La Bergerie des Arches – Agroecological Farm in Gesves

Context & Project Leaders

La Bergerie des Arches is a family farm run by Antoine and Elise Mabille. Always passionate about livestock farming, they developed a farm focused on sheep and fodder self-sufficiency, recently complemented by a herd of Parthenaise cows.

Antoine (an agronomist by training) and Elise (an architect) built their sheepfold in Ohey in 2020, and in 2022 launched “L’agneau de votre terroir”, a marketing company that now brings together 38 breeders whose objective is to rely on short supply chains (restaurants, butcher shops, individuals).

Solutions & Practices Implemented

To achieve these objectives, Antoine & Elise have already integrated several agroecological practices:

• Diversified crop rotation to produce most of the animals’ feed on-site.
• 137 ha of permanent pastures, alfalfa, rapeseed, mixed grain, spelt, winter barley, and corn (silage and grain).
• Use of grazed cover crops in agreement with other farmers.
• Wool utilization for thermal insulation and local textiles.
• Additionally, the team plans to install an on-site cutting workshop to optimize logistics and energy.

In short, Antoine & Elise are not short of ideas and projects. They contacted us in 2025 to support an ambitious planting project.

We therefore conducted a site visit in July to result in not one, but two planting projects. The planting of +1km of hedges and tree rows aiming for 2 main objectives:

• Strengthen the ecological network by installing melliferous and nourishing hedges for birds.
• Create shade for the animal welfare of the sheep.

Since the hedges were funded in 2025, the aim here is to support the planting of trees which will be planted in the center of the grazing areas, thus providing shade for the sheep of La Bergerie des Arches.