About mutual trust and close relationships

Following story is for all the people who act every day for sustainable farming and food system. For agroecological farmers. For coordinators of locals food communities. For food citizes. For you, CSA friends connected via international network URGENCI.

About mutual trust and close relationships

We were brought together by community supported agriculture. For a long time it was just one of the names in the working group of the European Solidbase project. It wasn’t until a meeting in Budapest that I found out, she was not a woman, but he is a charming and kind Frenchman with a wonderful sense of humour, who asked me in Czech: “Jak se máš, kočičko?”

Jocelyn Parot is part of the core team of URGENCI, an international network that is taking the European local food systems movement forward. In Budapest, I had no idea how often we would be working together and that one day, he would trust us to lend his house to care for two wonderful cats and a garden. 

So here we are. Louvigny. A small complex of wooden houses with a green courtyard. There’s a line of bikes lined up in the shed. Next to a wooden house, a community bakery. One of the neighbors bakes fresh bread and other goodies here regularly. The whole community housing project was created in a participatory way. Each family inhabits its own house and a small garden behind it. In addition, they jointly own a courtyard and a house with common areas. Here they gather, celebrate, plan, create and rejoice together. And there is also a place for guests, whether they are visiting for friendship or work. Most often both at the same time.  

Jocelyn and his family are gone. The keys, instructions to the house, garden and cats are given to us by Francois. Another kind soul from URGENCI. In the evening we cook a meal together and sit in the green garden, in the shade of the wisteria. With good food and French wine. Watching the cats. Did you know that cats go to the movies too? Muska the wildcat sits down about 10 cm in front of the compost heap and stares at it motionless. He lunges when a careless mouse sticks his nose out and usually catches it. Cinéma de chats. And so we’ve fallen in love with the cat furries here, even though Taavi is banging on our door at 5am, „Get up and give me food.“ 

We’re grateful to have been able to stay in a place we wouldn’t have thought to go otherwise. To feel at home here. Scratching cats behind their ears. Breakfasting in the garden and watering it at night. Going on trips to the coast to the ocean. To work. Walking around Caen and picking up a CSA share from the local farmers (here it’s called AMAP). Meeting Lucille, the farmer we later went to visit. Taste her amazing cheeses and bread. All thanks to the openness, friendship and trust that is born in local food communities.

Text and photo: Šárka Krčílková, Illustration: Radim Seydl, KPZkoALICE – the Czech CSA network

This story is a part of the campaign Little Joys for Community Supported Agriculture. Please, contribute by donation to the development of the Czech CSA network – KPZkoALICE. Help us to continue in supporting food communities.

Donate here https://bit.ly/donate-little-joys

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