Agroforesterie au sein d’un domaine en libre évolution

By helping to finance my agroforestry project, I'm supporting the regeneration of living organisms, as well as an experimental sustainable agriculture project!

Let me tell you about it!

A few years ago, I bought some land in the Normandy region where I grew up. I found what I was looking for here on 200 hectares at the Domaine du Costil (in the Orne department, at Sap-en-Auge), most of which I leave to evolve freely to allow nature to regenerate on its own.

It's essential to build bridges between people and the living world as a whole, so the challenge we've set ourselves is to test an agroforestry plot, starting with an area of around 3 hectares, right in the middle of this estate, which is in the process of being rewilded!

Sowing is scheduled for 20 October 2023, in other words, tomorrow! Your contribution will be put to immediate use once this crowdfund-raising campaign closes.

The trees will be planted this winter in December, and our first harvests in the summer of 2024 :)

Agroforestry, what for? To grow what?

Objective no. 1: improve the soil, improve life.

Planting trees brings us all considerable benefits: they improve soil structure, retain water (it rains in Normandy - it's no legend!), act as a windbreak, provide shelter for birds and pollinating insects, assimilate and store carbon, the falling leaves return organic matter to the soil and protect it, they assimilate minerals in the deeper layers, etc. The list goes on!

Diversifying tree species reduces health risks (insect attacks, game damage, etc.) and reduces the risk of total loss of the stand (particularly at a time when the weather is more unpredictable).

In order to make our choice of tree species, we undertook a soil study, and the big winners in this report are: hornbeam, oak, maple, hybrid elm, common pear, wild apple, wood lime, nannyberry, etc...

For the record, last year we got rid of the barbed wire on the estate. We replanted linear metres of hedges to recreate the intelligent design of the "old" ones! Nothing was done by chance.

Objective 2: Produce and consume plant rather than animal calories.

It's a conscious choice, informed by studies on the collapse of biodiversity, and we clearly link our choice of food to the impact it can have on different scales.

As a baker by trade, I have chosen to grow cereals between the trees that we are going to plant.

Ancient cereals that are 'populations', in other words plants that are rich in biodiversity, heterogeneous and hardy. We call this "cultivated biodiversity"! Rediscovering varieties of soft wheat to adapt them locally on the farm is at the heart of the project, and that's the advantage of population varieties: they have a strong capacity to adapt.

We are also going to create a mixture of wheat populations specific to the Domaine du Costil, which will evolve dynamically according to our terroir, our agroforestry practices and our climate.

A test of Bordeaux red wheat is planned in partnership with the Triticum association (in Rouen), which owns it and will also supply all the seeds used for this first 'test & learn' plot.

This plot will be the subject of an application for AB certification.
Certified organic farming is a guarantee of consumer confidence in the way food is produced, with respect for living beings. What's urgently needed now is a return to practices that use no synthetic inputs and are based on an understanding of flora and fauna, in order to develop agro-ecology. This is the choice we are making on the estate. What's more, the shortage of organic farms in Normandy compared with the French average means that we need to support organic farming locally.

I'm not a qualified farmer, but it's a world I know well, one that shaped me throughout my childhood. My grandparents had a mixed crop/livestock farm in the south of Orne. I was involved in all the chores from a very early age!

So I'm picking up the thread of history with this adventure at Domaine du Costil. The idea is to gradually put in place a team dedicated to the land, the soil and the crops: to the rhythm of the seasons, the climate and the 'breathing' of this site.

For this project, which is far from 'conventional', I'm calling on people I trust and who understand my approach. We're talking a lot about what's being done, what used to be done (like animal traction for ploughing, which I'd like to use again!), so-called low-tech agriculture, the use of high-tech (or not?!) and what we could envisage as 'solutions' to feed people without destroying life.

To sum up, our objective is not maximum yield, but finding a balance between the area under production and its natural environment.

To be able to share our experience, to welcome those who dare to adopt different practices and who ask themselves the same questions as we do: to listen, to exchange, to test, to adapt over the years, in tune with the living world and the needs of our region.

This crowdfunding will be used to get this project off the ground, and to give impetus to what's to come!

🌱 The first level: €3,500 

Will be used to prepare the soil and buy the seeds to sow before the autumn rains. This will be used to buy the tree seedlings, put in place their protection (mulch, sheaths, etc...) and their maintenance throughout the first year of the tree's life.

🌳 The second level: €6,000

This will be used to monitor and maintain the crops, finance the organisation of the first harvests, invest in equipment to store the cereals, sort them and transport them to the mills.

🌾 The third stage: €10,000

The icing on our cake! It will be used to set up the first tools for measuring changes in biodiversity in an agroforestry plot. So that we can "illustrate" our experience and share with as many people as possible the natural "benefits" that this type of practice can generate.

😊 If this 3rd level is exceeded?

The funds will be used to cover any unforeseen events (there are always some, nature is unpredictable!) and to set up the second year of cultivation - we'll keep you posted, of course!

To help us, you can contribute to the fundraising campaign and benefit from the rewards on offer in return. We're counting on you to share the fundraising link and tell your friends and family about our project! 

Matching donations

For €10 or more
Thank you for your support!
A postcard from the project to show your commitment as an ambassador for life!

For €25 or more
A photo/video report at key stages of the project to give you news and allow you to see things come to fruition!

For €50 or more
See you in spring 2024, on site, boots on, for a visit to the plot under cultivation: choose the tree that will bear your name!

For €75 or more
In addition to the previous offer (spring visit), you'll go home with 1 bottle of cider + 1 loaf of bread + 1 sachet of lime blossom tea to prolong this delicious moment spent together!

For €100 or more
If you're a big fan of the project, you'll receive all the above rewards combined! As a kind-hearted ambassador, we'll give you a video tutorial on how to make a special bread, just for you!

For €150 or more
We're going all out, or rather a whole gourmet hamper full of breads and pastries in honour of this counterparty! Combined with all the above, of course.

For €250 or more
After the summer, post 1st harvest 2024, come and spend a whole afternoon on site for a visit.
I'll take the time to share my experience with you over a glass of cider, bread and jam! You'll leave with seeds and our first packets of flour, so you can work wonders at home... all in a splendid bread bag!
 

You can also make a free, unrequited donation

A big THANK YOU for your support!!!