in Ardèche, the inhabitants of a school have decided to fight together and on their own scale for the climate

At the domain of Lavenant, in Boffres, in Ardèche, a large lime tree acts as a guardian of the place. Joël, Raffa, Victoria flourish under its foliage … In all, 11 adults and four children live in this school. From their lodgings, the inhabitants have a majestic view of the mountains. But at the moment, no time to contemplate the peaks. “This morning, I cut the tomatoes while being in a zoom meeting too”, smiles Romain. Because it is necessary to make the preserves for this winter.

This agroecology facilitator is one of the initiators of this school called “Grain & Sens”: the desire to create a more just life in harmony with oneself and with the earth. It was very young that he became aware of the climate emergency. “I remember a book where it was written ‘Stop’ with a can in the shape of a planet that was all broken, like we were going to throw it away., he says. And the idea was: ‘We couldn’t say we didn’t know’. I told myself that in our society, we can doubt everything, what we eat, how we dress, and I no longer wanted to doubt. One way to do it was to do it myself and start by producing what I eat. “

The inhabitants produce 30% of their vegetables, consolidate their purchases to reduce waste. For energy sobriety, there are solar panels. But the real challenge of a schoolboy is the collective: every other week, they meet for what they call “a weather forecast”, in order to know “how everyone is doing, hopefully.”

“People are the biggest challenge in school children.”

Romain, inhabitant of “Grain & Sens”

to franceinfo

The weather is fine in any case for Raphael and his wife Kim. The couple take care of the bread, from the seed to the loaf. These peasant bakers also sell them in the markets or barter them for vegetables. Here they have found their ideal. “We were looking to reduce our carbon footprint and share our values, explains Raphaël. We found the right place, the right group, the right activity. I feel where I need to be. With what little I can contribute to this transition, to this paradigm shift, I am doing it here with my bread. “

The schoolboy transformed Astrid, another resident. Today she feels “to live more consciously, to be more in sharing and pooling, less in the competitive.” She no longer sees herself living otherwise. “Obviously this is no longer possible, she assures. We have come a long way and we realize that what there is still to discover remains immense and we want to continue. “

For them and for the future of Jonah, Seva, Elio and Willem, the children of the school, but also to show everyone that this possible exists. “Come back to this link, to your environment, to nature, to others, cooperate together.”