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Title: The Gardens of Cocagne
Author: Marianne Enckell
Date: February 1992
Language: en
Topics: land, gardening, participatory economics, The Raven
Source: Retrieved on 02 April 2022 from https://libcom.org/article/raven-17-use-land
Notes: This article was originally written for The Raven Anarchist Quarterly #17: Use of Land, pp. 21–29.

Marianne Enckell

The Gardens of Cocagne

For some 12 years a group of market gardeners and consumers have run a

vegetable co-operative in Geneva. Started on a modest basis, it today

numbers 220 members and is operated in a semi-professional way. Here is

a picture of it, as I remember it and from current debates.

Why create a producer/consumer co-operative of alimentary products, when

large distribution networks exist and provide you, every day, with all

the fruit and vegetables available on earth, at a reasonable price?

Why cultivate 25-metre beds when machines are built to cultivate on

kilometres?

Because we like doing it!

Then, from the consumer’s point of view, if you buy your vegetables at

the market you don’t know where they come from or how they were grown.

the fisherman lives?

You want to cultivate your own garden and see the food you eat grow, but

that takes too much of your time, you haven’t the space, you don’t want

to isolate yourself every Sunday, you go away on holiday at the time it

is necessary to water and weed.

You go to your office, you wish the spring will not be like autumn, you

want to feel the seasons even in your mouth, our seasons and not

Acapulco’s...

You would like to share a piece of land in the country, to extend the

walls of your flat. You are interested in country matters, here or

elsewhere; maybe you have heard of milk prices or quotas; you are fed up

buying tasteless vegetables wrapped in cling-film; you think it’s

important to eat healthy, natural vegetables in which you can have

confidence.

Farmers are not the only ones concerned with agricultural problems; if

we disturb our ecological balance is it not also because of current

agricultural methods?

From the producer’s point of view

preoccupation: to make the enterprise turn over, sell each kilogram at

the highest price, regardless of quality, you become specialised and you

use any means to combat pests.

to sell to a retailer at a lower price; you must get to be known to

‘break through’.

responsibilities and risks. You cannot follow through new methods you

are isolated in your work, you have difficulty raising loans. If you

take on employees you become dependent on them. You are tied down to

your land, you have difficulty finding somebody to take over in an

emergency or when you want to go on holidays or attend courses, etc.

(Bulletin, November 1978)

The Gardens of Cocagne were founded in 1978 in Geneva. According to

their legal status they are a co-operative, the aim of which is to

provide its members with foodstuffs by the collective cultivation of the

land, as well as by the development of all social, economic and

scientific activities related to it.

In fact today 220 members hire three gardeners, paid monthly, to grow

vegetables on some two hectares. The vegetables are the property of the

consumers — they are harvested once a week, put into 220 bags (from two

to ten kg depending on the season), and distributed in town at 35

pick-up points. Members pay a yearly quota and help in the garden three

half-days a year. In return, they receive organic seasonal vegetables

for nine months of the year. They cannot choose their vegetables each

week but at the general meeting they decide on the plan as to what will

be grown.

The Beginnings

It is first of all the story of an agricultural scientist who thinks

that everything could be very much simpler, who would like to farm but

has neither capital nor land; it is the story of active friends who may

have grand-children, all living together; the story of a town where

finding accommodation and moving about is difficult, and of a nearby

countryside inhabited by wealthy vine growers, of greenhouses by the

square kilometre, and villas with large neglected gardens.

In the first summer there were 40 of us in the collective with one

gardener who worked bits of land in several corners of the canton. It

was after the first season that we set up the co-operative and started

to keep accounts seriously.

Outstanding balance 10,000 fr. in supplementary quotas or loans. Reserve

plus sundries and supplementary labour for installations, sheds and

chicken coops — 10,000 to be raised in the form of gifts.

One Gardener, August 1980: Our cooperative must not stop halfway. For

me, the co-op’s aims remain as follows:

We do not grow for unknown customers, but we can discuss our work with

them, not just the vegetables and the price. Members of the co-op can

see the garden, help in the production, see how the vegetables grow and

observe for themselves what attention they need.

be used for leisure as well as production — there few places left where

adults, children and handicapped people have chance to realise what

agricultural production involves.

For those who are especially interested in gardening this is a communal

garden instead of a private one; or simply a place where they can camp

or light a fire.

part of our consumer needs; a chance to eat organically grown vegetables

which have flavour and are seasonal; to learn about old (or new)

vegetables and to swap recipes.

agricultural production, its link With the Third World etc.

“The financial difficulties of Cocagne often make us forget all those

things which are, and which remain, the basis of our co-operative. With

all the problems of everyday life little time is left for discussing the

true problems, the nature of things as well as individual Wishes and

needs...” ‘Reto’

The Economy

To join the co-operative, each member makes a financial contribution.

This starting capital makes possible basic equipment (machinery,

greenhouses, water layout). The annual budget obviously covers the

paying off and renewal of installations. The general meeting decides on

the amount of annual quota (the ‘price’ of vegetables and the gardener’s

wages. The value of the vegetables is based on the average non-organic

wholesale market’s prices in Geneva. The amount of goods delivered

varies according to the weather conditions, but the individual share-out

remains the same. In the last few years, however, members have

contributed slightly different amounts according to their income and

family size; each participant works out what he owes based on a scale of

charges. The gardeners, who were poorly paid at the beginning now earn a

salary nearer to that of the average co-op member’s.

Therefore, if ‘prices’ and ‘wages’ are based on the local market, the

network functions outside the market; all the vegetables are distributed

— and hopefully, eaten — and the gardeners are paid their wages

irrespective of what they provide (such is our trust in them...)

In fact, a few wholesale deliveries are made to other collectives and

represent about 10% of the budget.

More or less regular contacts exist with other producers to complete

deliveries of winter vegetables, fruit, bread, eggs, but only if their

own production is comparable with Cocagne’s and, that they are

co-operatives, or at least non-profit and organic.

Letter from a Cocagnard (the first) April 1981:

“I very much liked the latest bulletin from Cocagne. However, the

article headed ‘Know how to Feed Yourself’ irritated me a little.

Biogenic, bioactive, biostatic, bioacid; I am probably in agreement...

but. But it is not only food that engenders, activates or slows down or

destroys life. Social relationships (producer-consumer, for example);

the environment can also be biostuff or biothing. I fear that ecology is

becoming too self-orientated and being used to evade social problems.

Let us not give absolute priority to the navels crowning our bellies!”

‘Nicolas’

At the very beginning the participants were probably more interested in

the experimental and self-regulating aspects of the venture. On the day

of distribution of the bags of vegetables in the districts people met to

exchange recipes, dreams, to talk about gardens and life, sometimes to

change the world. The bulletin was edited by a district group or a

‘commission’ who knew how to fill it with projects and considerations of

great import. But soon new co-operators started to give more importance

to what they eat and give their children to eat, and are not always keen

to widen their horizons. During the last general meeting it was

suggested that the week’s harvest in October, which coincided with the

school holidays, be delivered to the Peugeot Factory, then on strike in

Mulhouse. One person rose to ask what link existed between the Cocagne

co-operative and the support for a workers’ strike. At the beginning,

the idea was to create co-operative networks of many shapes and colours.

It was a time of numerous communities and more varied ways of life.

This idea is still dear to the gardeners and to those members who live

in communes, who set up more or less successful or lasting workplaces.

But the bulk of the ‘Cocagnards’ is made up of families or employees

such as teachers, social workers, civil servants, and only a fraction

their leisure is devoted to this kind of organised movement. Indeed,

there is no obvious connection with more ‘alternative’ or radical groups

— the freedom to squat, barter, to refuse salaried work or money, to

live the itinerant life, is not compatible with the annual payment quota

in return for the weekly collection of a bag of vegetables.

Nevertheless, since the beginning at Cocagne there has been some

progress in the thinking about the market gardening situation in Geneva

and elsewhere, about food distribution on international trade. The

co-operative has participated at discussions and projects with farming

associations, Third World groups, ecologists, etc.

Of course, the gardeners are the most eager to make contacts and join

more producers’ associations. “All members of a co-op,” writes a former

gardener, “have a common interest with all these people — to have

healthier food, improve our relationships, exercise control over our

work and what we cat, avoid ‘sweetening middle-men to help distribution

and selling directly, organise oneself independently in the

districts...” But here also there is a choice between different

associations, notably with organic growers or militant peasants,

according to the ethic they defend, the solidarity they practise.

In the last few years, one of the gardeners has been working on a

project of self-development for a village in Senegal, and he is

appealing to the solidarity of co-op members to support his project. The

garden is also a meeting place. Trainees are working there, or friends

trying to launch a similar project somewhere else. Teachers bring their

classes, or handicapped children. There are picnics, fetes frequently.

And in the vegetable bag there is always room for a news bulletin or

pamphlets or requests for help.

Production

Production is obviously the central aspect of the co-operative. How does

it rate compared with a conventional enterprise? From March to August,

1989, the volume of vegetables delivered has been 30% more than

anticipated and this will continue till December. The bags contain more

mixed vegetables but some crops (leeks, salads, tomatoes) are more

prolific than others (beans, peas) the harvest of which is less

predictable.

The working hour is paid at 17 Swiss francs. Its real cost for Cocagne

is 52.50 fr., inclusive of social and administrative charge as well as

seeds, water, compost, tools and machinery, maintenance, ground rent

costs.

Here is the price and value of the vegetables as based on the average

price of the market:

Thanks to new grounds better suited to the cultivation of some

vegetables; thanks also to investments in machinery, tunnels and water

installations, we are working the same hours while increasing our

production by 45 per cent. It is good, but obliges us to increase total

production.

This increase, in turn, should help pay off investments and increase

wages. It means deurerquota-shares (10 percent) and more deliveries on

order.

Until now what we wanted to do, first and foremost was to produce cheap

vegetables. But, today, things are different: it could be that our needs

change, our age, our thinking, our desire not to give in completely to

over-production in farming or vegetable growing which, alas, organic

growing cannot prevent. In the long run, we cannot increase our wages by

just growing more. Would it be better to increase the present scale,

based on ordinary market prices, with a 5 to 10 per cent mark-up for the

organic label and acceptable long-term working conditions (oh, my

back!)? This would still leave the price of Cocagne vegetables well

below those at organic markets or health food shops. (Bulletin, October

1989).

And now?

The Gardens of Cocagne would have wished to be the forerunners of the

Land of Cocagne. But the world is such that our ways of life are not

always in harmony with our values. If the gardeners were not the driving

force behind the co-operative, it would wither away. The members who owe

three hall-days of work a year do not go there willingly, some want to

go on such and such a day, at such and such an hour. The development one

hoped for never took place.

For example, in the wake of the Gardens of Cocagne, groups of people

started collective purchase of groceries such as cereals, dried fruit or

detergents, but they were only interested in the quality of the products

(organic, ecological, cheap) not in how they were produced. And yet the

experiment is rich and powerful. Think about it — we have different

relationships at work (at least for the gardeners but even for those who

want to participate) at the market, with nature, the consumer’s world,

the world, be it the first or the third. There is a genuine camaraderie

between co-operative members of the districts and their children. Is it

possible to expect more from a co-operative?

But above all, the experiment could be repeated everywhere. Conditions

would certainly be different in a big city (one would have to give more

importance to the district and to the distribution, that is, transport

from the gardens) and in other climates. The season is a short one in

Stockholm; the soil is poor in Canberra; in Palermo there will be

oranges and organic lemons.

The sharing of tasks between producers and consumers can be negotiated

and all sorts of combinations are possible in the farm yard, with fruit

trees, a bakery, a sweet shop. (Are you looking for recipes for

vegetable bon-bons?)

Cocagne, in Geneva, welcomes any visitors or learners, if you are

tempted.