Falling on a beak...
Anyone who swears that pesticides and intensive farming are the only way to get the best out of this extraordinary Normandy farm located... at Bec Hellouin!
A human story...
This farm is both a love story between a man and a woman, and a love story with nature.
She, Perrine, was a top-level sportswoman, then "business women" in Asia, before turning to her deepest desires with the writing of books about relaxation, family...
For 20 years, on board his sail training ship, he, Charles, shared the lives of many indigenous peoples, about whom he made some 60 documentaries and numerous books. He draws from this experience a life experience in intimate harmony with nature.
And then, together, without any agricultural training, and obviously accumulating all possible mistakes, they embarked on a project, very unusual at the time, of food autonomy, which is very different from what they ended up with, namely a market gardener's job which is supposed to produce 12 months out of 12.
It was then that all their previous experiences came together and found their culmination in the principles and techniques of permaculture, which they discovered in 2008, and applied with passion.
Passion put into action...
They wanted to start slowly, discreetly, but in 2010, their farm was spotted!
At the same time, the couple became increasingly aware of the potential of this approach.
Indeed, the results were impressive in terms of productivity... natural! And this productivity could not really be attributed to their beginner's knowledge, nor to the exceptional fertility of the place, which was rather ungrateful!
At the same time, from 2011 to 2015, they are conducting a research programme in partnership with INRA and Agro Paris Tech, a programme entitled "Organic market gardening and economic performance".
Let's go through the stages, which will be explained to you during an on-site visit, and come to the conclusion: the vocation of the farm as an experimental farm had become obvious, with a big "upheaval" in their lives, between the job of market gardener itself, their field experiences, the requests and visits, the organisation of training courses... and family life!
Whether it is to meet passionate people, and discover different approaches that rid us of the dangers of today's agriculture, while allowing extraordinary productivity, or whether it is to talk about a project you have in mind, the place and the people are worth the detour!
Ferme du Bec Hellouin
Ecole de Permaculture du Bec Hellouin
1, Sente du Moulin au Cat
27800 Le Bec-Hellouin
Tél. : 02 32 44 50 57
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