Richard perkins, director & Lead Designer
Richard is an innovative farmer, internationally regarded teacher and influencer, and a Regenerative Agriculture expert. He is author of the internationally acclaimed manual Regenerative Agriculture and Ridgedale Farm Builds and the Ridgedale Cookbook FarmFishHuntPickBake. He has grown food since his teenage years, and is recognised as a leader in the field. He has worked professionally in every major climate zone across several continents consulting to projects, farms and industry, and is known for his pragmatic no-nonsense approach to profitable system design. Richard has also led over 75 solo Regenerative Agriculture Design Course's as well as countless other specialist courses, practicums and seminars. Richard's project work includes design and site visits on over 250 varied projects in various climatic zones as well as contributing to over 1000 course participants’ site plans. Richard has had the honour to run the first internationally accredited regenerative agriculture training programs in Dominican Republic, Poland and Luxembourg; introduced concepts of Regenerative Agriculture in Poland, Belarus, Croatia, Latvia, Denmark and Finland as well as pioneered Keyline Design and aspects of Regenerative Agriculture in cold-climate Sweden. As an influencer, Richard’s Youtube channel has a highly focused following, and his approach to No-Dig (no till) market gardening and pastured poultry production has been emulated by thousands of people in all corners of the globe. Richard also holds a Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design (UK), HND Organic Crop Production (UK) and has studied extensively in the fields of Keyline Design, Managing Holistically, Ecology and Anthropology. After leaving Organic Crop Production studies at Agricultural College in 1999 with more questions than answers, Richard began studying Permaculture and other ecological design systems alongside bio-construction in various vernaculars’. Now focused primarily on helping others with Regenerative Agricultural design work, Richard has worked on very varied design and implementation projects from CSA production to whole-farm planning; agroforestry to water catchment and irrigation systems; regenerative business design to Keyline planning, Holistic planned grazing/ decision making/ financial planning to community building work. Known for his dynamic teaching, down-to-earth pragmatism, efficient project management and organisational skills, he is now primarily focused at his home Ridgedale Farm AB in Värmland, Sweden. Richard is the CEO of Ridgedale Farm AB, Making Small Farms Work AB, Sillegardens Fastighet AB and Silly Geese AB.
Victor-Louis, Farm Manager
Victor-Louis was born in The Netherlands and grew up on flower farms in different countries during his early childhood, fostering his love for the outdoors. From eating sugar cane picked fresh from the fields whilst looking for chameleons in the bush in Kenya to the freezing cold on the Cotopaxi volcano in Ecuador. Moving back to The Netherlands, he longed for the summer holidays to go hiking in the mountains or go back to the flower farm in Kenya with his father. School never was never his favorite place to be. Fast forward some years, Victor worked several kinds of jobs from logistics, mechanics to landscaping. His mechanical skills born from a passion for classic cars, he was still missing the connection with nature, the animals and being in a landscape that made him feel free. After already wanting to move Sweden for some years and taking a deep dive in to
Regenerative Agriculture, he followed the internship program at Ridgedale and finished the season as an employee. The things he values in life all fell into place. Being part of restoring ecosystem processes, eating real food and helping others the set off on their journey has given him a lot of joy and fulfillment. Now he has moved to Sweden and is super happy and grateful being part of the next chapter of Ridgedale and Sillegården!
Regenerative Agriculture, he followed the internship program at Ridgedale and finished the season as an employee. The things he values in life all fell into place. Being part of restoring ecosystem processes, eating real food and helping others the set off on their journey has given him a lot of joy and fulfillment. Now he has moved to Sweden and is super happy and grateful being part of the next chapter of Ridgedale and Sillegården!
LIAN MATATHIAS, FARM CHEF
Lian Matathias is a software engineer turned cook and gastronome, with a deep passion for farm-to-table cooking, fermentation, and making the most of seasonal, local ingredients. Always looking for creative ways to minimize waste, use whole ingredients, and adapt to what the land provides - once resulting in over 70 fermentation experiments taking over a tiny kitchen! She studied the philosophy and art of food in the New Food Thinking Master’s program at the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Italy, exploring the relationship between tradition, creativity, and sustainability. Always curious and looking to be inspired, she has worked alongside small artisans in the countryside - smoking fish, making charcuterie and cheeses, and cooked in various environments. From working at a fisherman’s stall at a local market to small seasonal fine dining kitchens, hands-on workshops and pop-up dinners, Lian always endeavors to be more connected to the land.
David doherty, market garden manager
David spent school holidays at his grandparents’ farm in the west of Ireland. Growing food and rearing animals had been a way of life for the family for generations. These holidays were a formative introduction to the outdoors and rural community living and a retreat from an otherwise suburban childhood. After leaving university he worked in hospitals in care roles for a number of years until horticulture presented itself as an opportunity for a career change. A great relief after working in so many windowless rooms and sanitised spaces. After moving to Kent from London, he worked as a freelance small scale garden designer and took on the role of produce gardener at a food growing education charity. In 2024 David returned to Ireland to take the post of horticulture manager at Ballymalloe Cookery School, a beacon for organic food, where he learnt a great deal in an acre of glasshouse. David visited Ridgedale in September for more in-depth and direct learning from Richard’s processes and is very excited to be joining the team on the farm this year.