The Denoves estate, on the edge of Carpentras towards Monteux, has been home to the City's summer leisure center for many years. From his first mandate, thehe mayor Serge Andrieu had wanted to promote a plot of 6.7 ha of agricultural wasteland adjoining.
Starting from a blank sheet, Yann Mencarelli, project manager, and his partner Olivier Ceyte “cleared” the technical feasibility studiesith the support of the Chamber of Agriculture, Civam Paca and the partner Agribio 84 for the monitoring and advice of an agricultural engineer in diversified market gardening.
In 2023, no less than 2.5 tonnes of certified organic vegetables were produced on a plot of hectare, then representing 8.5 % of school canteen needs.
« More than a large-scale territorial project and beyond the figures, the agricultural management is a manifesto for local and more sovereign food. It is a citizen act of taking back control of our food, refusing imports and industrial circuits. » Serge Andrieu, mayor of Carpentras.
La Denoves, the only food farm under agricultural management in Vaucluse
With only castor cake, compost and the crushing of green waste authorized in organic farming as inputs, the cultivable area and harvest doubled in 2024. Thus, 14 families of vegetables that are easy to handle (no more peas to shell, green beans to shred), 5 000 seeds from Bouches-du-Rhône and 12 000 Organic plants from a local nursery are now in use.
-« You should know that a food farm costs less than a roundabout. Here, the transpartisan tool connects local farmers with whom we work to manage flows and shortages. The associative and citizen community helps with educational transmission on biodiversity, he relearns children's knowledge of the earth. » Yann Mencarelli, chef de project.
Among the sixty agricultural authorities in France, that of Carpentras, the only one in Vaucluse, is a model. This innovative food project created by a community did not benefit from any subsidy. The savings made on land belonging to the City has accelerated investments.
Responsible and respectful of resources, the arrangements aim to encourage early and late production. Thus, the purchase of a second-hand tractor and a greenhouse guarantees longer harvests. During 2025, two other reused greenhouses will complete the equipment. Installing a reusable mulch fabric cover limits the invasion of unwanted plants and makes the agent's work easier.
Watering, supplied by the Carpentras Canal, alternates drip or sprinkling depending on rain forecasts. Irrigation planned up to 25 000 € will ultimately cover the entire 6.7 ha.
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