CERBERE

Please remember to bring your passports along TOMORROW!!!

Here some information on Can Decreix and Cerbere

Information before coming to Can Decreix

The idea of Can Decreix is to live degrowth now. The project is still beginning. It is not just about developing some techniques, but rather about imagining and organizing another way of living and acting coherently. We invite everyone who is full of ideas and ready for a new experience.

Can Decreix is also : a place to facilitate the exchange of ideas and degrowth actions across borders. A place for discovering and encouraging the farmers and handicraft's know-how. Can Decreix is also about "frugal innovation". A place for experimentation to experience the pleasure of living in voluntary simplicity. A place to recreate convivial local networks and community support.

What is the daily life at Can Decreix like?

Can Decreix can be regarded as a tiny car-free village. There are lots of stairs and sloping terraces. Two of the buildings are only accessible via long stairs.

For our degrowth system of water treatment we wipe plates and dishes well for not leaving grease. We then wash dishes with hot water and ash which can also serve as fertiliser. We use only potassium soap, since typical sodium based soaps and additives accumulate and sterilize the earth. Oils and fats clog irrigation pipes, pollute the water, and require a more complex water treatment system. By contrast, put into compost it's a gift for our worms and plants. We use a three-bin system for dishes: prewashing / washing / rinsing. Once dirty the prewash water is used for compost and trees, wash water becomes prewash water and rinsing water becomes wash water.

We compost all kitchen and food waste mixed with kitchen paper and garden waste. Remember that even if corrugated paper and cardboard or dirty paper are not recyclable, they are however compostable and great for balancing the compost! We have decided to use composting toilets, which avoids polluting the water. This compost will, with sawdust and paper, produce a fantastic compost for trees. This compost is produced separately from other composts.

We eat as local as possible, only very few animal products and mainly organic. The Can Decreix "pack" doesn't include things like chocolate, tea, coffee, cheese, meat, alcohol, butter. If you really need them, you will have to get them e.g. in local shops in Cerbère. We drink water in the "Porró", which allows to limit the cleaning of dishes. Note that the pipe that comes out on the side is not a straw, i.e. it doesn't touch your mouth.

We get up early to make the most out of the daylight and the generous sunshine here. Cerbère is at a coastline and at a hillside facing east, which is the direction of the rising sun. The sunrise is beautiful to admire, but you have to rise with the sun! In the heat of summer we start the day early and take a nap during the hottest hours as the heat is overwhelming within a considerable part of the year.

Cacti are fruit trees – their fruit and leaves/stems are edible – Handling them is very tricky. The spines are small brittle harpoons which spread easily not only on utensils, but also on the palates and buttocks of visitors. The vegetable garden strips were built on terraces and the soil loosened and unpacked to a great depth, with a lot of sweat. Take care to never walk on these cultivated strips. They are usually defined by stakes and strings. Also, be careful not to crush small trees, which are also marked by stakes. It is important to follow the paths to protect wild plants and planted areas. The whole valley is covered by terraces which are supported by drystone walls. Be careful: the drystone walls are very fragile! Please, do not walk on the outer part of the stone edge which could come loose. This does not only hold the risk of an accident, but will also wear out the walls in the long run. So be careful to walk as few as possible on the edge of the walls and keep always paying attention while walking!

We practice the semi-cultivation of wild plants which we particularly use to make excellent salads.. We do not piss anywhere outside because we eat the plants! We also keep all the seeds of peaches, apricots etc. for replanting. Don't throw them away! We are building with local raw materials (soil, whitewash, wood, fibres) to make this place more inviting, functional and beautiful while keeping it simple at the same time. 

We live in a village with very kind inhabitants. But don't forget that living in a village is different from living in a city: everything is seen and everything is known. Though we pick wild flowers, we do never take plants from cultivated or private areas.

Can Decreix is in its infancy. We are very grateful for those who can participate in covering expenses. Our donation can is in the living room. Thank you very much!

Thank you for not bringing our canine friends or cats. Turtles, lizards, hedgehogs would be welcome, but we prefer them in the wild. Please do not play with the cats and dogs of our neighbours that sometimes come through Can Decreix. We prefer to keep them at a respectful distance because we do not want them to enter in the houses.

Can Decreix is a non-smoking place inside. If you have to smoke, do it preferably downwind. 

If you can, bring a sombrero with a drawstring to protect you from the sun and keep it on your head in the wind as well as sunglasses if you are sensitive. Please bring only usable, recyclable or reusable items or products which are healthy and do not pollute the water reused for irrigation.

See you saturday, Hugs!

Can Decreix, 8 rue des Oliviers 66290 Cerbère 0033 4 68 5 69 68 9 – 00 34 6 95 907867

Summer School on Degrowth and Environmental Justice, 6th - 16th July 2015

Here is a bit of information about Cerbère, also we have planned a little debate with people of Cerbère on the 15th at 19h so here is a little bit of background to prepare yourself. Welcome!!!

Cerbère, or another world: A bit of geography ... and history – Claude Fages & François Schneider

Cerbère is the last French town, at 7km from Port Bou (the first Spanish village). It is located between sea and mountains. Cerbère is a picturesque village with steep streets, with terraced vineyards watching the bay with a small harbour. Nearby some planted pine forests, a few cork oaks and scrubland...

From 1876, arrival of the railways, the village grew thanks to the "transhipment". The width of railway tracks is different in Spain and France, so it was necessary to unload / load wagons filled with citrus, oranges from Spain; a task that was allocated to women. This exhausting work gave rise in 1906 to an important women’s strike that became known worldwide, the workers lying on the tracks to obtain a tiny salary increase. This typical work of the village lasted for decades until the change of axles and the growth of road traffic that put a definitive end to transhipment in the 60s.

It is from this flourishing time of the village that dates back some "monuments", such as the SNCF international train station, oversized, supported by a fantastic viaduct of 550M long and 20M high and whose arches overlook Cerbère. The hotel Belvedere was recently rated historic monument. It is built between 1925 and 1932, a ship made of concrete iron and glass that never sailed, but whose architecture and decorations from the roaring Twenties are frozen in the 30s. It is a symbol of the growth success and failure of this time but still attracts lovers of the unusual and imaginary travellers. Another curiosity of the place, is the solar lighthouse of Cape Cerbère overlooking the bay. And finally the village has an important marine reserve that extends over 6.5 kms coastline and covers 650 hectars of sea between Banyuls and Cerbère.

Cerbère now faces structural difficulties related to its remote location, the unemployment and recession in Cerbère, especially since the two main poles of activity (the train and health center) had either a drastic decrease or is under threat of relocation.

That is why, from the ones affected by these difficulties, we wanted to reflect with you and the people of Cerbère, and bring proposals for a convivial and fair future for the town.

SOME AREAS OF REFLEXION

THE TRAIN

Cerbère, coastal train crossing to Spain, is no longer the priority of SNCF (the French train company). It would rather favour high speed trains (TGVs) that pass by the Perthus for which it made huge investments. Both RENFE and SNCF made huge deficits partly due to the competition with air and road transport. The public continues to use the much cheaper local line in spite of the problems created by the disinvestment of both companies in the coastal railway.

For instance, the human presence in the station is reduced in Cerbère. In Port Vendres, one of the stations of the coast, has seen ticket sales completely removed. Also there is a deliberate suppression of connections between Port Bou and Cerbère.

We witness a double trend: on one hand a privatization of freight lines and some suggestions of rapid privatization of passenger lines, and on the other hand there is a development of the road solution, perceived as more profitable since the infrastructure costs are borne by local authorities. The department of Pyrénées-Orientale (of which Cerbère belongs) had set-up buses at € 1 regardless of the distance travelled which compete with the train.

Working hypothesis: how can we favour again the train over the road? What are the options? What management style are possible?

REAL ESTATE

Cerbère has many vacant buildings and private homes 10 months of the year. Tourism infrastructure like the Camping is also unused 10 months out of 12. The buildings belonging to SNCF are under-used. On the other hand there is boom of new homes for sale at the international "with sea view" mainly based on car-access.

Working hypothesis: Limit urbanization outside the center promoting renovation and densify the center. Possibilities of eco-building and avoiding the waterproofing of surfaces. Develop rural tourism and artists and researchers residences. Municipal ownership of certain buildings. Creating private or associative collective spaces.

VINES

Due to the landscape, the mechanization is impossible, which leads to a low productivity per hectare. Some vines are abandoned, but the process is slow and related to the age of the vine growers who have often multi-activities and small plots of land. There is a widespread use of the herbicide called round-up produced by Monsanto, as well as different pesticides, even if the quantities are lower than in other vineyards due to the non-mechanization. Due to dangerous health effects now recognized the round-up is likely to become prohibited. The wine cooperative of Cerbère has closed recently and most vines growers transport the grapes to Banyuls. There is vines monoculture in the mountains surrounding Cerbère. On the positive side, grapes and wine are of high quality thanks to very adequate land / climate/ tradition of making Banyuls wines. There are few vine diseases thanks to the wind.

Working hypothesis: Development of quality organic wines, corresponding to the current demand. Inform and train young purchasers and outdoor crops without pesticides ... Diversification of production: perennials; fruit trees: almond, olive, fig trees…

WASTE REDUCTION

Dispersion of waste through the city with the wind. Reuse and recycling of waste underdeveloped in Cerbère. Vines waste is often burned outdoor ...Working hypothesis: imagine alternatives to trash everything: compost by districts; "Zero waste" reuse; repair of thrown objects; recycling.

Other possible themes: The border, the health center, the fishery, the national park, tourism, the road transport etc.