Not so long ago, the city of Paris was a hub for urban agriculture. Beginning in the late 17th century, Paris was nearly agriculturally self-sufficient, and urban farmers known as maraîchers (market farmers) pioneered intensive urban farming techniques that are still used today. However, after the occupation of Paris in World War II, agriculture was pushed out of the city to a surrounding “green belt,” which spans 30 kilometers (18 miles). The city still relies on this local produce as its primary source of fresh food.
Now, urban agriculture is quickly returning to the City of Light thanks to the Green Hand Charter (Charte Main Verte), an initiative allowing Parisians to establish community gardens on public land in collaboration with the city. About 130 community gardens have already sprouted around the city.
Food Tank is highlighting ten community gardens that are opening modern urban agriculture to the 2.2 million inhabitants of the city on the Seine.
1. The delicate champignon de Paris, a variety of white button mushrooms, was grown in the catacombs of Paris from 1670 until the early 1960s, when producers could no longer compete with cheaper industrial production in the Netherlands. Now, Angel Moioli is reviving the business of his grandfather, an original mushroom grower (champignonière), on his organic mushroom farm, Les Carrières. The farm is located in Montesson, just a short Métro ride from the city’s financial center.
2. On the roof of the Paris Institute for Life, Food, and Environmental Sciences in central Paris, one can find the innovative rooftop gardens of the AgroParisTech. Opened in December 2011 and covering an area of 800 square meters (8,600 square feet), this experimental urban farm uses organic waste and wood as its lightweight growing base and tests the levels of pollution in the fruits and vegetables produced by the garden.
3. A half-hour drive west from these rooftop gardens is the Grignon Energie Positive, an experimental farm run by the AgroParisTech program for sustainable development. This organic farm is working to reduce energy inputs by developing techniques that minimize the farm’s carbon footprint while growing enough to feed between 5,500 and 8,000 people annually.
4. The Ferme de Paris is a municipal organic farm nestled in an expansive park. Open to the public, the sustainably-constructed buildings house a number of farm animals, including cows, goats, sheep, pigs, chickens, and rabbits. The farm includes grazing fields, vegetable gardens, orchards, and medicinal plant gardens. Visitors are invited to participate by volunteering on the weekends.
5. Beekeeping is alive and well in Paris. Overseen by the Societé Centrale de l’Apiculture, beekeepers maintain hives in parks and gardens like the Jardin de Luxembourg and the Parc Georges Brassens; these hives protect bees, provide pollination, and produce organic honey, as well as educating the community. Beekeeping classes are available to the public.
6. In the small grassy lots that separate the densely populated apartment buildings of the Bagnolet suburb on the outskirts of Paris, a small herd of sheep and goats graze peacefully under the watch of shepherd Gilles Amar. Amar founded Sors de Terre to transform unused green spaces into hubs for agricultural and community gatherings. The program provides education to children and adults alike, and the herd even keeps green spaces manicured as they graze, thus eliminating the need for lawnmowers! It’s one of several grassroots nonprofits bringing animal husbandry to the city.
7. Not far from Bagnolet, the rooftops of a large apartment complex in Romainville are being converted into an expansive year-round urban agriculture center. The Ferme Romainville project began when the town council voted to renovate a number of prefabricated housing blocks built in the 1950s. Renovations will include installing enclosed farming units measuring 1,500 square meters (16,000 square feet), which will be home to beehives, a seed nursery, and a cafeteria. The farms will use recycled air from the buildings’ ventilation systems, and the produce from the farms will be sold directly to inhabitants.
8. The Jardin de l’Aqueduc, created in partnership with the Green Hand Charter, is a community garden initiative that teaches eco-citizenship to local residents and opens gardening to citizens of all abilities. Over 100 families, a primary school, and a school for disabled children currently volunteer at the organic garden; the raised garden beds are built at a height that makes them wheelchair accessible. The garden has also recently introduced community beehives and beekeeping lessons.
9. The Jardin des Jeunes Pouces is a community garden open to all residents who are interested in trying their hand at gardening. One of the aims of this community undertaking is to create a garden that generates no waste and uses only recycled resources. In addition to 20 raised plant beds, the garden includes an urban meadow that allows residents to experience the natural cycles of the meadow and compare them to those of the cultivated garden.
10. Le Semis Urbain is a community garden whose mission is to teach residents of all ages the basics of sustainable, affordable, and organic gardening. The garden also educates gardeners on the benefits and uses of garden insects.
During your next trip to Paris, be sure to visit and support these innovative initiatives that are turning the City of Lights into the City of Gardens.