Mathias Lavaert

Data Platform Engineer · Heritage Pig Farmer

About

Mathias Lavaert with his pigs on the Akkervarken farm

I'm a freelance data platform engineer based in Opwijk, Belgium, working through my company Pilcrow BV. Currently I'm contracted at DPG Media, one of the largest media companies in the Benelux, where I architect and maintain the data platform that roughly 150 analysts rely on every day.

Outside of work, I co-run Akkervarken with my partner Jolien — a small-scale regenerative pig farm. We raise heritage pigs and Mergelland sheep outdoors, the way it should be done. It's a different kind of engineering: slower feedback loops, no rollback button, but the same need to get the fundamentals right.

The thread between both is a preference for minimal, effective solutions and proven methods over hype. I use suckless tools and Neovim, not because they're fashionable, but because they work. I'd rather spend time understanding a problem properly than chasing the latest framework. That applies to data systems and to farming alike.

Work

I'm a freelance data platform engineer, currently contracted at DPG Media. There I architect and maintain the infrastructure that powers analytics across the organisation: Snowflake as the warehouse, dbt Cloud for transformations, Apache Airflow on AWS EKS for orchestration, DataHub Cloud for data discovery and governance, and Kafka for streaming. Everything is managed with Terraform, version-controlled, and reproducible.

Some things I've done that I'm satisfied with: I led the migration from dbt Core to dbt Cloud, which simplified operations and gave analysts more autonomy. I evaluated eight different data catalogs before recommending DataHub Cloud, and then used the metadata it surfaced to achieve a 25% reduction in monthly Snowflake costs. Not by doing anything clever — by finally having the visibility to stop paying for things nobody used.

My preference is for boring, proven technology. I'd rather run a well-understood Airflow DAG than adopt whatever orchestrator launched last month. The goal is a platform that people can depend on without thinking about it. If it's invisible, it's working.

Akkervarken

Pigs grazing on outdoor pastures at Akkervarken, Opwijk

Akkervarken is a small-scale regenerative pig farm in Opwijk, Belgium, run by me and my partner Jolien under Pilcrow BV. Our story began with two pigs and an experiment — we wanted to plow our pasture naturally, without machines. It grew from there.

All our pigs are 100% outdoor-raised with 50m² per animal, roughly 30 times the industry standard. They grow for 8 to 10 months, not the conventional 6. We practice rotational grazing with regular parcel rotation, and our feed is locally sourced: field beans, peas, wheat, and barley. No imported soy, no corn. We also keep a flock of Mergelland sheep, a heritage breed from the low countries.

We sell directly through our webshop. If you're interested in pork from regenerative agriculture — varkensvlees van regeneratieve landbouw — visit akkervarken.be.

Writing

Occasional writing and conference talks on data engineering, infrastructure, and farming.

Talks & Publications

Contact