Nicolas and François from the “Collectif Fermier des Arbolèts” has been selected as the French Newbie award for 2021.
Created in 2016 on a former pork/cereal farm, the collective now brings together 7 organic farmers belonging to legally independent farm: GAEC La Bergerie des Arbolèts (goat and sheep breeding, yoghurts and cheeses), GAEC Le Jardin des Arbolèts (market gardening), Le Porc Noir de Noémie (black pork), EARL Mahupax (arable crops), EARL Les Végétaux des Arbolèts (arable crops and cereal processing).
François and Nicolas process cereals into vegetable drinks and cereal flakes. In addition, the range will gradually expand to include oils, flours and vegetable desserts, the aim being to make the most of all the agricultural production on a cultivated area of around 25 hectares.
The strength of the Collective is based on legal and economic independence of the various companies that make it up. Each one can concentrate on his or her own activity, for which he or she is entirely responsible, but the fact that we can pool material and human resources allows them to make savings and not feel alone. Beyond the pooling of resources, the richness of human exchanges and the agronomic interest of the mixed crop-livestock association, it is a way to bring to life the model of a living and resilient peasant agriculture. More concretely, while a cereal farm alone would create one job on the farm, this model has already created 7 jobs!
