ECOlonie

Contact:
Johan Hoeijmakers
Tel: +33 (0)329-07 00 27
Email: info@ecolonie.eu
Web: www.ecolonie.eu 

Specialities: Gardening, Stock breeding, Eco-building
Region: France - Lorraine
Languages spoken: French, English, Dutch, German

ECOlonie is an Eco-village situated in the Vosges Department in the most southern part of Lorraine. This community dates back as far as 1989 and consists now of 3 sites spread out over 40 hectares/100 acres in total.
Some 20 permanent residents live and work there and 150 volunteers in average arrive each year from all over the world to help.
The community is firmly based in an organic way of work and lifestyle, tightly connected to art and spirituality although open and non-dogmatic.
Work is divided in several projects headed by one or more permanent residents and aided by volunteers. The main projects are:
- vegetable gardens
- herbal gardens
- dairy goat farm
- guesthouse, camp site, lodges, kitchen/restaurant, library, shop,
- art studio
- maintenance, renovation and site development 

Volunteers are expected to stay at least a fortnight and to work 40 hours a week, for cost and living. Guests are also welcome to help, planning their own times. The kind of work depends on season, weather, skills and what needs doing most. 

ECOlonie is an international meeting place where people who live in a conscious way can feel very much at home. Annually about 2,700 guests visit our community.

Vegetable gardens
Per annum 30 – 35 different kinds of vegetables are grown in an organic way. Mainly for their kitchen, but more and more vegetables find their way into the shops and restaurants of the region. There is not one specific way of growing them. In the course of years different organic methods have been explored, developed and are now applied. 

Herbal gardens
Over 120 species of herbs are grown, mainly to be used afresh in the kitchen and in herbal teas for own use. They are also handpicked and dried in a special dry-chamber to retain their properties. Some herbs, like basil, are used in the cheeses made at the farm. 

Dairy goat farm
In 2005 ECOlonie started a goat farm and in 2007 they set off to produce their own cheese. Farm and stables are totally renovated and the cheese production rooms are newly built. They let the goats roam to graze freely around  the farm whenever possible. Also lupine and triticale and other high energy fodder is added to their diet of herb-rich hay from their own meadows. The milk is used to produce a Gouda kind of cheese, fresh (herbal) cheeses, yoghurt, panir and chèvreta (a feta-like product), etc. These are used in the kitchen and the restaurant and are sold in the ECOlonie-shop,  to restaurants and (mainly organic) shops and markets in the area.  

Nearly all their products (vegetables, herbs, dairy products) are already certified by ECO-cert for guaranteed organic origin. 

Building and renovation with respect for the environment
ECOlonie consists of many different buildings with manifold functions, like homes, workshop rooms, art studio, kitchen, guesthouses, stables and sheds. There is a lot of work to do in the way of renovation (painting, carpentry, plumbing) and repairs (e.g. machinery, tractors) and newly built additions. They work in ecological and environmental friendly ways as much as possible. People with two right hands are always welcome to help! 

Last but not least
All questions may be asked instantly during the work and stay but  information meetings are also held, e.g. about our gardens, the farm, our community etc.

Prices & Dates
All year round, except for January, one can work there as a guest or volunteer. For more information please look at their website at www.ecolonie.eu under the heading Volunteering
If one would like to come simply as a guest one can look under the heading Holidays, tariffs starting at:
 € 8,10 p.n. in a tent at the camp site and € 25, 30 for bed and breakfast, full board also possible.