After a brief but well-deserved nap, it's time to get back on our bikes. Next stage : Canopy Farm in Sansan !

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After travelling a winding road, uphill, downhill, having a snack-break and cheerful chichat, our hair swaying in the Gersian breeze, we finally reach the Canopy. Still, the last few meters we had to ride, or swim,accross a mud puddle. Once at the Canopy, muddy, but delighted to have finally reached our second stage, we are warmly welcomed by our hosts. They invite us to settle camp before nightfall. Once we have changed into fresh cozy clothes, the tour of the Canopy can get begin...

The Canopy was impulsed by Patrice Adda in 2012. It is a multi-agricultural project which focuses on creating a pool of skills, material and human resources and means of commercialization, primarily in order for the participants to feed themselves, then to make a living out of their work while supporting their territory.

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Their goal : produce organic food with natural methods and even further : permaculture, using techniques such as ramial chipped wood and following the principle of fruit tree based agroforestry. In the end they aimed to create a whole ecosystem around fruit tree (hence the name « Canopy »), which will take into account the characteristics of the land, especially its location : a very humid flood-risk area with unstable ground that needs to be maintained to prevent erosion.
 

Reaching this noble goal is hard work !

 

As an intensive farming field, 22 ha of land were turned into organic farming-compatible land by enriching and attending to the soil by applying crushed plants and planting alfalfa and clover.

To use as little treatment as possible on the crops (even organic treatment), the farmers rely on a wide variety of plants to attract friendly auxiliary fauna such as birds, bugs or bees. This method prevents diseases from spreading through sensible use of plant associations which protect and reinforce each other. It takes 3 to 4 years for the new ecosystem to be self-sustainable.

Let’s explain those blurry concepts with an example :

Fruit production on the Canopy relies on several rows of fruit-bearing hedges separated by oat-seeded paths. As fruit-tree don’t like to share space with another plant’s roots,, seeding oat just along them will force them to dig deep into the earth to take roots. The same principle in also used for garlic, which also had deworming and fungicide properties. The oat is used to feed the animals.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Furthermore, in a single row of fruit-bearing hedges, several species grow alongside : if a certain disease infects one particular specie, it won’t necessarily spread among the other types of hedge. Gathering all the peach tress would make them all a lot more vulnerable in case of an infected tree.

Lastly, the hedges are raised-up so their roots don’t soak into a very humid soil (hydromorphia).

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Animal power is used as much a possible to reduce the cost of farm equipment, but also because the animals are « way cuter than a tractor », they also eat and mow the lawn, produce the manure used as fertilizer. Using a tractor is however still necessary sometimes to till the soil, still hard-packed by years of tilling and to pluck out dock which is flourishing everywhere : a living proof that the soil is stabilizing.

 

To sum it up, this method consists in using what Nature does by herself in a sensible way to create a productive ecosystem which protects, develop and reinforce itself ! Why complicate matters ?

To launch this project off to a good start, Patrick invested in the property and rented it has farmsteads with a 9 -year lease agreement. He included environmental terms in the lease which defined the agricultural project (obligation to use organic, agroforestry methods...).

Today, the Canopy is looking into attracting new thought-through projects to help maximize the amount of crops for the same specie, in order to cater to collective canteens.

 

Craddled by the gentle melodies of the violin and accordeon, sharing our dreams for change and chatting about our discoveries on this – very busy – first day of travelling, we come to the end of our evening at the Canopy.