Climate Heroes

For more than ten years, photographer Max Riché has been capturing the faces and stories of climate heroes, those inspiring people determined to act on climate change. His latest shot was taken in the Grand Duchy, where an entrepreneurial adventure caught his eye. In the Luxembourg countryside, this small cider factory is working to regenerate over a million square metres of ancient orchards. This vision seeks to safeguard ecosystems and use the company as a positive force. Discover the story.

For as long as anyone can remember, the people of Born have lived surrounded by apples and pears. Carlo grew up here. Strolling through the orchards, he recounts: "everyone has always known this pear tree, it has been there for at least 200 years", "this tree has a huge hole in its trunk, no one understands how it can survive"... It only takes a few minutes to see how much he is attached to the nature around. And then, the story becomes an ambitious and vibrant entrepreneurial adventure.

It all began on a trip to England over a glass of cider. Carlo and his friends were reminiscing about the ciders that the past generations used to brew back home. The orchards had become abandoned for many years. The condition of the trees had deteriorated, and so had the ecosystem services they provided. Meanwhile, regenerative agriculture was starting to spread. What if its principles could be used in Born? 

Growing up in a family of entrepreneurs, Carlo didn't need much more to get started. The Luxembourger has always believed in the power of entrepreneurship to drive change. After exploring and successfully promoting renewable energies, he envisioned a venture to restore market demand for locally, traditionally grown apples and pears. The products sales would provide the necessary means to restore and maintain the trees in the orchards; a true impulse for the ecosystems around and a contribution to the local economy.

Once funds to launch the project were gathered, it could all begin. "You have to find people who share the same values to invest in such a project," Carlo says. Luckily for him, these people are his family. He explains: "It is hard to start from scratch and convince the shareholders. However, there is a huge competitive advantage in offering to invest in the long term on a social, environmental and profitability standpoint at the same time." He describes a triple bottom line approach, uplifting people, planet, and profit, for the benefit of all.

The next move was to renovate the old farmhouse of the small village of 300 inhabitants into a cider factory. It was also crucial to approach the orchard owners in order to get the raw products. Some of them are farmers who use the land for their cows. Others are locals who have inherited the ground without using it. The great majority were delighted with the initiative. And so the trees' restoration could begin. The first and key objective was to start from what already existed. In other words, regenerate the elements of the earth that are there, and thereby the species that depend on them. "Everything is here. You just need to preserve it", Carlo sums up.

Caring for a tree that has been abandoned for years can take several hours of work. You have to get equipped to climb and remove unwanted vegetation, mostly mistletoe. With a recovery period of about two years, the tree regains its strength and starts producing fruit again if it's not too late already. Chantal is in charge of this restoration work. Going up in the branches has no secrets for her nowadays. "Taking care of the trees brings a great sense of peace. Sometimes, I find myself stressed or upset, and working in nature really calms me down. It's also very gratifying to go back to the place where you've tended a tree and see it regenerate", she says. Since the initiative began, close to a million square metres of land have been restored, and hundreds of tons of fruit have been saved from going to waste. These methods can be applied to other crops around the world, such as olive trees, for instance.

In addition, the company has been planting a large number of new trees. More than 1,000 to date already. These are ancient and local species, some unique to the region. Their great diversity is the secret of the cider and juice quality. "We blend all the varieties. It is what gives our products their unique taste," Chantal discloses. In addition to yielding unique products, these trees also provide carbon sinks in the area itself. They improve the quality of the air, water and soil. They are also a sanctuary for many insects, birds and plants. "The health of our trees in the orchards is a real concern for Luxembourg today. I was astounded to learn about the state of the orchards in the country. We lost 90% of the one million fruit trees since 1900. It's just astonishing," Carlo says.

With crops that do not require external irrigation or pesticides and are harvested using traditional methods, the new and old orchards in Born have (re)turned to havens for biodiversity. This year, researchers even began to study the areas used by the cider mill to monitor the evolution of biodiversity with the conversion of the farmers to organic and regenerative methods. "We work for and with nature through the seasons and two-year natural yield cycles. I couldn't imagine living any other way. Often, people are out in the cities and lose their connection to nature. They no longer understand why it is so important to preserve it," Stefan says, who works in fruit harvesting and maintenance of green areas. To counteract this, visits and pickings are organised with the local community and schools.

As for companies, when talking about his dream to pursue his projects, Carlo explains that he wants to inspire as many as possible to question themselves, commit, and evolve. It is this approach that enabled the young company to obtain one of the first three B Corp certifications in Luxembourg. "Obtaining the certification helped us to look at new aspects of our business model and go further in the development of our sustainable journey. We learn every day, and it’s wonderful." He continues by saying: "Today, sustainability is still too often missing from business leaders' agendas. I like to have facts and not just ideas. With Ramborn, we can demonstrate in a very concrete way that if a small company can make a difference, so can large ones. The day a big bank or an industrial company becomes B Corp certified because of our story, I will be genuinely convinced that I have helped to make a difference.

MAXIME RICHé

Maxime Riché, French photographer born in 1982, lives and works in Paris. In his long-term documentary work, he studies the notion of limit in our modern societies and its refusal to satisfy our desire to produce or even achieve eternal life while being increasingly disconnected from the natural world. His work, entitled “Climate Heroes”, started in 2010, documents a series of citizens solutions identified to lower our carbon emissions. He is now studying our ability to adapt to environmental challenges and the evolution of our living spaces imposed by these new natural conditions. His latest project, “Paradise” (2020), was selected by the Prix Nouvelles Écritures Freelens / SAIF, nominated for the prestigious Leica Oskar Barnack Awards and Prix Pictet in 2021, and awarded the CNAP documentary photography support grant - National Center for Plastic Arts.

"Meeting Chantal, Stephan, Carlo, and the entire Ramborn team helped me understand how it is possible, even in our very technology-, finance-, or service-oriented countries, to contribute to one of the most important actions to date: the preservation of biodiversity and the revitalisation of traditional know-how. Their wisdom is vital to the understanding of the richness of ecosystems that we have often lost in trying to standardise and design our production. The ramborn team has a passion for recreating this diversity and preserving the qualities of ancient varieties. They are passionate about passing on the knowledge. I hope that their learning will inspire as many as possible!"