海角大神

鈥淪mall is beautiful鈥� would be an ideal slogan for the village of Langou毛t in northern聽France. This community of 600 residents, located near Rennes, the capital city of Brittany, is well on the way to聽energy autonomy and is aiming for food self-sufficiency, too. Over the past 20 years,聽Langou毛t has been developing a host of green projects including a canteen that serves 100 percent organic and local produce, passive social聽housing which uses little to no active heating, a hamlet of 鈥渒itchen-garden houses,鈥� a聽garden used for teaching permaculture, a community caf茅, a solar power plant, and a shared electric car.

Daniel Cueff, who聽has been mayor of Langou毛t since 1999, has been the driving force behind the transition. Mr. Cueff says he can聽rely on the commitment of the residents to get these projects off the ground 鈥� to such an聽extent that, even in the context of shrinking public coffers, the village has been able to count on its聽residents to fund its experiments.

鈥淎nything we can do locally, we go for it,鈥� Cueff says. 鈥淪o why shouldn鈥檛 that apply to聽funding?鈥� This year, the town council borrowed 鈧�25,000 ($29,000) from locals. The initiative was so successful that the funds were raised聽in just two days, from a handful of residents. This wasn鈥檛 the first time that聽Langou毛t鈥檚 council had attempted such a feat. In 2016, it had taken a loan of 鈧�40,000 from residents to finance part of the village鈥檚 redevelopment.

One of the loans will be used to create a communal learning garden where villagers can聽study permaculture, which focuses on gentle and natural agricultural methods. 鈥淭hrough聽this project we also want to create intergenerational bonds; the elders will be able to teach聽their cultivation techniques to the new arrivals,鈥� Cueff explains. He says his dream is to see every one of the villagers get involved in the projects. 鈥淚 wanted to contribute to the development聽of the village and to invest in making a reality the numerous ideas that have come out of our聽citizens鈥� workshops,鈥� says H茅l猫ne, a Langou毛t resident who lent 鈧�2,000. 鈥淭he project聽proposals do interest us as well; we would definitely like to live in a passive house,鈥� adds the Brittany native, while getting out of the village鈥檚 shared electric car.聽

From a very early stage, the local council has been active in building sustainable social聽housing. Langou毛t boasts two hamlets composed of energy-efficient wooden houses that聽are equipped with solar panels, built in 2005 and 2011. Cueff has been involved in eco-activism from a young age. 鈥淲e鈥檙e working towards a social ecology model,鈥� he explains,聽gesturing toward the 15 or so wooden houses, located at the entrance of the village and聽nestled against a backdrop of greenery. 鈥淥ur local council buys land that we make viable and聽resell at a low cost so that sustainable housing can be built at an affordable price,鈥� he says.

Each of聽the homeowners committed 30 days鈥� work on the building site, assisted by Compagnons B芒tisseurs聽(Building Companions), a nonprofit that fights for decent housing solutions. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a way of聽reducing the cost of housing, but it also enables us to get to know our homes, and our聽neighbors, a lot faster,鈥� explains S茅bastien Longechaud, owner of one of the houses, which聽are adorned with brightly-colored shutters and topped with large solar panels. 鈥淲e are聽sensitive to environmental issues and we chose to come and live in Langou毛t, in one of these聽wooden houses,鈥� another homeowner, J茅r么me Gimenez, says. 鈥淥ur energy bill is low,聽around 鈧�200 ($230) per year for an 80 square meter (860 square foot) property,鈥� he adds.

The local council wants to take things even further by building a hamlet of 鈥淭riple Zero鈥澛爃ouses (zero energy, zero carbon, zero waste). Designed by a research laboratory, a first聽prototype named BioClim House was unveiled this spring and currently presides over a vast聽plot of land at the entrance of the village. Each house will host a greenhouse on its roof for聽growing vegetables using permaculture techniques. Langou毛t could聽soon come closer to its dream of food self-sufficiency, thanks to these 鈥渒itchen-garden聽houses,鈥� along with the direct farm sales shop, which links up with producers of organic chickens.

Langou毛t is still a hub of ideas for new projects. 鈥淲e鈥檙e aiming for energy autonomy within聽the next 10 years, thanks to solar panels and trackers,鈥� the mayor says, referring to the pivoting structures that ensure solar聽panels are oriented toward the sun, thus increasing their productivity. He聽discusses plans with neighboring local authorities so he can 鈥渢ake inspiration from what鈥檚聽being done elsewhere.鈥�

Unsurprisingly, the village has gained a reputation for being a pioneer in the green聽transition. As a result, inquiries from would-be residents are flooding in. 鈥淎 resident of聽Florida, United States, wants to come back to France and asked us if any houses were available,鈥� Langou毛t鈥檚 mayor says proudly. But not every demand can be met. Future聽residents 鈥渨ill be chosen according to their level of willingness to get involved in the聽project,鈥� Cueff explains. Those who wish to make this little Breton village their home will聽need to prove their green credentials.

This story was reported by聽Le Figaro,聽a news outlet in France. The Monitor is publishing it as part of an international effort by more than 50 news organizations worldwide to promote solutions journalism. To read other stories in this joint project, please click聽here.