Food Gathering Team
I volunteered to be part of the food gathering team. My job was to find food for dinner and lunch for the next day. At Ecotopia they cook on an industrial-sized pot enough food for dinner for 25 people with leftovers to be stored for lunch the next day. Since Ecotopia is vegan, we had to make sure that all of the food was vegan. For fruits and vegetables that is not an issue, but more processed food like jams may include animal products. In Israel and Germany many vegan products have a noticeable stamp advertising that they are vegan. In France however there is no such stamp. Presumably because French people don’t care enough about that.
The Supermarket
We reached the supermarket a short while before it was supposed to close. We got many on the usual stuff, but we couldn’t find a very key sustenance, Hummus. After a while of searching, I finally found it in the Oriental section. I have never heard of Israel being referred to as part of “the Orient”. So I must have simply ignored that section.
We finally got the food, loaded it on the bikes and biked to our campground. But then we realised that we didn’t examine the dumpster for food. Sure enough there was something there, a large cardboard box full of unopened cheese. That cheese was not vegan, but it was freegan. So ecotopia allowed it, but it had to be to the side and not in the communal area.
Saint-Laurent-du-Pape
Communal Farm
Our project for this time was a communal farm. The farm is run similar to a Kibbutz, where everyone works together in a non-Capitalist environment. For the most part the residents were sustenance farmer, with a bit of potatoes and juices sold in farmer markets. One major difference between this communal farm and a Kibbutz is that many of the Kibbutz members were nationalists who wanted to settle a Jewish country. Whereas here, the members wanted to live in a communal farming way of life. This can be seen by the fact that Kibbutzes are full of kids, whereas in this commune, most people were singles with a few couples who chose to sterilise themselves.
Since the farm area is legally designated for agriculture, and not residential, it is not allowed to build permanent housing. The solution is for the people to live in campers and tent, and every few months move a few meters.
There is even an outhouse, rather than a permanent bathroom.
While there, we helped out by harvesting tomatoes, apples and some other produce. We camped out in a nearby forest during our time there.
La Recyclerie
Another project we helped out with was La Recyclerie. That is a place with a bike workshop, a car workshop, and a large second hand store.
Leaving Ecotopia
Early on Friday, my friend and I packed up, and we took the train back to Lyon.
Which the exception of the height difference at the platform, the train was well equip for bikes.
Lyon – the Second Time
We arrived and got to our airbnb in time to do some preparations before Shabbat.
Conclusion
Monday morning is my flight to Israel. I’ve flown a lot before, but this is the first time with a bike. I got lots of advice of how to pack my bike, let’s see how it goes.