A honey workshop that creates employment solutions

35 km northwest of Toulouse, the Abbey of Sainte-Marie du Désert was occupied for 150 years by Cistercian monks. Following the community's departure, the Village de François moved into the premises, renamed “Abbaye du Désert”, to make it a place for people in difficulty.

The association creates, develops and runs shared living spaces for vulnerable people and their carers, focusing on three key areas: living together, economic activity and integral ecology. To help people who have lost touch with the world of work find employment, it is developing a market garden, a games recycling center, a carpentry workshop, a hotel, a store, a honey factory...

It is precisely the honey-making activity that the association wishes to strengthen. Today, the workshop enables 30 tonnes of honey purchased from a Pyrenean beekeeper to be packaged and sold each year. The aim is to increase the number of jobs to offer employment to two supervisors and six disabled people. There is also talk of relaunching on-site beekeeping after initial tests carried out in 2022 by a group of students.

In a country that imports honey, relying on local production to develop employment is a promise for the future.