Jean-Philippe Valla

Jean-Philippe Valla is an engineer by training and has been interested in all forms of self-sufficiency in food and energy for fifteen years. Setting up a farm was the ideal way for him to develop all his ideas. After teaching at the University Joseph-Fourier in Grenoble for around ten years alongside his work as an engineer, he set up in 2009, growing vegetables and rearing sheep. He writes: ‘Biogas was a real discovery for me in my quest for autonomy. Unlike the sun, it is always present, relatively easy to produce and provides a great soil conditioner for growing vegetables or cereals.’