In Lannion, at Prosper, we cultivate vegetables and social ties

Less than five minutes by car from Lannion city center (Côtes-d’Armor), we discover the place that housed a market gardening business two years ago. A building on two levels, a garage, an old pigsty and some 6000 m² of land.

A project “that makes sense”

Welcome “to Prosper”. “It was the first name of the former tenant. He was resistant. He died at the age of 96, between the time we had the idea and the time we started to make it happen ”, says Patrick Salaün, member of the Relais des fraternités association.

The volunteer who has worked for a long time in the social sector is also a cook. Here he found a way to combine the two in this project “That makes sense” : cultivate social ties through activities, market gardening, in this case.

At Prosper, at the end of July, we find young people who came through the Young Caritas network of Secours Catholique, but also migrants waiting for news for their papers. They all work in the vegetable garden in the morning, while the afternoon is dedicated to walking and going out in the region.

Patrick Salaün acts as the head gardener, even though he didn’t know anything about it not so long ago. “I learn with them. One day I was planting pumpkin seeds, and I was watering on the seed. As a result, the water made her rise again. A young Eritrean took another seed, positioned it differently in the earth, and watered not on the seed but around it. Everyone here can make a contribution to the building. “

And also a yurt

In the group of about fifteen people, some are passing through, who have come to lend a hand for a week. Others are there for a while. “I started coming to work in the garden during the confinement. The first one who came to help me was a young Tunisian. He had just lost his job and his home. “ At Prosper, he found a purpose in his days.

Under a hot sun, Patrick Salaün, a new permaculture enthusiast, gives the instructions: “You should only weed around vegetables if necessary. “ Doodles, the dog is walking in the vegetable garden while the team gets to work. For now, vegetable production does not serve the project, but it should do so from here “Two to three years”. “The idea is to have an integrated project: the vegetables will supply the association restaurant and the shop. “

In the meantime, work is planned in the house. Coming from Iran, Farbod is an architect. “I have ideas” he confides with a smile. The land should accommodate a yurt by the fall, thanks to the support of the Ouest-France Solidarity association. The foundations are underway. It will accommodate activities during the construction site. And in the longer term could host workshops dedicated to culture and well-being.

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