Another very interesting and informative Sunday thanks to the MDE. This time it was an away-day, as the visits and workshop were in the pottery village of Saint-Jean-de-Fos.
In
the morning we visited Oyas Environnement, a small 2-year-old start-up
that produces an ecologically autonomous watering system using
micro-porous clay pots which, once filled with water, progressively
release the required humidity. Plants absorb the water they need;
watering is less frequent and less water is used, and there is no
‘hydric stress.’ The pots are made by local potters, and the material
is 100% natural and biodegradable. (Don’t worry. They don’t biodegrade
right away.)
We
learned that there are almost no clay quarries left in France. (And I
had never made the connection between clay quarries and the village of
Argelliers.) There is still a bit of clay left near Anduze, and there
is a quarry at Salernes, near Toulon, in the Var, but most clay is
imported (from Spain, I think he said).
The
association in Saint-Jean-de-Fos makes pots and « oyas » (from the
Spanish word ollas, meaning ceramic cooking pots) for all types and
sizes of plants, whether in gardens or in pots, inside or out. You
might have seen some on sale in Botanic, and the company, which also
sells on-line, is working with INRA and projects in India and Burkina
Faso. An oya can irrigate a circle of about 3 times its diameter. An
oya planted on the soil can water up to 30cm, and one planted beneath
the surface can water up to 90cm, according to the particular model.
The XL 10-liter pot will irrigate one square meter.
One
of the local potters gave us a demonstration, and then we walked to the
nearby picnic area below the Pont du Diable for lunch along the banks
of the Hérault. The weather was gorgeous.
In
the afternoon we visited the Argileum and Maison de la Poterie, which
opened a couple of years ago in the former home and workshop of a local
potter, Elie Sabadel, which is classed as an historic monument. The
museum contains many old potters’ tools and items of pottery dating back
to the 19th and early 20th centuries. The walk-through follows the
different steps in the process of creating the glazed terra cotta pieces
that are characteristic of Saint-Jean-de-Fos. It was enjoyable for the
children as well as the adults in the group.
The
museum visit ended with a workshop, and each of us “a mis sa main à la
pâte.” Our pieces will be left to dry and then fired in the kiln, and
we’ll be able to collect them at the MDE at Domaine de Restinclières in a
couple of weeks.
AWG
made a visit to Saint-Jean-de-Fos several years ago, but neither Oyas
nor the Argileum existed then. I would DEFINITELY recommend another
trip, perhaps Garden and Cultural combined, and I would be the first on
the list to sign up. I loved it.
I
also liked the “Un Mois, Un Geste” poster at Oyas. For the month of
April, it’s “Je fais du composte,” and for May, “Je répare, ou je fais
réparer.”
-m
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