00:02Etienne Zahi is a trained organic farmer.
00:05But this morning, his job requires special protection in preparation for the work in the fungi room.
00:12Mushroom spores can be harmful for the lungs.
00:17The 35-year-old has been the Cité Maréchère's chief gardener since 2022.
00:26These are organic straw blocks with sawdust that are inoculated.
00:31Once they're received, we open them so that mushrooms can grow on them.
00:37Zahi and his small team harvest two and a half tonnes of mushrooms each year.
00:42That's enough to supply 40 individuals, a dozen restaurants and a handful of organic farming cooperatives.
00:50I think this is a really good model. We have such a small room and can produce mushrooms for so
00:56many people.
00:57Two or three of such rooms could meet the needs of a town like Romanville with between 30,000 and
01:0240,000 inhabitants.
01:07Upstairs, another two tonnes of vegetables and herbs are grown each year.
01:11The building is not heated, but its LED lights use about twice as much electricity as a normal family home.
01:18What's produced here is not enough to feed the Paris suburb of Romanville.
01:22But that's not the project's primary objective either.
01:26Run directly by the local authority with an annual budget of 500,000 euros,
01:31The Cité Maréchère is first and foremost a social undertaking, which organises 450 workshops for pupils and residents each year.
01:43We're a public institution.
01:46Our goal is to grow vegetables, but first of all to create a space where people from the neighbourhood can
01:51learn new things and meet.
01:54Out of our 27 jobs, 20 are reserved for people who are struggling to find work.
01:59For them, this is supposed to be a springboard towards a more stable job.
02:04Here for the workshop?
02:05The one on insects.
02:06Come on in.
02:10Wayiba Okulu is one of those people who had been struggling to find a job.
02:18Insects always have six legs.
02:22Today, the 61-year-old is showing a group of locals how to build shelters for insects.
02:29Which insects do you know?
02:33Grasshoppers.
02:34Stink bugs.
02:36Beetles.
02:38Insects are important pollinators and pest controllers.
02:42But many of their natural refuges have been destroyed.
02:45Putting a few twigs and branches together can create new shelters for them.
02:53For me and my son, it's a chance to learn a lot about insects here.
02:58How they live.
03:00How they live.
03:02How they live.
03:04Emeline Bréjean is also renting one of 35 small patches of land at this 1.7 hectare site run by
03:12the Cité Maréchère.
03:13For about 20 euros a year, she can grow her own produce on a small vegetable patch.
03:20Its educational and social activities make the Cité Maréchère indeed stand out from other urban farms, says this expert.
03:27That said, the project isn't perfect.
03:31The building shouldn't be reproduced as is elsewhere.
03:34It costs 9 million euros to construct.
03:37That's very expensive.
03:39And it has technical floors.
03:41There's not enough light on the first two floors to grow vegetables.
03:46Only the highest floors are really fit for purpose.
03:50That really limits the production space.
03:58The harvest does provide some vegetables for the restaurant on the Cité Maréchère's ground floor.
04:04Its owners say it's part of their philosophy to buy locally.
04:10We want to show that it's possible to cook with local and seasonal products.
04:15When you rely on a local food network, you cause less pollution.
04:18We're trying to do our part, just like a hummingbird does.
04:30A three-course meal costs 14 euros 50 here.
04:34The restaurant is another argument in favour of the Cité Maréchère for these local pharmacists,
04:40who've become regular customers.
04:44They do lots of workshops here. It's really good. It's for people of all ages.
04:48And you can do all sorts of things.
04:50My son has participated in some of the activities.
04:53And the prices for food are really fair.
04:56This place is really good news for the neighbourhood.
05:00Every Wednesday evening, the Cité Maréchère organises a small farmer's market.
05:05What people pay depends on their income, determined by their tax bracket.
05:10A quarter of Romainville's inhabitants live beneath the poverty line.
05:19This is from the local council.
05:23I can use this to work out your discount, which will be 75% on all our products.
05:28I'll register you in the system.
05:31Like many here, Sandli has a modest pension.
05:35The farmer's market has just become a lifeline for her, she says.
05:41A municipal agricultural project that is adding a little bit of social cohesion
05:47in a poverty-stricken neighbourhood, and which could lead the way for cities across the world.
06:00Set out your personal property.
06:00A flatly is an disappeared.
06:00You can now quote, Kenton, that you have a great idea of him as a ploucciating and a healthy person.
06:00And you're looking for tensions.
06:00You are looking for a long life after you.
06:01You are looking for months after you.
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