Louise is Publications Coordinator at ARC. She believes the world would be a better place if we all knew where our food comes from, and is excited about how we can get there: by re-establishing connections with food and nature, decolonizing food systems, and learning to live in sufficiency and community. As part of the comms team at ARC, her favourite bit of the job is sharing the wisdoms of farmers who have a deep respect for the land and for all Earth's creatures. An Irish emigrant in rural Bohemia, Louise's background is in translation and intercultural communication.
It takes a village to raise a child. What happens when a village makes the choice to help feed its children? What are the steps to ensure good local food on plates and in bellies? How can local authorities take action beyond national or EU policies? We visited the school canteen in Plessé, France, to find out. Louise Kelleher reports. […]
A farm can be a place for the kind of learning that’s hard to find in educational institutions. Combining her work in both farming and networking with Education for Sustainable Development, Ann Marie Weber explores how collaboration among regional actors and transformative learning processes can drive structural change toward sustainable food systems. She runs a small farm near Marburg (Hesse, Germany), where she grows vegetables to make hot sauce, chutneys and other preserves – not for market, but to help create a space for people to connect with their own agency, food and nature. In conversation with Louise Kelleher. […]
We congregated on the last weekend in November, together with participants from 12 European countries and beyond, for our Rural Resilience Gathering 2025. We took home new perspectives, tools and best practices, a richer vision of the mosaic of rural Europe – and a full tank of hope: that we can shape our agroecological future in our communities. Report by Louise Kelleher and Pauline Petit. […]
In early November, the Rural Resilience project was proud to support the European Action-Gathering for Sustainable Food Systems. This meeting of over 100 food systems actors working at local, regional, national and European levels was co-organised by ARC2020 and local partners Kollektiv von Morgen and AbL in Marburg, Germany. Report by Louise Kelleher of the Rural Resilience project. […]
Another rural is possible! ARC2020 and friends were in Cloughjordan Ecovillage, Ireland on March 25-26 for the annual Feeding Ourselves gathering, which takes food and farming as an entry point for moving towards fairer, more caring communities. What are the ingredients to cook up transformative system change? How can we build bridges between islands of practice? Why do we need to keep talking about gender? Louise Kelleher gives us a taste of conversations and connections at Feeding Ourselves 2023. […]
ARC2020’s Louise Kelleher and Matteo Metta were among the speakers at “AlterRurality 6: Re-Scaling the Rural”, a conference held last month in a small Danish coastal village. The interdisciplinary conference aimed to initiate a critical investigation of past, current, and what may become future concepts and interpretations of rural life. Report. […]
Louise Kelleher speaks to Czech farmer Terezie Daňková about the Kafkaesque barriers to agroforestry in the Czech Republic. Land tenure is a major issue with a disproportionate number of Czech farmers who work on the farm, compared to non-farming landowners. […]
Jacqueline Frantová was a young Swiss urbanite when she first came to the Czech Republic in the mid-nineties. It was the “Wild East”, a place where anything could happen. Little did she suspect she would become a shepherdess. Today Jacqueline and her Bohemian family raise goats, sheep and cows in the Czech countryside. […]
Samedi le 18 septembre 2021, l’association ARC2020 est allée à la rencontre du GAEC de La Ferme des 7 chemins, une des initiatives campagnardes engagée dans le projet « Nos campagnes en résilience ». Situé sur la commune de PLESSE en Loire Atlantique, le GAEC a initié une rencontre entre différents partenaires afin d’échanger et de se questionner sur le développement de la ferme. On vous propose à travers cet article de découvrir ce temps fort au sein d’une initiative campagnarde rayonnante. […]
What happens when a farm invites the wider community to collectively tease out its future? In September ARC2020 visited Brittany to find out. Seed savers, farm workers and chefs sat down with elected officials and representatives of regional organisations to share insights and listen to each other’s experiences. Louise Kelleher reports. […]
We’re back with Czech livestock farmer Josef, who says we need to trust farmers more. Farmers will make responsible decisions unless the system forces them to act irresponsibly. And he explains why the future of farming is in forgotten places. […]
We hear again from Czech livestock farmer Josef who is disillusioned with the sector’s refusal to move with the times. He’s found he can do more ecological farming without the red tape of organic certification and senseless inspections. And although income supports were a huge help to him as a new entrant, he would be happy to see direct payments cut for established farmers. […]
The EU spends a lot on CAP – almost 40% of its annual budget. But are these billions of euros delivering results? In a new report, the European Court of Auditors find the Commission is “overly optimistic” on the performance of CAP spending and needs to focus on the real impacts. It also confirms that 80% of direct payments are going to 20% of beneficiaries. Louise Kelleher reports. […]
Meet Czech farmer Terezie Daňková, who raises cattle and sheep on a 450 ha. ranch on mostly rented land in Southern Bohemia, with the help of her cowgirl daughter Barbora (20), her son Vojtěch (13), and a stable of horses. Louise Kelleher speaks to two generations of women farmers about the realities of rural life, the pull of the city, and what brings them back to the farm. […]
Pollinators secure our food supply, but Europe’s wild pollinators are being wiped out by intensive agriculture and the use of pesticides and fertilisers. In the latest in a series of damning reports, the European Court of Auditors accuses the Commission of failing ailing pollinator populations. Louise Kelleher reports. […]
Agricultural and Rural Convention
You are currently viewing a placeholder content from GTranslate. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.
More InformationYou are currently viewing a placeholder content from amChart. To access the actual content, click the button below. Please note that doing so will share data with third-party providers.
More Information