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Lierlou & the village

Anna-Lena + Titiane

How to build a village community around a regenerative farm

Owner: Anna-Lena + Titiane

Location: Balaguier-d'Olt

Produce: 30 different vegetables

CO2 Stored (tons)

8

Lierlou and the Village

The Project:

Community-based Food Forest

In order to extend our vision of protecting the soil and to actively regenerate natural resources, we want to grow a complex food forest that benefits nature, our community, and the world as a whole. The food forest will be accessible by the community and represents an interactive project that stands for full inclusivity for all human beings, animals, and plants. Join us on this journey!

How Do They Contribute to a Better Climate?

Lots of compost

No dig but lots of compost. Upon arriving on the piece of land we prepared our vegetable patches without tilting the soil. Instead we spread compost and organic matter on the ground and let it rest over winter. The result is a wonderful rich, alive and moist soil that is having a life on its own. The carbon in leafs, crop stubble and humus stays thus right in our soil.

Tree Planting

We plant trees and help existing trees grow. We tend 1,5 hectar of land but only grow on a quarter of this area. On the rest we are tending the wild, help self-seeded oaks grow, care for patches of wild edibles and plant new edible trees here and there. Planting trees plays such an important role in carbon farming as they store carbon in their wood, produce fruits or nuts and help our farm to be healthy and diverse.

No naked soil

Our soil never lays bare and naked: We either grow food or plant a cover crop that nourishes the ground and enriches the soil diversity. The extensive root system of our cover crops composts in the ground and thus adds organic matter that captures carbon in the soil.

What else is going on?

A dedication to learning

A dedication to ongoing learning and inquiring. We got to know each other at Schumacher College, a learning community in the UK where studying happens with hands, heart and head. The love to inquire, learn and write remained and now we are collaborating with the Research Community in Action - a group of international researchers that do action research within their ecologically oriented projects.

Local Community Hub

We are building a new community hub for our region. In an empty house at the entrance of our village we are planning to rent a 7-room house to host guests, concerts, pottery courses in collaboration with our neighbor, a public wood working workshop, a library on local food and farming as well as a share space for wild herb and plant workshops. Through helping a local economy to flourish we want to create opportunities to build livelihoods and revitalize the countryside.

Foraging Hikes

Foraging hikes are coming soon! Currently we are exploring hiking paths and picnic spots to soon host one-day and several day treks in which we will introduce wild edibles, taste them in gourmet picnics and cook with foraged food on open fire.

More Information about the farm

Anna-Lena & Titiane met each other at Schumacher College in the UK. After their studies, one of their Professors offered them to take a break at her house in the small village of Balaguier-d’Olt.

When they came here they quickly connected with the local community and when they asked them about unused land, the major of the village offered them a hectar of unused land just outside the village.

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