PETITE FERME DES REGAINS - THE EDUCATIONAL FARM OF ALPINE TRADITIONS

Julie welcomes me with boots on her feet and rosy cheeks from a morning's work in the cool autumn air. Now that the morning's pampering is over, she's going to introduce me to all the inhabitants of her Petite Ferme des Regains, where she introduces visitors to Alpine traditions from here and elsewhere, as well as a charming troop of hardy mountain breeds, many of them endangered.

An ethnologist and animal mediator by training, and a cultural guide by profession, Julie runs an educational farm in Villard-Saint-Pancrace, in the fields facing the Tenailles du Montbrison and the Puys villages. The countryside setting is calm and bucolic, perfect for a timeless visit.

Using old-fashioned farmhouse clothes and accessories, Julie sets the scene to recreate the atmosphere at the turn of the last century. The farmer comes from a time when farming in the Alps was not yet mechanized. Both in the fields and on the farm, work was done by hand and animal power. Tools were manual. Every summer, we went up to the mountain pastures, and every autumn we came back down. Julie's story begins when she returns to the farm after a season in the alpine hamlet of Mélézin. She's lost her donkey and has to go back up to fetch him. The sound of hooves accompanies her words.

The story she tells blends traditions from all over the Alps. Before settling in Villard-Saint-Pancrace, Julie worked for 15 years in a heritage association in Haute Savoie. Her work took her beyond national borders to Northern Italy and Switzerland. In all these mountain regions, traditions are similar, and it's this shared heritage that fascinates her.

She knows the preferences and habits of each of her protégés and does everything she can to keep them happy in her home.

Pour sa ferme, Julie cherchait des animaux qui se plaisent en plein air toute l’année, avec de simples cabanes pour s’abriter des intempéries. Elle souhaitait des races ayant un vrai lien avec le travail des paysans des Alpes d’antan. En montagne, on retrouvait souvent les mêmes races d’animaux d’une région à l’autre car partout les paysans cherchaient des animaux rustiques, résistants au froid et bons marcheurs. Ces races anciennes sont peu prisées dans l’agriculture intensive, puisque rusticité ne rime pas toujours avec rendement. Par conséquent, plusieurs se retrouvent aujourd’hui dans les rangs des races à faible effectif ou en voie de disparition. Quelques individus ont trouvé refuge à la Petite Ferme des Regains. Uniquement des mâles castrés, car Julie préfère laisser les femelles aux agriculteurs pour qu’elles se reproduisent et qu’elles fassent perdurer la race. Les mâles ont souvent une brève existence avant d’être envoyés à l’abattoir et Julie est contente de leur offrir une longue retraite tranquille dans sa petite ferme.

There are two of them in each pen, each with a companion to keep them company and a living space adapted to their needs. Julie takes the time to familiarize herself with the peculiarities of her little world, and is an inexhaustible source of information.

Hamlette and Mouillette are common hens, as Julie couldn't find an Alpine breed, and these do very well in the Alpine climate. The same goes for the others. Janis and Joplin are Barbary ducks, common in Central America and the North, which stand the cold well thanks to a good layer of fat. The rabbits, Alanis and Morisette, are Fauve de Bourgogne and Bleue de Vienne.

In the morning, Julie set off to close this new burrow that was emerging from the enclosure. It was only when she saw a stillborn cub that the mother had evacuated that she realized the burrow was occupied. The offspring, a female and a male cross-breed, are called Onyx and Winter. They're rabbits bred for meat, and even after years at Julie's, they're very wary of humans and won't show more than the tip of their little noses. For petting, you'll have to go to the sheep.

The black one, Otis, is a Savoy billy-goat who was the sire on duty at a farm in the Maurienne. After a few years, however, the farmers had to change breeding males to avoid inbreeding, and Otis was destined to end his days soon. But the farmers were keen to have their first billy goat, and when they heard that Julie was looking for one for an educational farm, they were quick to offer to take him on. Old Otis is kind and calm, and a good influence on the younger, wilder Fifi.

 In the past, the most common breed in the Alps was the woolly pig, but this hardy breed no longer exists, so Julie opted for Mangalitzas, still widespread in the eastern part of the Alps and cousins of the French woolly.

Comme tous les locataires de Julie, les frères cochons ont une cabane pour s’abriter. Leur instinct est de se construire un abri ombragé donc ils y emmènent des branches et d’autres matériaux de construction pour aménager l’habitation. Contrairement aux idées reçues, les cochons détestent habiter un lieu sale et ce sont les seuls à s’occuper eux-mêmes du ménage. Les toilettes sont au fond du jardin et le moindre petit accident de nuit est vite dégagé. Si les cochons se roulent dans la boue, ce n’est pas parce qu’ils aiment se salir mais parce qu’ils ne peuvent pas évacuer la chaleur par la transpiration et ont besoin de se rafraîchir.

Visitors have a job to do in each pen, and the pigs need hay to make their own clean litter. By the way, big brother likes to be scratched a little. According to Julie, adults are above all charmed by pigs, who are intelligent, sensitive, sociable and playful.

Back to the past: the farmer of yesteryear accompanies you to meet, stroke and feed the animals of the Petite Ferme des Regains. For young and old alike! Adults are often a little reserved at first, but soon get into the swing of things. Julie knows how to adapt her tours to the audience, giving more or less in-depth information. During all school vacations, mornings and afternoons in summer, afternoons only in winter.

Petits Paysans : a slightly longer course for children aged 8 and over (without adults) that Julie offers only during the summer vacations. Missions, games, storytelling and a craft workshop await the children, who will feed and look after the animals as they did in the past.

Farmers for an evening: a small-group behind-the-scenes tour of the farm. You'll join Julie, not in costume this time, for the evening chores of caring for the animals and preparing their meals, which are sometimes completed by headlamp as night falls.

Letting go of the reins: a session for adults who need a moment of disconnection or simply enjoy contact with animals.

Julie has recently diversified her offer to include mobile tours for events, local authorities and large structures, in two different formulas.

Discover Les Regains small farm