Eiffage Foundation: An agroecological farm helping to reintegrate prisoners at the end of their sentence in Occitanie

Launched in May 2018, Emmaüs Lespinassière is an agroecological farm that provides comprehensive support for prisoners at the end of their sentence (sentence remission or external placement scheme), to encourage their reintegration into society and tackle re-offending: six resident-employees work in the organic market garden and are lodged in a guest house. They receive support to help them find employment and places to live, and to rebuild social and family links.

The agricultural activities on the farm respect natural ecosystems. The farm also has a vocation to become a centre for experimentation, developing innovative and sustainable agricultural solutions (bio-intensive market gardening on living soil, arboriculture, bee-keeping, etc.), as well as for training.   

In order to improve the residents’ living and working conditions on site, the association has started ecological renovation work on its main building. This will enable it to increase capacity to 10 resident-employees (compared to just 6 at the moment), and consolidate its financial position by reducing overheads (use of wood for insulation and heating). The Foundation is providing financial support to help build a wood store and five awnings.
The project was proposed by Rémy Vast, team manager at Eiffage Energie Systèmes, who volunteers at the farm.

You can submit your project to the Eiffage Foundation online by clicking on: projets.solidaires.fondation.eiffage.com
We advise that you contact the Foundation beforehand to check if your project is eligible: Tel. 0171591118