Odile Fabrègue and Christian Varin
43°20'22"N, 1°01'48"W
Ahalen Lurrak Farm, Oneix, Pyrénées Atlantiques
Ahalen Lurrak (“the lands of the possible” in Basque) is a five-hectare farm of woods, meadows, fruit trees, Galloway cows, a donkey, ewes and market gardening. When Odile and Christian took over this site at the bottom of a valley, it was covered in brambles. To promote biodiversity, they sow, prick out, plant, harvest and gather seeds: one hundred and seventy-eight varieties of vegetables are grown and over fifty varieties of tomatoes form an ecosystem in harmony with living things. The river that runs below – the Joyeuse – irrigates the land with the help of a solar-powered pump. Certain crops are grown under a large mobile greenhouse near the seedling greenhouse, which is heated in winter by the ewes’ breath.
The lands of the possible regularly welcome partners, students and trainees, to whom Odile and Christian are keen to pass on their know-how. Their model is based on finding the right scale: a balance between the cultivated area and market sales. The farm is economically viable thanks to its systemic global approach.
Visit of the Ahalen Lurrak farm, Saturday 9 october at 9 am
Without reservation
See all the full of off-site visits programme
Tool made by Odile Fabrègue, which allows to plan the rotation of the cultivations on the 72 beds that form the vegetable garden of the farm.
Interview in French with Odile Fabrègue and Christian Varin, 2021
For more information:
Ahalen Lurrak Farm