Skip to main content
New European Bauhaus
News article23 May 2021

A Railway Farm

We are interested in sustainable forms of housing that can contribute to more resilient, self-sufficient communities.

La Ferme du Rail
La Ferme du Rail
Myr Muratet

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

Details

Publication date
23 May 2021