and shares, and all the valley’s chapels. This by no means complete list

president of the Bürgerge- meinde from an entrepre- neurial standpoint. However, there is one task where the organisation has a more political role: the naturali- sation of immigrants. Al-

“We have a responsibil- ity to our citizens.”

of the Bürgergemeinde’s proper ty gives an idea of how varied the job of its president is. When Josef – or “Sepp” – was appointed president of the Engelberg community or- ganisation in 2004 at the age of 32, he had to swot up on many subjects. “It was hard to know which exact pieces of land belonged to the Bürgergemeinde, where their boundaries ran, and what agreements they were sub- ject to,” he recalls. Even today, Sepp doesn’ t know it all of f the top of his head, but he has plenty of records he can refer to and there are always people to ask for advice. He says that the members of the Bürgergemeinde work well as a team and that even when their monthly meetings get a little heated, they always go for a drink together af terwards. The majority usually decides, but if there’s a bigger decision to be made – like whether to buy a new piece of equipment cost- ing 50,000 francs – a proposal has to be sub- mitted to the annual general meeting, where

though many aspects of this process are dealt with at federal level, the Bürgergemeinde is responsible for ensuring applicants are well integrated. “We take this role ver y seriously as we have a responsibility to our citizens.” Sepp does not hide that this is not one of his favour- ite jobs, but on the whole he enjoys his work. It expands his horizons and has taught him some impor tant life lessons over the years. Sepp isn’ t sure how many hours he puts in a week as there is no fi xed workload. “But there’s something for me to do ever y day,” he says. Someone always has a question about something. “It’s cer tainly an advantage that, as a farmer, I can organise my own time.” The members of the Bürgergemeinde do not have to be af filiated with a par ticular political par ty, but they cannot hold of fice for more than 16 years. Sepp, now 40, has si x years lef t. In two years he wants to run for president again, so that for the last four years of his tenure he can continue to work hard for the good of Engelberg.

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