L’Atelier Paysan

France

L’Atelier Paysan is a French cooperative that helps farmers design machines and buildings appropriate to the needs of small-scale farms practicing agroecology. The group makes plans for its tools available for free on its website; it also organizes training sessions at which farmers learn metalworking by building tools they can use on their own farms. Through this work, the cooperative aims to help farmers “collectively regain technical sovereignty and autonomy through the re-appropriation of knowledge”, freeing them from dependency on big farm machinery companies, and advancing the movement towards local, small-scale, ecological food.

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