“And everyone defends Bassenges Farm!” Facing the famous red letters of the EPFL campus, the collective of students supporting the farm sang in unison this Wednesday morning. The leeks are planted, the hay is scattered and the banners are on their stakes. The aim of the action: to protest the upcoming closure of the farm based on campus and the eviction of the four families living there. For EPFL, the closure aims to extend the Bernoulli Center, dedicated to mathematics research.
“It’s inconsistent: EPFL prides itself on being at the forefront of sustainability and this project goes against all these values,” laments Anna, an EPFL student and regular at the farm. His colleague, Malika, a student at UNIL, emphasizes that the project goes against the law: “The farm began its activities in 2019 and the lease period for this type of establishment is normally nine years. We must mobilize against this termination of the management lease.” She recalls that last June, another collective collected more than 8,000 signatures in support of the sustainable agriculture project, without success.
EPFL, through its spokesperson, defends the project: “The Bernoulli Center in Bassenges will not encroach on the areas currently dedicated to agriculture and the preservation of biodiversity; only their management method will need to be reviewed. The buildings, owned by the Confederation, must be thoroughly renovated and returned to activities compatible with EPFL’s missions.” A vision that Malika does not share: “Without these buildings, the collective will no longer be able to exploit the surfaces at its disposal, because direct proximity is necessary.”
The architectural firm which will be in charge of the extension of the Bernoulli Center has been chosen by EPFL. The precise details of the project will be revealed in the coming weeks.
