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Crosses – To the outsider wandering through the countryside, they may seem invasive religious symbols, as if a bunch of conquistadors and missionaries had just set foot on the land. But beyond their symbolism, our crosses reflect people’s ordinary lives with their sufferings, achievements and thanksgivings. Scattered all over the place, with their origin often… Read more »
I am back. You may have worried that I did not make it through winter, and that my neighbours found my frozen body in a hidden car that had run out of petrol. Wrong. After spending fifteen years in Southeast Asia, I actually found ice and snow a refreshing novelty. What kept me… Read more »
Tolerance fosters diversity – Diversity brings enlightenment Rainbow shining over Montchauvel – 11 April 2016
Some people have been spreading the rumour they saw me dozing in my car with the engine idling to keep warm. Liars. I had parked the car on the other side of the farm, completely out of sight. No one could have seen me. “You are lucky to have hot water, we did not enjoy… Read more »
Air pollution – Chapter 2 How are you today? I don’t know about you, but personally, I am somewhat RLW – Running Low on Wood that is. Which, in a nutshell, means “pretty fine for now, but in deep trouble soon if I don’t do something about it”. As you drive through the surrounding villages,… Read more »
No, this is not a car. It is a lot more. It is a legend. It is a Citroēn 2CV. Everything has been written on this mythic engineering feat. There is only one thing for me to add: I am driving one. My grandfather’s actually, who used to criss-cross the countryside around here. No wonder… Read more »
Thou shalt use renewable energies, or else thou wilt suffer Nature’s wrath
After a couple of winter months spent at the farm, I have developed an acute form of the caveman syndrome: KEEP THE FIRE ALIVE AT ALL TIMES AND ALL COSTS. Foraging for wood has hence become the early morning priority, right after coffee. I can see the smile on your face: “Is he drinking… Read more »
I always wondered why this poor pine tree at the farm gate was hopelessly leaning in an apocalyptic posture. Now I know. The weather report for today reads a 35 kms an hour wind, gusting 100. This has been going on mercilessly for a week now, with no sign of clemency anytime soon. 100 kms… Read more »
Air pollution – Chapter 1 So here we are in Auvergne, with crystal clear blue skies, topping the list of air pollution-free regions. Or are we? In other words, how blue is blue? Numbers should tell really. So let’s look at … China for instance – It is a random choice, without any hidden agenda,… Read more »
I am starting to fill in applications for renewable energies subsidies – This is indeed a good cause deserving public contribution, isn’t it? We are lucky to have some of our brightest academic achievers devote their time to pepper our forms with mind-opening concepts and formulas. A bit like Easter eggs, those are always to… Read more »
I recovered this piece from the wood dump storage area, as I was frantically foraging for more renewable energy. It reads “imported from Sweden”. Now, that naturally triggers the question: “what the heck was imported from Sweden in the 1950’s in the middle of Auvergne?” Smoked salmon? At that time, fresh salmons, I mean so… Read more »
Sketch of the farm fitted with solar energy collectors – Courtesy architect Francois Desnier I met the engineer yesterday for an overall review of the required installation: – 10 square metres of thermal solar panels, yielding a roughly estimated 5 kW peak power – these will go on the main house roof – 90 square… Read more »
Never say die… This is grand auntie’s bed, or rather what is left of it – As long as I don’t have to burn the roofing to keep warm, I should be fine. To would-be off-gridders in mountainous areas, don’t even think of trying without professional guidance. Get your solar panels up and running before… Read more »
Temperature crashed to -11°C last night At sunrise, the thermometer I had placed next to the incoming water mains, inside the barn at the basement, was reading +2°C. That was a close shave. With no proper heating and no cattle to keep the barn warm, I am not sure I can hold the fort for… Read more »
After a spate of global warming at 18°C, here comes global cooling at -2°C. The temperature simply collapsed by around 20°C within just a couple of days. As snow starts falling, this is what should get me going through winter. I have explained to the neighbouring farmers that this actually was “renewable energy storage”, but… Read more »
This appalling trail of devastation has not been left by a marauding mole, but by a hopeless urban guy desperately trying to figure out where his farm wastewater is discharged… Every time I ask a different person, I get a different answer: “on the left towards the old house”, “on the right towards the garden”,… Read more »
Fresh from the press: The Auvergne has just been nominated as the 6th top region to visit in 2016 by Lonely Planet, just behind lovely Waiheke Island in New Zealand. I always had a sense we were in the same league.
Today is Sunday. Time for a confession. I thought I would keep silent, and just do away with it. But this is an honest platform, isn’t it? It happened yesterday. It had been a week since I had shaved. I had two options: turn on the bathroom gas heater and have a decent shave, or… Read more »
Back to the farm on my own last Sunday afternoon to get the project off the ground. Temperature occasionally dipped below freezing point last week, leaving the building literally stone cold. Trying to survive without starting the gas heater – no fossil fuel, we said. You may think nuclear energy is the key. I can… Read more »
Hi, my name is François. I would like to share with you our journey towards energy self-sufficiency in rural France. We have the ambition to restore our century-old family farm into a stylish energy self-sufficient mansion. That is, into a completely off-the-grid home, relying neither on external electricity nor on fossil fuels. Our farm is… Read more »