On the occasion of the 30th edition of the chestnut festival on October 12 and 13 in Fully, the program We talk about it returns to the rules and practices to respect when collecting this wild fruit, which is very popular in autumn and winter. .
Marie Dominique Dorsaz Ançay, former “grand mistress” of the Brotherhood of Friends of the Chestnut of Fully, in Valais, will offer the traditional wood-fired brisolée on her stand and will promote the Fully forest. In this Valais commune, everyone is free to pick chestnuts as they wish for their private consumption. But what about the rest of French-speaking Switzerland?
The forest with free access, with certain rules to respect
Article 699 of the Civil Code specifies that “everyone has free access to forests and […] can appropriate berries [… ] and other small wild fruits, in accordance with local custom […]”. Chestnuts being part of this, it is authorized to collect them while observing certain rules specified by the cantons and communes.
If chestnut trees are not part of a maintained crop, local custom limits the harvest to a maximum of 2 kg for Geneva. In the canton of Vaud, no commercial use without authorization; consumption must remain within the family framework. And in Fribourg, galling is prohibited.
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In chestnut groves, ask permission
If it is a maintained chestnut grove, the owner’s authorization is required. Here again, the limits imposed by the municipality and/or canton must be respected and generally speaking, mass harvesting instruments are prohibited.
The only special case is that the municipality of Bex “prohibits entering chestnut groves without authorization from September 23 to October 26, 2024”. Only municipal chestnut groves are accessible to residents of the municipality who can request a daily authorization with a maximum harvest of 3 kg per person, deliverable within 4 days maximum.
Radio subject: Emilie Berthouzoz, Antoine Droux and Bastien von Wyss
Web adaptation: Myriam Semaani
#Swiss
