Emmaüs Lescar-Pau Village : The Recyling-Waste Center

There is only one Emmaus alternative village in France, and it has existed for 40 years. Within this community, it is the collective that takes precedence, at all levels of activities (indeed, we are not talking in terms of work, but of activities).

If the companions of Emmaus claim a strong political commitment, it is indeed their commercial activities that keep them alive since they receive absolutely no subsidies from the state. And it is this self-financing that gives them a great deal of freedom. All the work is done by the companions, who come to share their skills in a very horizontal management. The Emmaus spirit encourages anyone in need to come and participate in the life of the Village, without any obligation to stay. A great deal of organisation is therefore required to ensure that it runs smoothly. Today there are between 130 and 140 companions in all in order to perpetuate this “abbeyrist” utopia. 

The regulatory framework for journeyperson status is a very important benchmark for ensuring that people who come to Emmaus are successfully reintegrated into society and the workplace. This means that anyone can become an actor and project leader within the Village, which represents a real life choice. A choice that François, in particular, made in 2014. The latter relies on the versatility of the companions. While he himself participates in several activities, such as sorting or checkout, he is mainly in charge of tutoring internships, is a radio host for Radio I Feel Good, which hosts the Village every other Saturday, and advises the Village. [3]

The fact that Emmaus is able to take on trainees shows that the state recognises the structure.

François a accepté de prendre une photo avec nous devant le restaurant du Village

The Emmaus Recycling and Waste Management Centre is recognised as a local economic player. The Village thus provides the entire community with this tool that manages the bulky items in the Pau municipality, and this is entirely at their expense, as they receive no aid or subsidies. The Pau agglomeration has benefited from this service for more than ten years.

Collection is Emmaus’ traditional activity. The Recycling-Waste Collection Centre therefore enables the structure to be developed, resources to be upgraded and sales to be made. The Village thus develops its 18 workshops based on what they recycle, knowing that a little bit of everything can be deposited there, such as clothes, household appliances, metals, books, furniture, etc. As far as textiles are concerned, the business is divided into 3 categories according to their quality (cheap, normal, luxury), to be distributed in 3 different stores of the Bric à Brac. Clothes that are not resold are transformed, notably as insulation in construction projects, or are recovered by their partner Filtex in a zero-waste dynamic. As for the furniture, it is destined for the carpentry and design workshops to produce equipment, such as the village chicken coops, for example. The furniture is either restored, to be put on sale, or passes through the hands of Emmaus members to produce highly creative objects, themselves intended for sale or reused within the Village, such as for the beehives, for example. And that’s how between 3,500 and 4,000 customers come to the Bric à Brac every day.

Hand carved beehives in the Village

Between 250 and 600 cars come per day (every day of the week) for about ten people working at the Recycling Center. According to François, who visited La Recyclerie, they receive 5 trucks of about 150m3 in the morning and 5 trucks in the afternoon. A real circuit is set up for the vehicles, with a system of stock and bins in order to list and categorize everything. The recovered items are thus destined either for sale, recycling or tippers. Specialised boxes come to collect what Emmaus cannot do anything about. Green waste, rubble, bulky items, etc. are recycled by the services of the Pau Urban Community and the Village’s partners: Eco Mobilier, Eco Système, Valdelia, etc. [3] In addition, an entire network is set up, which positions Emmaus as an active player in the service economy.

In total, more than 70% of what Emmaus recovers is recycled by their 18 workshops and more than 95% through their partnerships.

The customers and potential customers of the Bric à Brac have access to the rest of the Village, which has developed many activities outside the Recycling and Waste Center. The Emmaus companions thus have the opportunity to make visitors aware of their political, ecological and social struggles through their other centers. For example, in 2008 the Village created their Alternative Farm, an agricultural and educational project aimed at preserving local animal and plant species and promoting peasant agriculture. This market gardening activity also allows them to achieve a certain food autonomy while developing ecological and political awareness. Thus, “the Alternative Farm is fully in line with the sustainable dynamics of the utopian project combining production, well-being, discovery and territorial anchoring with the aim of supplying up to 80% of the food used by the Kitchen workshop“. [3]

The grocery store in the village square sells some of the products from the Farm, such as their bread, honey, or preserves prepared by the Transformation workshop. The store also sells products from small producers in the region to promote local organic products. In this continuity, there is a bar, a restaurant, a bakery and a crêperie using these products. 

All this contributes very largely to the life of the Village, which can be described as very rich culturally speaking. Indeed, since the shooting of the film I Feel Good in 2017, the Village has also developed the concept of their Radio I Feel Good, on which the companions host every other Saturday conferences-debates on themes close to their hearts, with guests such as Pierre Rabhi.