2024-03-24 22:01:36
This content was published on March 24, 2024 – 11:01 p.m.
(Keystone-ATS) A collective of young farmers has occupied the empty premises of the agricultural hamlet of Pontareuse in Boudry (NE) since Saturday morning. Around fifty people embarked on a large participatory project to prepare crop beds on the fertile land of the site.
The collective of farmers, called Les Hirondelles, wishes to develop an agricultural experimentation project on site, he indicated in a press release. He explains that his action is supported by the Grondments des Terres movement.
The buildings and plots concerned belong to the Addiction Neuchâtel foundation, which welcomed people experiencing addiction there, offering housing and integration workshops, including market gardening and the cultivation of fruits and small fruits, until 2017. “Since then , the Pontareuse site is left abandoned, despite calls for projects,” added the collective.
“Empty farms are not common in the countryside, and those to be handed over are overpriced. Having learned that Pontareuse was going to remain empty for at least four more years – the time for the State of Neuchâtel to install a project there – the young farmers therefore jumped at the opportunity,” explained the group.
For a member of the collective, the occupation method is “legitimate” because “without throwing anyone out, we will be able to take care of empty agricultural buildings and unexploited fertile land, while creating a space for experimentation and sharing” .
The collective sent a complete file – accompanied by a cover letter and a loan contract – to the Addiction Neuchâtel foundation board. The Hirondelles are ready to move there for good and hope the owners will share their vision.
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