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Cravirola Co-operative is coming down off the mountainand taking a stand in "the Maquis"...
"Our values and our practices developed over years spent on abandoned and sunny terraces in a mountain hamlet in the southern Alps. At an elevation of 3,600 feet, in an environment both hostile and heavenly, in a climate of creative resistance, we formed a collective of modern day farmers, pragmatic environmentalists, fringe artists, active militants, and incorrigible utopians all focused on living their values.We have out-grown our quarters and are moving to new ones to broaden our horizons... Halfway between Toulouse and Montpellier (south of France), in the heart of Minerve, the hamlet of Bois Bas, nicknamed "Le Maquis", is the ideal spot to carry on and diversify our activities..”
Cravirola Co-operative is composed of ten people of diverse age and background. We share values, goals, labor and income, co-operatively exploring an alternative to the established system. At Le Maquis we will share an open and diversified communal space reflecting and illustrating our values with:
- A farm producing organic products (meat, cheese, fruits and vegetables) through sustainable practices.
- Alternative guest accommodations where guests are involved in the everyday activities of the project.
- Space for art and cultural events as well as debates and forums on social, political and environmental issues.
An economy based on sustainable agriculture :
More than simply paying the bills, we are driven to create a healthy, non speculative economy through creating quality products.....connected to the ecological and social dimensions of our project and environment and aimed only at financing the project. The income derived from the sales of products will be re-invested on the farm and also used to finance activities like workshops and meetings, less lucrative, but also very important.
*(Growing wild)
As a place for debating and collective action our wilderness Le Maquis offers many possibilities to those interested in creative dissent:
- A co-managed campground open from June to September where you can take a vacation while challenging your ideas and sharing your knowledge with others.
- Year round workcamps where beginners and professional work along side each other on various green building projects.
- A three month internship to learn sustainable agriculture and experience self-management during which you will be fully involved in the project and a m Ó/"practical solutions and show that alternative waCravirola Co-operative is taking a stand in the maquis.
- An artists in residence program is available to those looking for a place to be creative
We also shall be organizing various cultural events during the year to allow open and enquiring minds to discover our wilderness Le Maquis.
We are renting 670 acres of woods and scrubland from the association Terres Communes we created with two other farm collectives located in the Ardeche and the Alpes Maritimes. Terres Communes is a novel land ownership structure. Collective and ethical ownership insures that the land will be used only for sustainable agriculture, and our projects are protected from real estate speculation.
"Neither religious nor vegetarian, we eschew all dogma: we do not endorse any political party, but our politics are rather to the left of the left. Beyond our support of Confederation Paysanne and of the alter- globalization movement, our commitments are embodied in our daily activities.
Some want us to believe that economic and cultural globalization is unavoidable, that profit and self are all that matters and that those who do not think like that are living in the past. That's us. " (more infos)
