Toulouse: A festive march to support the ecological farm in the neighborhood
Saturday, March 26, the Pradettes invite residents to a festive March in support of the ecological farm project in Bordeblanche in the heart of the Pradettes district.
A great adventure started in 2019. That year, a collective of residents of Les Pradettes launched the idea of an ecological, solidarity and educational farm, thus responding to a call for a participatory budget from the City. “This initiative, located on the last municipal wasteland in the most densely populated area of the district, has been supported for a year and a half by the collective of Pradettes associations and the Alternatiba citizen movement”, notes Josy Gaillochet, co-president of the NATURES association. with 17 other inhabitants. “This farm is a bubble of air of 10,000 m2, between Bordeblanche and La Dépêche du Midi, assures Josy Gaillochet. It is accompanied by an educational garden, currently in temporary agreement with the City, for schoolchildren. Around twenty structures (clae) have already been proposed”. This initiative responds to the demand for social ties in the neighborhood and to climate and food issues. This wasteland located in Bordeblanche in the heart of Pradettes, would thus avoid leaving this land to property developers.
“Our case is strong. We are optimistic.”
“This farm and its gardens would create wealth and jobs: the place would be managed by professionals. Finally, let’s not forget that this place should be between 60 and 80 organic baskets per week,” recalls Josy Gaillochet. An agro-urban project, aided by the Occitanie Region to the tune of €150,000 and supported by two organizations: Les Imaginations Fertiles and le 100ème Singe, Tiers Lieu, agroecological agricultural incubator, equipped with an incubator to support project leaders dedicated to market gardening and agriculture. “The City has given us 15 months to develop this initiative globally, concluded Josy Gaillochet. The deadline expires on April 1. On April 8, the NATURES Pradettes association has an appointment with four elected officials for a definitive answer on this vegetable farm project. Our case is strong. We are optimistic”.
Meet at 2 p.m. on Chemin de Bordeblanche for the Festive March during which around fifty students in design training take part in a workshop supervised by the Collectif d’Architectes ETC (www.collectifetc.com). Until March 26, these students build facilities to tell the story of the ecological and solidarity farm project. This project takes place in the ephemeral educational garden of the NATURES association. Fine arts students and volunteers also take part in this project.