Fête Paysanne d’Automne Azillanet,7th and 8th October. This annual agro ecologist festival is well into it’s third year. A series of discussions, farm visits, music concerts, games for the kids, and an organic and local producers market on the Saturday, it is a great way to celebrate the beginning of Autumn. Mind you the way the temperature is dropping it could well be mid Winter by then. The event is supported by a number of associations that promote sustainable agricultural development on the Minervois and the Corbieres, as well as many small holders and local organic producers and transformers, like ourselves.

I will be skipping my Perpignan market that Saturday to go. Caroline will join me in the afternoon when she has finished in Narbonne organic market.Being so wonderfully French there will of course be an all day bar, and naturally a lunch made out of locally grown and raised produce.

This Fête Paysanne d’Automne is a growing part of re development of the area, more and more younger people are taking advantage of the relatively low cost of agricultural land in the Aude to set up small farms. A great majority, where possible, are choosing to farm organically. From mushroom growers to spiraline growing, bee keeping to sheep farmers the range of new activity belies the belie thz idea that the Aude is primarily a wine producing area near the Med and a cereal growing area between Carcassonne and Castelnaudry. The imagination and energy that these new producers are bring to the area is really invigorating. .The Fête Paysanne d’Automne, in Azillanet is a great opportunity to meet and talk to the new generation that are trying to revitalise the Aude countryside.We are all quite proud of what we do, and love to talk to people about the ups and downs of our activity. If you have an idea for a new venture there is sure to be someone at the Fete to talk it through with. It is not a question of competition, more a question of collaboration. The Aude is lacking a great deal of basic infrastructure for small farmers, the more there are the easier to build the alembics, honey laboratories, bakeries, ovens, kilns and cheese making facilities we can all share.

More details when they are ready should be published on the

Fête Paysanne d’Automne  Facebook event page and on their website https://fetepaysannedautomne.wordpress.com/