Emre Aydemir breathes a sigh of relief. He finally found his ducks. The escapees wade in a puddle at the foot of one of the white buildings in the Puits-la-Marlière district, in Villiers-le-Bel (Val-d’Oise). “It’s always surprising to see ducks in the middle of the city,” laughs the young 18-year-old man with a growing beard.
On this Sunday afternoon, two goats, a rooster and geese wander through the parking lot of social housing, without any resident of the neighborhood of this Ile-de-France suburb to the north of Paris being moved. Residents who come across Emre Aydemir greet the high school student who, for two years, has been at the head of a small educational farm made up – among other things – of around ten goats, a Cotentin donkey, chickens and sheep. The estate is located in the heart of this landlocked district, close to Roissy airport.
With the support of local associations and the town hall, the final year student maintains the Field of Possibilities with his animals, a vast meadow which extends behind the houses. Goats and geese roam their enclosure, called “Adventure Land”. Emre Aydemir also has a henhouse and enclosures near a small wood to the north of the neighborhood. All these green spaces are the property of the lessor Val-d’Oise Habitat (VOH) and are loaned to residents in the interest of greening the area.
On his phone, the high school student followed the farmers’ protest movement. Some of his friends asked him to join the blockades, but he declined. “They block the roads with their big tractors, imagine me with my goats! “, he said smiling. And then, between his classes and the dozen animals he has to take care of in his free time, he simply wouldn’t have had the time.
A childhood passion that lasted
Emre Aydemir, who does not really consider himself a farmer but rather a shepherd sensitive to respect for the environment, nevertheless understands their anger: “It’s a very difficult job that requires a lot of courage. » He hopes to be able to work towards “preservation of green spaces”. “There are fewer and fewer animals, it is vital to reintegrate them into nature,” insists the one who dreams of launching his eco-grazing business, a method of maintaining areas supposed to limit the use of machines and pesticides.
The young man is not, however, the son of a farmer. He learned on the job. “He always loved nature and animals, remembers his mother, Ummuhan Aydemir, who came down to greet her son, whose farm is only a few meters from the family apartment. I thought it was a passing childhood passion, but, to my astonishment, he didn’t let go. »
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