A Railway Farm

Julia Turpin shared through our website the project "La Ferme du Rail" or Railway Farm.

It grew out of a desire of local people & community organisations in Paris to develop a space that would combine urban farming with social solidarity.

It tackles the ecology, economy & social pillars of sustainable development.

The aim of the project is to build a fully integrated urban farm, located at the edge of the "Petite Ceinture", a former railway surrounding Paris, with:

•  15 social reintegration housing units
•  5 social student housing units
•  an unheated productive greenhouse
•  a restaurant open to the public
•  a mushroom-growing cave
•  a permaculture garden

It was selected within the framework of the "Réinventer Paris" call for projects.

Its objective is to minimize the need for energy, food & financial resources by implementing a circular economy.

It develops short-circuit market gardening activities that valorize the city's organic waste & integrate vulnerable people & horticulture students from the École du Breuil.

It generates services & agricultural production, creating new jobs.

The site's construction was meant to be frugal, low-tech, innovative, performing. It was thought of as a learning opportunity about ecological building materials (wood, straw) & reused materials - recycled textile as insulation, reclaimed bathroom tiles & stone roof pavers.

The project defends a model of a sustainable, social & united economy linked to the interdependence of the project's actors & the inhabitants. Individuals with different skills are called to reinforce each other for the benefit of the neighborhood.

The farmers offer to the district: collection & treatment of local organic waste or unsold goods, market gardening, organization of workshops & events, including maintenance services for green spaces in the area. In the restaurant, products from the farm & partner farmers are served. The site also hosts discussions around alternative food & nature in the city.

Neighbours, all Parisians & commuters, can benefit from La Ferme du Rail freely.

? La Ferme du Rail © Myr Muratet