Our story, from 2013 to today
The evolution of APALA
We committed to the transitions in order to reduce humanity’s footprint on the planet. Thirteen years of experiments, reading and self-questioning have taken us further: less about leaving no trace at all than about genuinely making things better. Here is how our ideas have evolved, what made us change our minds, and what has never changed.
In one sentence
‘Seeing only the damage’
We thought that making the world better boiled down to reducing human influence so as to transform it less.
‘Looking at the whole picture’
In France, since 2005 (absolute decoupling)
Moving away from a romanticised view of nature ultimately convinced us of the opposite: the human adventure is the best hope for improving living conditions on Earth.
Sources: Our World in Data, based on the World Bank (GDP in constant dollars) and the Global Carbon Project (consumption-based emissions); life expectancy: United Nations (World Population Prospects). Licence CC BY 4.0.
In brief
What endures, what has changed
Rereading thirteen years of publications means seeing an association that learns in public. Not all of our founding convictions survived scrutiny of the facts; our rigour did, and it is what pushed us to evolve.
What endures
- Plant-based eating, present from our very first stands in 2014 and now, with the figures to back it up, our priority lever.
- A declared scientific approach: measuring, comparing, sourcing, and reminding people that ‘science is not prescriptive’.
- Reaching other audiences: buffets, low-tech aperitifs, banquets, then open-air events, open formats for talking about the future with those who would not come to a lecture.
- The link with higher education, from Centrale Nantes in 2016 to ESEO in 2026.
What has changed
- Our horizon: from ‘leaving as few traces as possible’ to a desire to make the world concretely better. What matters is the overall balance, not just the hunt for negative impacts.
- Our references: from Philippe Bihouix’s technological sufficiency (L’âge des low-tech) to the figures: those of Václav Smil on energy and how our societies actually work, those of Hannah Ritchie (Our World in Data) on the state of the global environment; and then to the philosophy of progress.
- Our course: yesterday, reducing economic activity to reduce our impacts; today, reducing the impacts themselves (emissions, pollution, animal suffering) while continuing to improve living conditions.
- Our ethics: from defending ‘nature’ to caring about beings that can feel.
- Our craft: from building technical objects to analysis, adversarial debate and storytelling.
Six eras
Thirteen years of evolution
Each era tells what we were doing, what we thought and why we changed. The quotations are taken from our publications of the time.
Sustainable project engineering: from the rocket stove to eco-construction
What we were doing
Founded in Nantes in 2013 by Jonathan Guéguen with a group of science and engineering students, APALA carries out research and development on a rocket mass heater: an experimental prototype, then improved and standalone versions, installed in La Grée-Saint-Laurent and Ploërmel. The aim goes beyond the object: documenting and measuring the stove so that it can be certified, and therefore insured, and professionalising eco-construction by supporting self-build and bringing about the profession of self-build guide. At our Alternatiba stands, in Nantes and then Rennes, we present the stove while explaining heat transfer (conduction, convection, radiation, inertia). With plant-based cooking on a pay-what-you-want basis, we also show that it is possible to eat in a way that is delicious while reducing the impact of one’s diet.
What we thought
An ecology of sufficiency, guided by the measurement of the ecological footprint. Heating and food were already linked: two everyday areas where one can reduce one’s impact. And ecological housing can become accessible thanks to supported self-build and mutual aid, provided it is properly supervised. An ethical question already drove us: what should we do, or not do?
Why we changed
A single object, even a certified one, is not enough to transform a sector. To have real influence, we are reaching out to engineering schools and to the eco-construction and self-production networks, such as the FédAc and the Twiza network.
‘Biocapacité et jour du dépassement ou pourquoi faut-il se nourrir et se chauffer autrement.’
Milestones
- 26/08/2013Founding of the association.
- 2014First exhibition at Alternatiba Nantes: the rocket stove, and a plant-based kitchen to raise awareness of sustainable food.
- 2015Alternatiba Rennes, then Nantes again: rocket stove, geodesic dome, bamboo workshop.
- May 2016Autonomous rocket stove installed in Ploërmel.
- Sept. 2016Winners of Nantes Métropole’s call for projects on the social and solidarity economy.
- Sept. 2016The BatLab, a third-place project for eco-construction, presented at the Climate Chance summit in Nantes.
- Oct. 2016First measured combustion tests of the rocket stove in Ploërmel: efficiency curves published on our website.
Low-tech, engineering schools and the plant-based plate
What we were doing
Study projects with Centrale Nantes (18 students from 2017), then the IAE, ESA Angers and Polytech; the BatLab, a third-place project for eco-construction; a nursery dome funded by a successful crowdfunding campaign in 2018; participatory building sites; plant-based buffets for events (up to 80 guests), whose carbon footprint we calculate to show, with figures to back it up, that you can eat well while emitting far less; l’Or Blanc, a plant-based parmesan of our own making, which emits 60% less CO2 than a local organic emmental. Each project is carried by a few motivated people: they are already our ‘small actors’. In 2019, together with other Nantes-based organisations, we initiated the Ateliers low-tech nantais.
What we thought
Our reference is L’âge des low-tech by Philippe Bihouix. But we already put figures on everything: the footprint of the buffets, sustainability indicators for technologies designed with students, and work on the ‘deliberate diet’ with researchers from LAMSADE. Plant-based eating becomes our central thesis, and we publish our first report, L’énigme des experts climatiques face à l’urgence (2019).
Why we changed
A project only lives if people carry it. We therefore formalise what already existed: each project becomes a Petit Acteur, with its own leaders, within an incubator.
‘The key to sustainable food is plants.’
Milestones
- April 2017Our stakeholder contribution to Nantes Métropole’s major debate on the energy transition.
- 2017First study projects with Centrale Nantes: 18 students.
- June 2018We join the Écossolies incubator.
- Sept. 2018Nursery dome: crowdfunding target reached.
- Dec. 2018The nursery dome is installed at the Bellevue urban farm in Saint-Herblain.
- March 2019A low-tech diagnostic tool designed by students from Centrale Nantes and the IAE.
- March 2019L’Or Blanc, our plant-based parmesan, goes on sale.
- June 2019Founding meeting of the Ateliers low-tech nantais, launched on our initiative: some twenty participants.
- Oct. 2019First report: The puzzle of climate experts facing urgency.
- July 2020Report ‘Vite, la nouvelle transition alimentaire !’ on processed plant-based products.
- July 2020‘As a reminder, science is not prescriptive.’
- Sept. 2020First professional training course: building a solar air heater.
The Petits Acteurs: an incubator at L’Agronaute
What we were doing
In January 2021, the association formalises six Petits Acteurs: Sustainable Food, Mass Heater, La Belle Brique (raw earth bricks), Nursery Dome, Vélow Club (cycle self-repair workshops) and Enerlog (solar energy, which became a cooperative in January 2023). We open our premises at L’Agronaute, on the Île de Nantes, launch the low-tech aperitif evenings and secure support from ADEME for the mass heater: a scientific programme run with the CSTB, the Twiza network, Centrale Nantes, Université Gustave Eiffel and Fibois Pays de la Loire, to certify an open-source mass heater and establish a protocol for supported self-build (buyer, supporter, craftsperson). We also offer our work on food to local authorities.
What we thought
An environmentalist association that works ‘through a scientific approach and with a low-tech method’. We denounce the meat industry’s manufacture of doubt, without sparing our own side. We publish debate methodology sheets and host a first talk by Thomas Lepeltier: ‘What is the difference between ecology and antispeciesism?’
Why we changed
The incubator model remains fragile. Despite support from ADEME and the Pays de la Loire Region, and around ten recommendation sheets drawn up with the network’s participants, €40,000 is still missing to complete the masonry heater programme: the market is probably not yet ready. And new reading is starting to shake our certainties.
‘We see these practices all the time; unfortunately, the environmentalist movement is no exception.’
Milestones
- Jan. 2021New organisation into six Petits Acteurs.
- March 2021Opening of our premises at L’Agronaute.
- July 2021ADEME supports the mass heater programme: certification and supported self-build (agreement signed in September).
- Sept. 2021First low-tech apéro.
- Nov. 2021Talk by Thomas Lepeltier on ecology and antispeciesism.
- July 2022Enerlog training site: an 8 m² solar panel.
Beyond the concept: the rational turn
What we were doing
At the start of the 2022 academic year, a first cohort of six students takes the low-tech engineering option at Centrale Nantes, for which APALA is the lead contact and partner. Courses follow at ESEO (from November 2022), IMT Atlantique and Audencia, then the first Low-tech Forum at Centrale Nantes, then the festival ‘Low-tech : au-delà du concept’ at the Halle 6 Ouest, and the Banquets de la transition.
What we thought
Within a few weeks, our monitoring shifts to new references: Václav Smil and his non-dogmatic approach, Hannah Ritchie’s data (Our World in Data), the decoupling of growth and emissions. In 2023, epistemology is added, with an introductory course on scientific research (which we have taught since early 2022) at Centrale Nantes, the critique of alarmism, effective altruism and sentience. The festival makes a wager: to invite, into the heart of the low-tech world, speakers who challenge its received ideas, in order to make it evolve from within. Thomas Lepeltier chairs an adversarial debate between Arthur Keller and Antoine Buéno on the question ‘Notre société doit-elle décroître ?’ and holds a conversation with Yves Cochet.
Why we changed
The ecological cause is largely accepted by public opinion: the challenge is no longer to convince people that action is needed, but to aim at the right goals. We stand by this, even if it means going against the grain of our own community. And we are carrying too many projects for an unstable economic model: we decide to refocus.
‘Catastrophism is counterproductive and dangerous.’
Milestones
- Autumn 2022First cohort of the low-tech engineering option at Centrale Nantes.
- Oct. 2022We share How the World Really Works by Václav Smil.
- 21/03/2023First Low-tech Forum at Centrale Nantes.
- 22–25 June 2023Festival ‘Low-tech : au-delà du concept’, Halle 6 Ouest: 27 talks and debates, 43 workshops, 25 exhibitors (watch the debates again ↗).
- 26/08/2023APALA turns ten.
- Oct. 2023Les actions efficaces pour réduire notre empreinte carbone.
- Oct. 2023First Banquet de la transition.
The think & do tank: revising our ideas in public
What we were doing
On 25 January 2024, new statutes make APALA a think & do tank of the transitions. An expert committee forms around Thomas Lepeltier, Antoine Buéno and Jacques Lecomte. Our technical projects complete their cycle: La Belle Brique and Enerlog stop at the end of 2023, we leave L’Agronaute in 2025 and the Vélow Club closes in early 2026. We publish analyses, give talks and organise public debates, including our official launch at the Nantes Digital Week, with Nantes Université, in September 2024. In 2025, a new website and a catalogue of talks present our three divisions: Think Tank, Training and Startup Studio.
What we thought
We revise our ideas in public. We had trusted planetary boundaries: we explain why we now look at them differently. We remain close to Philippe Bihouix on the assessment of technologies, but consider the decoupling of growth from environmental impact more credible than degrowth. We criticise declinism and catastrophism, open a ‘Critical Thinking’ section and defend an effective ecology: one that chooses actions according to their real impact.
Why we changed
Criticising false solutions is not enough: we need to offer a positive narrative, capable of reaching wider audiences.
‘At APALA, we used the concept of planetary boundaries, because we trusted that they were scientifically established.’
Milestones
- 25/01/2024New statutes: APALA becomes a think & do tank for the transitions.
- Feb. 2024‘Because of the established evidence, the decoupling of GDP and well-being is far less credible than the decoupling of GDP and environmental impact.’
- 27/09/2024Official launch at Nantes Digital Week, with Nantes Université: three mini-talks by the expert committee.
- March 2025New visual identity and new logo.
- May 2025New website: the think tank, the Training Division and the Startup Studio.
Better understanding of progress
What we do
Eddy Fougier joins the expert committee. We debate the future of livestock farming at the Open Agrifood in Orléans, organise a day on artificial intelligence with ESEO and publish, with The Flares, the video ‘Un futur sans souffrance ?’. We also take these questions beyond the conference hall: with the Transitions Sonores, co-organised with BeWonder, the ‘L’Avenir en questions’ trail introduces them to an audience that would not attend a debate.
What we think
An optimism grounded in facts: ‘Changing does not mean shrinking.’ An ethics centred on sentience rather than on an idealised nature: ‘Animals feel. […] ecosystems do not.’ AI as a ‘tool of intellectual emancipation and an accelerator of transitions’. And the ambition of making ‘a positive and constructive vision of the human adventure’ prevail.
And now
We stand by what we have revised, and we continue to examine our own certainties, with our scientific monitoring and our expert committee.
‘We now think that “moving beyond growth” is a bad answer to a bad question.’
Milestones
- Summer 2025First season of the Transitions Sonores with BeWonder: six free open-air events on the banks of the Loire, from 5 July.
- Nov. 2025Eddy Fougier joins the expert committee.
- Nov. 2025Debate ‘Veut-on la peau des élevages français ?’ at the Open Agrifood in Orléans.
- 21/05/2026Day ‘Intelligence artificielle : progrès ou mise en danger de la société ?’ with ESEO.
- July 2026Un futur sans souffrance ?, with The Flares.
- Summer 2026Second season of the Transitions Sonores and first ‘L’Avenir en questions’ trail.
The thread of ideas
What have we talked about, year after year?
The share of our publications addressing each theme shows how our interests have shifted: low-tech peaks in 2023 and then fades; progress, critical thinking and the question of catastrophism take over; plant-based food runs throughout the period.
| Theme | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plant-based food | 13 % | 20 % | 38 % | 22 % | 15 % | 24 % | 21 % | 25 % | 16 % |
| Low-tech | 11 % | 15 % | 31 % | 3 % | 35 % | 48 % | 6 % | 4 % | 0 % |
| Livestock farming | 0 % | 0 % | 15 % | 6 % | 11 % | 15 % | 11 % | 23 % | 9 % |
| Sentience, animal welfare | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | 3 % | 1 % | 10 % | 11 % | 12 % | 16 % |
| Critical thinking, rationality | 3 % | 0 % | 0 % | 3 % | 0 % | 6 % | 24 % | 30 % | 31 % |
| Catastrophism, decline | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | 3 % | 11 % | 6 % | 24 % | 26 % | 56 % |
| Progress | 0 % | 0 % | 4 % | 0 % | 6 % | 8 % | 22 % | 44 % | 62 % |
| Artificial intelligence | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | 0 % | 1 % | 1 % | 5 % | 7 % | 41 % |
Share of the year’s publications0%60%
Automatic keyword count on the posts of our Facebook page, duplicates removed (488 posts from 2016 to September 2026; 2026: up to 23 September; 2016 and 2017, too few in number, are not shown). A trend, not a measure of a theme’s importance: ‘catastrophism’ also counts posts that criticise it.
Our work on plant-based food dominates, alongside sustainable engineering projects.
Low-tech peaks with the festival; livestock farming and sentience, long present, are approached with the tools of research.
Progress, critical thinking and the critique of catastrophism take over; artificial intelligence becomes a subject in its own right.
‘Changing your mind does not mean giving up your values. It means evolving thanks to better information.’
APALA, 14 June 2026
And tomorrow?
Our history explains our way of working: spotting early the subjects that matter, testing them against the facts and being willing to revise our ideas. Discover the subjects on which we were ahead of the curve, and those we are exploring today.