From the maintenance of an artisanal and industrial heritage that has made the fortune of the North Finisterian territory to the development of a viable economic sector at the regional level, the Lin and Hemp association in Brittany has reached a turning point in its young history, including the origin dates back to 2007. “Since 2023, we have wanted to show that we are also working on the economy,” explains Landernéenne André Le Gall-Sanquer, at the initiative of a network actively supported by the Brittany Region, which wants to anchor itself in industrial reality with the prospect of the opening by 2025-2026 of a linen spinning mill in Pleyber-Christ and two scutching projects in Commana and Lampaul-Guimiliau. To support this growth aimed at reestablishing flax in the region, a fiber that brought wealth to the region for three centuries, during the golden age of Royal Navy orders, the association was structured over the past year. .
“The opportunities are enormous”
“The City of Landerneau provided us with premises at the Théo-Le Borgne center, allowing us to host meetings,” recalls the president, when the association previously shared an open space at the Cultural Workshop. Above all, the year 2024 was marked by “the recruitment of a development manager, with a different job description”. Previously a volunteer for the association, Gonzague Dehaeze brings his expertise in market research and operational organization to the network. Its first task is to list and map all the players in the construction hemp and textile flax sectors in Brittany, in order to connect those who grow the fibers and those who are likely to use them. “Today, the opportunities are enormous,” assure the promoters of a sector which has decided to seriously accelerate the pace in recent years. A new logo, more airy and easier to use, has also been unveiled.
From 10 to 1,000 hectares of flax
“We sowed five hectares organically and five hectares conventionally in 2021, we will be at 1,000 hectares this year,” recalls Guillaume Letur, who brought together 120 producers around, with the prospect of opening a scutching factory. (operation aimed at separating the fiber from the bark, Editor’s note) in Commana, when the harvested flax still goes to Normandy today. “Today, we can no longer progress on the surface without scutching on site. And we still have a lot to refine to produce a fiber that appeals to the industry,” cautiously advances the entrepreneur from central Breton, behind the relaunch of flax cultivation. Alongside him, Xavier Denis and Tim Muller, who are leading the Linfini spinning mill project in Pleyber-Christ, are also awaiting this structuring of a sector on which they are placing their industrial hopes. The first napkins embroidered in Morlaix, in collaboration with chef Nicolas Caro, will be presented at Sirha Lyon, which takes place from January 23 to 27, 2025 in the City of Lights. The beginnings of an industrial reconquest for Brittany? There is still a long way to go, but not so much when we consider that the Finistère linen company, which brought wealth to Landerneau, Landivisiau and Morlaix, closed its doors in 1891.
Practical
Site internet https://www.linchanvrebretagne.org
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