On the way to the bare landscapes of northern Larzac, those of Blaquière or Montredon, in Aveyron, where boxwood, juniper and astonishing sculptures formed by erosion reign. Ruiniform rocks typical of limestone plateaus or causses. Some look like towers, others like vigils or giant statues, giving the impression of watching over these lands and their inhabitants.
On the way to these landscapes of pine and oak forests, anise green or golden yellow fields depending on the season, lavognes, these round ponds created by man where the stored rainwater is used to water the herds, and buissières, these paths dug in the box trees to protect themselves from the sun.
On the way to this world apart which is divided between agricultural land and a military camp, whose infantry fire can be heard from La Cavalerie, the location, since 2016, of the 13and demi-brigade of the Foreign Legion. A special atmosphere that you feel when you arrive on the plateau in Montredon. A little as if the story could be read everywhere in the landscape, on the signs prohibiting access to the military camp diverted in “land for rent”on the rocky chaos, such as that of Rajal del Gorps, a place inseparable from the Larzac struggle, where nearly 50,000 people gathered against the extension of the military camp in August 1973, or at the entrance to La Blaquière , where we can read: “No to weapons here and elsewhere. »
On the edge of two worlds
Traveling on the northern Larzac means being on the edge of these two worlds. The ideal is to follow these winding roads and stop at one of its farms or artists’ studios. At each intersection, signs indicate places of life, culture and crafts. Most farms offer direct sales: honey, cheese, wool or aromatic plants. Like at the Ferme des Homs, at Marion Renoud-Lias and Romain Debord. A magnificent stone building surrounded by fields of rosemary, thyme and lavender. These two agricultural engineers responded in 2016 to a call for applications launched by the Civil Society of Larzac Lands (SCTL), which grants quarry leases to farmers and manages the land acquired by supporters of the fight against the extension of the military camp in order to avoid private property and speculation.
This unique model brings together around sixty farms on the Larzac. Marion Renoud-Lias and Romain Debord are part of the second generation, those in their thirties. “The farm does not belong to us. We signed a quarry lease which guarantees us to stay on site as long as we operate, after which we will return the tool. For the first generation, even if they defined the rules, it is more complicated to leave the lands for which they fought.explains Marion Renoud-Lias, at the entrance to the shop, where you can find Homs pastis from the organic cultivation of aromatic plants.
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