A great moment of suspense Wednesday, August 1 during the ultimate test: the removal of the soil that held until then the vault of the bread and pizza oven! The month of participatory construction has proved itself: the dome of the oven is absolutely solid!
RECYCLAB will be having an open door event on Friday and Saturday the 4-5 July at Colombes, boulevard d’Achères.
This Eco- Solidarity Platform introduces new strategies for the revitalisation of urban waste through ecological and socially responsible production. It is a space of co-production and work sharing between ‘makers’ of any kind (designers, architects, tinkerers, students, technologists) and a network of local actors. The space is equipped with power tools, a fablab, kitchen, offices and a large terrace under the canopy of a row of trees.
AGROCITE will also host open door events on the 5-6 July, 4-12 Rue Jules Michelet.
Come to see the garden, participate in guided walks, ateliers, discussions and score yourself a bargain in the grand trash and treasure market where nothing is lost, all is transformed! In this marketplace the currency is ‘trash’ and one person’s trash is another’s treasure! Bring along an object, whether it be a special recipe, crafts, clothes, furniture or something you’ve baked, and exchange it for another.
Last week, Agrocité was host to a cooking atelier ran by Chef Jean Jacques. He taught us how to cook with a whole chicken, leaving none to waste! He also taught us how to use over-ripe and old lettuce in tasty new ways and the arts of food decoration! Many thanks to the chef!
From June 4 to 7, the beekeeping season officially began at Agrocité, with initiation workshops into the arts and lives of bees! Workshops were run by Alain, a local beekeeper who has developed a small apiary, allowing interested inhabitants to learn and practice with him.
Workers, the queen, drone, swarming, queen cells, nectar, pollen, honey, propolis are all a part of what keeps bees busy and what nourishes our planet… It is in a spirit of respect for the bee and their needs that is crucial to beekeeping, as Alain has instilled in us. We thank him and invite interested parties to make themselves known because the magic of beekeeping has only just begun!
Eight chickens have recently inhabited the coop located towards the back of Agrocité. As you can see from the pictures below, these chickens are no ordinary chickens! They come in different shapes and sizes, colours and textures- some feathered and some fluffy, some with hair like mohawks while others with hair on feet!
The three hens pictured below arrived on the 12th of May and have already began laying beautiful eggs (which are for sale at agrocité’s non-consumerist shop selling delicious local produce)!
The other five chickens (pictured below) arrived a week later and are younger in age, meaning they havent began laying and are still a bit shy in their new home. These chickens were given to us by a local chicken appreciation society who will soon hold an educational workshop to teach us about our new feathery friends, including how to take care of them, their different personalities (what they like and dont like), the different breeds of chickens as well as answer any questions you might have!
Keep an eye and ear out for the chicken workshop- date is soon to be announced!
The other, less cuddly but nonetheless important, residents of Agrocité are the bees! Given to us by Alan the local beekeeper, this swarm of bees have been busy settling into their new surroundings, tasting the springtime flowers and making delicious honey! More hives are to arrive in the coming weeks.
We have built an area so you can come and watch the bees do what they do from a safe enclosure, while you are free to enter the chicken coop and say hi to our new feathered friends!
See you soon!
R-URBAN ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE 05 / DANIELA DOSSI
“What does ‘knitting’ mean ?”
This was the first question the course leader Lyne asked to the group during the first lesson of atelier tricot. On Sunday October 6th about 10 participants took part in the Atelier Tricot for beginners at Agrocite. Different yarns (wool and cotton) and needles n.4 were available as materials to be explored. During the first lesson Lyne explained the basic steps for knitting and showed the point mousse as starting technique.
Here the first outcomes:
Pictures: course leader Lyne explains the basics for knitting.
Participants learn how to knit while enjoying a nice herbal tea from the garden!
A baby scarf made by one of the participants.
The second lesson will take place on Sunday November 3rd at 15:00, if you would like to join please communicate your name to Lyne at Agrocite’ or via mail at : dossi.pld@tiscali.it
The lessons are by free donation ( the collected money will be used to buy new material for the course).
The aim of this first serie of lessons for beginners is to realize a scarf and to create together a manual for knitting with details about materials, instructions, points and techniques.
It was in enthusiasm that numerous inhabitants gathered last Saturday for a planting workshop. On the menu, tomatoes and aubergines planting… Three groups worked on three different plots to prepare the land, prop when necessary, plant and, finally, put straw to retain humidity and prevent the weeds from coming back ! A good opportunity for all to share know-how and to exchange on different planting methods…
… And on bicycles ! Our friends from Colombes à Vélo joined us all afternoon for a bicycle-fixing workshop.
Saturday was an opportunity to gather ourselves around a steamy and tasty vegetable soup made with local products grown in the experimental plots of Agrolab.
We thus cooked some collard greens, the plant was donated by a neighbor gardener, some red cabbage, some leeks and some turnips. We have also added chard ribs and some leaves, very finely chopped. Finally, we added the different species of squash from the garden, and a little sorrel. All leftovers were, of course, composted!
We also had the pleasure of visiting two small sheep from the herd of the Clinamen Association, led by their shepherd, Olivier Marcouyoux. The association, whose barn is located in Saint-Denis, seeks to provide a place for animals in urban areas.
A big thank you to everyone for a lovely time on the preparation of a common dish!
This Saturday, it was the second workshop session DIY in the greenhouse.
After the last large cleaning workshop, we now have room for a new layout!
We worked with the stock materials (bottom plot) that we collected in the surrounding areas during the year. It is basically reclaimed wood in various forms: different types of pallets, battens, wooden furniture recovered from the street …
Thus, we have improved the high seedlings table to make it waterproof. We used a variety of glaziers (that is to say, designed to carry vertical windows) given by a neighboring company, O2 Seine Fenêtres, located avenue de Stalingrad, to build a storage for garden tools. A chair that would be discarded was repaired and modified with elements found in the stock: a drawer below the seat as small storage and a coat for children, which solidifies the broken case. Finally, a micro-stove was built of brick and mud, just in time to heat water for the mint tea!
