Tuesday morning, 10 a.m. In the village hall of the small town of Vieux (Calvados), eight volunteers have already been busy for half an hour and for at least two more hours. They cut, saw, glue. For almost two months, they have taken turns every week to participate together in the manufacturing, recycling or restoration of the town's Christmas decorations.
“We come first to allow residents to have Christmas decorations worthy of the name, like everywhere, despite a limited budget,” says François Fromager, 70 years old, one of these volunteers. “Everyone brings their own DIY skills. We often recover old decors to create new ones. We recycle as much as possible, especially from pallet wood, while trying to make beautiful things. There, for example, we are repainting old wooden Santas to make… new polar bears! And then it’s obviously a convivial moment for us. After all, we don't always have the opportunity to talk for three hours in a row. »
“It’s a virtuous circle in every way,” adds Christopher Stonham, deputy mayor of Vieux. “There is this mutual aid of course, this social bond, but it is also a significant contribution for the municipality. It was recently one of the most indebted municipalities in France, due to road works. So we had to tighten all the budgets. And today, thanks to this initiative, we spend less than 200 euros per year, without sacrificing the quality of our end-of-year decorations. »
The initiative also provides some environmental benefits, underlines the deputy mayor: “By recycling, it goes without saying that we limit the number of waste. And that makes everyone pay more attention. For example, our small decoration budget this year was used to buy… solar garlands. »
