Kévin R.

"With my partner, we have a small food farm "Le Jardin des Altigraines" at 850 m altitude. I cultivate as much as possible without tilling the soil, 2500 m² in the open field and 400 m² in the greenhouse, entirely by hand, on straw, old hay or woven canvas, but with a little grelinette all the same. We also have a 500 m2 vegetable garden, an orchard that grows every year and 5 dairy ewes for cheese and meat, as well as chickens.

We transform vegetables opened for seeds into coulis, ketchup, pepper pastes, spreads... and also make vegetable seedlings from seeds reproduced on the farm or from Kokopelli.

After many years doing food-producing jobs, I had a sort of burn-out after the birth of my daughter in 2012. I was fed up with the whole perverse system I was evolving in, I couldn't find my place in it, so I did a bit of wwoofing. In 2013, I was lucky enough to be able to take over from 2 market gardeners with whom I had wwoofed in Ardèche on a collective site.

So for 3 years I did small-scale market gardening, then seed production in 2017 with Julien F., seed producer for Kokopelli, and I stopped market gardening in 2018 to devote myself entirely to seeds! At the end of 2019 I moved and bought my farm in Haute-Loire where I continue to multiply seeds for Kokopelli.

What I really love about this job is being able to eat my own produce, living with the rhythm of the seasons, choosing when I get up and when I work, seeing the cycle of plants from A to Z. A seed garden is really beautiful, everything becomes big and colorful, it's another visual dimension than a classic vegetable garden.

For me, there are no real constraints in this profession, but I don't think everyone would like this way of life. If you like going on vacation for 3 weeks in the summer and having your weekends off all year round, it's not going to work, that's for sure. You have to live with the seasons, and it's in winter that you can really relax.

My favorite variety: Rutabaga "Ounakollane"! I'd never heard of this forgotten vegetable, but it's really incredible. First of all, it's super tasty, much better than turnips in my opinion. It's closer to cabbage in taste. It's a huge vegetable, I've had ones the size of handballs, and it doesn't mind very big frosts at all.

Finally, my little message would be: empower yourself, and that starts with reproducing your seeds. Nothing and nobody should dictate your choices or your life. Become what you've always dreamed of being deep down, and be happy."

Video: meet Kévin!