Kembs. The Archipel association is growing, its vegetable garden is getting greener, and the community grocery store is being built.
An archipelago is a group of islands relatively close to each other. Imagine that in Kembs, there is an archipelago. Not that the waters have risen recently, but this is the exact configuration of the eponymous association, the Kembs Archipelago . An association composed of several branches, with an educational garden as its epicenter. Five branches in total: the g'Rhin de sel association, the Colibris Kembs 68 movement, the GASPR (Solidarity Purchasing Group of the Rhineland), the City of Kembs and the Tzama school. All forming the Kembs Archipelago and its volunteer collective.
And since its creation in 2017, the association has grown considerably, remaining true to its convictions: "To contribute to building a world that is more respectful of people and nature," says Brice Laloy, municipal councilor responsible for the environment, co-founder of the Les Colibris association, GASPR, g'Rhin, and treasurer of the Archipel. "We wanted to imagine and experiment together with a model of ecological, economic, and social transition at the local level." A vision that has come to fruition, completely transforming the former football field to house L'Archipel. The objectives, largely achieved and now sustainable, are to reconnect children with nature, promote organic and locally sourced food, preserve biodiversity, and work in partnership.
For the time being, Brice Laloy is busy finishing the new solidarity grocery store, which will now have a view of fields and greenhouses, in the Archipel educational garden, rue du Moulin in Kembs.
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In a 200 m² space, 100 will be dedicated to it. The remaining space "will house an area dedicated to market gardening, a nature room and an educational kitchen, as well as a space dedicated to the social and solidarity economy," explains the treasurer. The new grocery store, which will welcome both people in need and the general public, will offer the sale of its seasonal vegetables from September. Remember that half of the vegetable production is sold to local catering professionals and is used by after-school activities, the other half is intended for the solidarity grocery store, the self-service cabins installed in Kembs and Kembs-Loechlé and the solidarity baskets.
For vegetables to reach the grocery store shelves, they still need to be grown and harvested. This is where market gardener Julien Broual comes in. Currently, "I'm in the middle of harvesting spinach, chard, and mushrooms, and my partner Camille is making sourdough bread for the association," he says between pickings. "The strawberries, raspberries, zucchini, and cucumbers shouldn't be long!"
A crop spread over 2 hectares, alternating, whose offerings have expanded considerably. In addition to the squash, melons, and watermelons produced last year, this year six varieties of beans, three peppers, two eggplants and zucchinis, four mushrooms, and carrots have been added.
There's one vegetable the market gardener would love to see growing in his garden: asparagus. "We need funding to pay for the claws and the hands needed to set them up and take care of them," sighs the already busy man. "I'm the association's only employee today." Two new employees will soon join L'Archipel's ranks, one dedicated to sales, the other to seek funding for associative and educational research. "I'd like to see players in production, like a grocer or a project manager," continues Julien Broual, continuing the sports metaphor. For now, the current solidarity grocery store, on rue de la Promenade in Kembs-Loechlé, awaits customers keen on short-circuit sales offering seasonal vegetables and local products, on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Association l'Archipel, rue du Moulin, 68680 Kembs. Tel. 06 88 71 88 01. Website: www.archipeldekembs.eu
...and Archi'bière too
It was the very first plant to take root on the grounds of L'Archipel in Kembs: hops. "When we acquired the land, several members had the idea of planting hops," recalls Brice Laloy, Kembs councilor and treasurer of L'Archipel. A gantry was then built to support the plant. And it flourished. So much so that members of the L'Archipel association considered transforming its flowers into beer. Thus, Archi'bière was born. "It is produced at the La Bicéphale microbrewery in Blotzheim," explains Brice. A thousand liters have come out of the brewery, half intended for the municipality for various events, the other half will be found on the stalls of the solidarity grocery store, as well as in local restaurants. "It's an old Alsatian hop variety, which blooms again every year." The flowers make Archi'bière a fruity, light and sweet beer, in short, nice!" If the beverage is a hit, production will "perhaps be increased next year," concludes Brice Laloy.
Les Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace
