The abbey in southern Ardèche suffered considerable damage during the torrential rains of October 17. The amount of damage is estimated at more than 500,000 euros. Positive point: two months later, the store reopened and the manufacturing of household products has started again.
“We hope that everything will be resolved in a year”: two months after bad weatherMother Anne, the superior of Notre Dame des Neiges Abbey in Ardèche measures the distance that remains to be covered before the site regains its original appearance. The buildings which house the twelve nuns of the community suffered greatly during the Cévennes episode of October 17. On social networks the nuns explained at the time that they had calculated “to console oneself“the quantity of water that fell on the building and the surrounding area:”1224 Olympic swimming pools. And since the beginning of October, around 2000 Olympic swimming pools!“.
A colossal cleaning and repair job
Even if a lot of work has already been done to restore it, the task still promises to be long. “The particular store where we sell our products suffered between 30 and 40 centimeters of water depending on the spaces. And then especially the cellars” remembers Mother Anne. “It was a bit catastrophic, since there was the entire stock of our cleaning products that we had launched a few months ago, which was bathed abundantly in water. And then of course also, we had a lot of damage in the forest, in particular the paths, the waterways of the rivers, the water supply to the monastery, the pipe was torn out, in short, significant damage which had a strong impact on the community and. will continue to impact us in the duration”.
The resumption of activity thanks to an incredible surge of solidarity
Six months of work drowned out, 20,000 products destroyed, 150,000 euros of losses in the cellar but thanks to the mobilization of firefighters and an incredible outpouring of solidarity from volunteers, the Cistercians were able to reopen their shop 15 days after the floods thanks to the stocks that had been spared. They have also resumed production of their household products and shipments for individuals who order on the Internet. “We are touched because there are people who place personal orders on our online sales site and it’s a real help for us.”
The situation remains “complicated” for the community
“We have between 500,000 and perhaps 600,000 euros of damage in total” continues Mother Anne. “We are courageous and hardworkingokay, but there's a moment, it's going to be complicated. Of course, insurance will cover part of the costs, obviously, but it remains complicated at the moment for the community“. Online orders for household products are possible on the site airdesneiges.com. Mother Anne promises that it will arrive before Christmas for those who want to make an original and useful gift for the community. Wholesale shipments to resellers remain impossible due to lack of raw materials.
