France: “You reap what you sow”
Jean-Luc Danneyrolles – Peasant, Philosopher and Poet
By Ruud Sies (photographer) and partner Hanneke van Hintum (producer)
Resilience Food Stories
2020
Excerpt:
Jean-Luc, selects and harvests his own seeds, grows vegetables and forgotten plants, and actively campaigns to protect farmers seeds.
Agriculture started with a garden and I love that concept of horticulture. In fact I’d rather talk about agro-ecology than about organic horticulture. Only seeds that are registered in the official catalogue can be put on the market.
To get through the registration process, however, large sums need to be paid and there must be proof that the variety is genetically stable. As a consequence, 80% of the vegetables grown in France have disappeared over the past fifty years.
After fighting and campaigning for thirty years, Jean-Luc is tired and is now passing the garden on to his daughter Violette, who is carrying on his work.
We visited her at the farmers market in Apt, where she sells seeds and seedlings. She talks about the importance of her father’s work and how she intends to build upon it.
