JULIE SANCHEZ / BÉRAT

Julie Sanchez, the nurse, welcomed us to her family home in Bérat. It’s a difficult task to sum up so much energy and passion in just a few lines! But don’t get us wrong, we’re not talking here about spreading ourselves too thinly or sailing blindly. Each of Julie’s projects is based on clear long-term objectives, because her priority is to respect the environment and maintain its ecosystem.

7 years ago, the renovation of her house using only natural, recyclable and non-polluting materials set the scene for her future involvement in the creation of a permaculture micro-farm and a self-sufficient, animal-friendly livestock farm. So, after a career in the private sector, she decided in October 2019, with the support of her partner, to exploit the potential of her (untreated) property by becoming a market gardener and livestock breeder. With training in permaculture under her belt, she will soon be organising her production while working in partnership with her ‘neighbours’, farmers who share the same approach. Then as now, hyperactive Julie spares no effort, working her land mainly by hand. It’s a mammoth task, which she combines with her involvement in local life and associations, the agro-ecology courses (among others) she teaches at the LEP in Rieumes and… her life as a mother!

If you pay her a visit, you’ll be able to see the fruits of her labours, meet her magnificent pedigree hens, buy their colourful eggs, buy her jellies, harvest fruit from the orchard with your family, admire her saffron plantations and all the other marvels that unspoilt nature has to offer… Soon, she’ll be opening the doors of her micro-forest (financed by a well-executed Crow funding campaign) with self-regulating orchards to ensure the totally natural development of a rich eco-system, including enclosures for her animals.

But 24 hours in one day isn’t enough for Julie, so she continues to invest in some very exciting projects. The latest of these is embroidery, a childhood passion that has recently resurfaced. As part of her eco-active approach, she finds old sheets that she dyes using her own dye plants. On these natural-coloured sheets, she embroiders magnificent creations, often made to measure, which you can find on her regularly updated Facebook page while she waits for her website to be created.

Julie has a whole world and philosophy that deserve to be discovered.
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