Often victims of their clichés, the countryside has the image of a desert, not only medical, but also cultural and social. A group of friends from Saône-et-Loire, attached to their region, decided to create the Bamboche application, to be as close as possible to rural events and identify them. And it works in Creuse.
Blooming around roundabouts, under bridges, or in bus shelters, the posters in the colors of the fluorescent markers in our school kit promising dashing balls and dancing dinners catch the eye. But rather that of the seasoned countryman, and not really that of the city dweller, not yet informed. Also childhood memories of our outings with grandpa and grandma, these posters are fossils and witnesses of a campaign which is ultimately teeming with events. Because yes, there is something to do in the countryside.
All department events
And this is what a group of friends from Saône-et-Loire wanted to defend by creating the Bamboche application. Loosely inspired by a reflection by the prefect of Val-de-Loire at the time of Covid concerning the curfew, “the bamboche is over”, the name sounds familiar to most ears. The bamboche has therefore been brought up to date and Samy Martinez, co-founder of the project confides that:
“Bamboche spoke as much to my parents as to my little sister”
empty (empty)
Even if for several years there has been a return to the land and the terroir, “the rural world remains abandoned,” notes Samy. The co-founders of Bamboche, having known each other since middle school, wanted to change this preconceived idea that there was nothing to do in the countryside.
Creusois, Creusoises, is the time of trouble over? In any case, this is what this app promises, by listing nearly 530,000 events existing in France. In Creuse, more than 200 events have currently been recorded. From karaoke evenings to hiking, concerts and markets…
An application and soon a website
Today the application reaches more than 20,000 users, and celebrated its one-year anniversary on October 20. Around 96,000 events are viewed each week. The proof by the numbers therefore:
“There is an astronomical amount of things to do”
Samy Martinez (empty)
Receive our leisure newsletter by email and find ideas for outings and activities in your region.
But often, they are overlooked due to lack of communication or because “we drive past the posters at 80 km/h without seeing the details”.
Responding to a strong demand from a bored population looking for entertainment, the application is still a long way from counting the approximately four million people (INSEE 2023) living in rural areas. “However, there are a lot of people who tell us that this is what they expect.” The application is also free for users and from €5/month for associations, companies, collectives wanting to create a page to list their events.
Between 15,000 and 20,000 visitors are expected at the Sardent Oyster Fair!
To facilitate registrations on Bamboche, the team will launch a website in November. An intelligent recommendation engine should also see the light of day. “Depending on what you watch and what you follow, the application will select events likely to please you.” Now the app's co-founders are hoping word of mouth will work, and so will the website!
Marie Le Maux
