Pierre Rabhi

Pierre Rabhi (born Rabah Rabhi; 29 May 1938 – 4 December 2021) was a French writer, farmer, and environmentalist. Originally a Muslim, he converted to Christianity before abandoning that religion as well. Rabhi studied in France, and is considered an important figure in French agroecology. He invented the concept of an oasis en tous lieux ("an oasis in any place"). Rabhi advocated a society which respects its population and land, supporting the development of agricultural techniques which preserve natural resources. His theories relate particularly, although not exclusively, to arid countries. His use of anthroposophically-based biodynamic agriculture was controversial. He died on 4 December 2021, at the age of 83. Rabhi was born into a Muslim family in Kénadsa, near Béchar (an oasis in southern Algeria), in 1938. His mother died when he was four years old. Rabhi's father—who was a blacksmith, musician, and poet—became acquainted with a French couple (an engineer who was a primary school teacher and his wife) when they came to work during the colonial period at the compagnie des houillères (coal-mining company) in his native village. Since the couple were childless and the elder Rabhi was concerned about his son's future, he allowed them to raise Pierre if he remained an observant Muslim. Rabhi's father later had to close his workshop and work in the mine, which influenced Pierre's philosophy. He spent his childhood in France and Algeria, in the Catholic and Muslim worlds, until he was 14. Rabhi found work as a technician and married Michelle, a coworker. Both of them dreamed of escaping urban life, and they considered the possibility of farming. He met Pierre Richard, an ecologist who was involved in the creation of the Cévennes National Park and who encouraged them. They decided to move to Ardèche, where they lived from 1960 on; their move predated the late-1960s French neo-rural movement. When they arrived in Ardèche, they married in Malarce-sur-la-Thines.