Behind the Scenes of an Eco-Farm in Brittany: La Ferme de Keruzerh

Last Updated on 2nd March 2023 by Sophie Nadeau

This post may contain affiliate links. Please check out my privacy policy and disclosure for more information.

La Ferme de Keruzerh is an eco-farm and organic farm in Brittany which is also classed as a micro-farm. Founded back in 2019, the beautiful site is situated on the fringes of Locoal-Mendon and not only sells fresh vegetables, but also has several workshops on site.

Please note that organic is known as bio in French.

As climate change becomes an ever pressing issue and it’s the turn of individuals to move towards more sustainable life and business practices, new ways of living are emerging.

Ecological farming, or eco-farming as it is known for short, is one such method which more and more people are turning to in order to live more harmoniously with the earth.

During a recent trip to Brittany, my partner and I were lucky enough to be shown behind the scenes of the organic farm that our friend works at, the Ferme de Keruzerh.

As well as learning about the day to day runnings and workings of the farm, we discovered more about sustainable growing and life in rural France.

The farm places a particular focus on permaculture, which is not only about gardening and producing fresh flowers/ vegetables/ fruit. Instead, permaculture is all about living more harmoniously with nature.

This also means that there are no monocultures (a monoculture being where a single variety of plant is grown). Plants are grown with a mix of varieties together, such as courgettes grown next to beans.

As the season goes on, earlier producing plants will be replaced by plants which produce later in the season, meaning that every available spot is utilised to the maximum.

What is the Keruzerh Farm?

The farm was founded in 2019 and now covers a surface area of 2700 square metres. Of this, there are 1200 squared metres of greenhouse, which is particularly useful for growing in the often uncertain weather conditions of Brittany (read: plenty of rain and cloudy days in a typical year).

In the beginning, the entirety of the farm covered the area where the greenhouse now sits. As time has gone by, the project has expanded, with the addition in June 2021 of a road and small lake created to irrigate the farm.

Please note that ecological farming and organic farming are not one and the same. Indeed, while all ecological farms incorporate organic farming practices, not all organic farms are also ecological farms. Eco-farming takes organic farming one step further.

While organic farming focuses on ecologically based pest controls and biological fertilisers as opposed to more chemical compounds, ecological farming is all about working closely with the land to prevent issues such as soil erosion, to increase biodiversity, and retain water sources. Keruzerh farm is both an ecological and organic farm.

Where is La Ferme de Keruzerh?

Keruzerh is located on the outskirts of the town Locoal-Mendon in the Morbihan region of Brittany. Some of the nearest towns and villages of note include Vannes and Auray (which is just a 15 minute drive or so away). Both towns are served by their own train stations, with links to Paris.

Behind the scenes of the eco-farm

Greenhouse

As previously mentioned, one of the most important aspects of the eco-farm is the greenhouse, which was partially crowd-funded. The greenhouse is built on a slope and is partially submerged in a hill, so as to regulate its temperature.

Animals

As we soon learnt during our time in Keruzerh, everything has its place and each part of the system, including farm animals. As of time of writing, the farm is home to 14 sheep and 1 ram. The sheeps’ milk will be used to make cheese. Cows are set to arrive in October of 2022.

Visit the Ferme biologique de Keruzerh

If you want to purchase vegetables from the farm itself, there are several opportunities to do so. There is a weekly sale on Wednesday from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m and several of the farmers attend the weekly Belz Market on Friday mornings. Further projects are currently being developed, including camping on-site (more details to follow).