Festival of Ecology, Nantclar
When we visited the Eco-Centre earlier in the year we picked up an advertisement for this festival and we went there last weekend with high hopes of being able to learn more about the ecology scene in France.
It was well supported with web content (www.lasauceverte.org) and the organisation running it “Sauce Verte” had provided a well packaged guide on the net covering everything from the workshops to the individual stalls that were to be there.
Unfortunately the day was forecast to be overcast and raining and this turned out to be correct.
Nantclar was shut off from the world and a price of 3 euros had to be paid for entry, not expensive in view of the enormous amount of preparation involved. Once through the gate one found numerous stalls selling everything from Organic (Bio in French) wines, bread, soap, olive oil … There were also numerous stands promoting various forms of renewable or sustainable energy systems, though they all seemed very reluctant to quote prices, even though there must be standard price lists.
All the ecologically involved and anti-globalisation groups were represented. These included the famous “confederation paysanne” who used to be led by Jose Bove. They receive a lot of publicity for their active encouragement for and involvement in cutting down Organically Modified Crops. On the other side they are involved in encouraging responsable and sustainable agriculture rather than the more current practice of marketing non-sustainable systems which require high inputs of energy and chemicals.
Several groups of musicians played in the main eating area, but we never managed to find the workshops – they must have been well hidden. The food was tasty but rather expensive, or perhaps I am getting old. In fact we had intended to eat there in the evening but the cost of 17 euros per head, the cool weather caused by the rain and the fact that there did not seem to be a set time for eating encouraged us to go elsewhere. Another reason was that there did not seem to be an opportunity for chatting with others, which was one of the main reasons for being there.
Will we go again next year?
This will depend on who we meet in the meantime as at present the festival seems more geared towards selling ecologically sensitive porducts, rather than encouraging interaction between indidivuals. So one continues to search for exchanging views with like minded individuals.