An above-ground farm invests in a car park in the middle of a disadvantaged neighborhood

The Champerché farm chose this 1.300 square meter car park in the heart of the disadvantaged India district, in Sartrouville (Yvelines), to install its above-ground crops, arranged on four levels in nine large rooms.

Safia Zalagh, 54, short black hair slicked with gel, knows this parking lot well. In her youth, she met her friends there "to go out, dance, take care of those who had drunk too much. We had arranged the space, it was comfortable", remembers this local resident, laughing.

Champerché aims to develop soilless cultivation to show that this solution, already tested in Paris in a 42 m2 farm, is viable on a larger scale. "We want to industrialize production so the size of the place was decisive", explains Guillaume Fuyet, one of the three founding brothers of the company, responsible for research and development.

How did this parking lot go from a youth squat to a state-of-the-art hydroponic farm?

"We wanted to settle in the Yvelines because we lived there for a long time as children, with my brothers", presents Antoine Fuyet, director of Champerché. The siblings met the mayor of Sartrouville, Pierre Fond (LR), who directed them to the Indies district and the social landlord 1001 vies habitat.

Condemned parking

"With the demolition and reconstruction project" of the buildings, "there is space available in the city", presents Nicolas Brunet, regional director of the social landlord. "The car park had been condemned for fifteen years because there was damage."

With the installation of Champerché, "everyone is a winner" believes the representative of the HLM lessor. "It's a project that has a social meaning, which is not rejected by the inhabitants."

During the works, which lasted almost a year (rehabilitation, installation of shelves...), the residents of the city, intrigued, paraded in front of the parking lot door to find out more.

“Even before we opened, we received at least 30 job applications,” recalls Grégoire Silva, treasurer of the company. Following interviews, six people are hired, four of whom live in or around the neighborhood.

Safia was recruited in August as an "urban farmer". "I was a landscaper, planting trees I know how to do but I had never done sowing", mimics the dynamic fifty-something. Now, when she sows dill, her gestures are assured. "They taught me everything, they're a great team."

"From the start it was our desire to hire people from the city of India", explains Guillaume Fuyet, one of the three founding brothers of Champerché.

The new recruits pitched in to install the crops. “The bins, the taps, we put it all together,” says Safia, pointing to the shelves where her precious salads grow.

Equipment needed to set up a bioponic culture: the roots of the plants are bathed in a solution of water and "organic" fertilizer, without pesticides.

"There are fungi, bacteria... that's what gives flavor to our products, unlike the majority of above-ground crops that use mineral solutions and are blamed for lacking flavor," explains Guillaume. Fuyet.

The unsanitary parking lot has become an anthill. Every day Thai basil, coriander or mint are harvested and then delivered to customers, supermarkets or restaurants.

"I presented a certain variety of mint from Peru, restaurant owners are in demand", passionately presents Guillaume Ripoche, unbeatable on the 60.000 plants grown in Champerché. "Now I have to produce!"