Bong transforms green spaces into permaculture gardens
At the end of 2019, when Bong was establishing a new CSR policy for 4 years, the idea was born to transform the green spaces around the factory into permaculture gardens.
In partnership with Fermes d’Avenir, we have defined the goals of the project as well as the permaculture design, that is to say the overall arrangement of all the elements in relation to each other, a key point in permaculture.
Why this permaculture project?
This project alone brings together several goals:
Enable employees to learn how to practice market gardening inspired by permaculture
Provide a more pleasant environment to enhance well-being at work
Raise awareness about preserving the environment and eating well
Develop the surroundings of the production site so that they embody the ecological transition that we try to implement in the factory
What is permaculture?
Often seen as a simple method of gardening, permaculture is actually much more than that.
Permaculture is a tool for designing harmonious, sustainable, resilient, labor- and energy-saving human settlements, taking nature as a model.
It is based on 3 ethical principles: taking care of the Earth, taking care of people and sharing resources fairly.
These are concepts, “best practices” that can be applied to all human settlements such as cities, businesses, communities, farms, gardens… to design systems that are both economical and productive.
Like the legend of the hummingbird, Bong’s primary desire is to respect an important concept in permaculture: take it one step at a time, start small while thinking big.
From 2020 to 2022, employees planted fruit trees to start the forest-garden and create vegetable plots to accommodate the first vegetables.
The legend of the hummingbird
One day, so the legend goes, there was a huge forest fire.
All the terrified and aghast animals watched helplessly as the disaster struck.
Only the tiny hummingbird was active, fetching a few drops of water in its beak to throw them onto the fire.
After a while, the armadillo, annoyed by its seemingly derisory efforts, said:
“Hummingbird! Are you mad! Do you think that with these drops of water you’re going to put out the fire?! »
The hummingbird then replied: “I know it, but I’m doing my part”…
In 2023, young market gardeners from the Ferme des Gobettes will help us to grow this project. Throughout the year, Charlotte and Elsa will come to lead sessions to build a productive vegetable garden and bring the forest-garden to life. All employees are invited to participate in sowing, planting, laying out the gardens and harvesting because they are the ones who create the vegetable garden.
The methods used are those defined by permaculture but also by Market Gardening on Living Soil and agroecology. Employees are thus made aware of the life of the soil, of respect for aerobic and anaerobic species which are preserved by never turning the soil and which are nourished by amending the soil.
The project in pictures
Follow our adventure!
Follow the evolution of our corporate vegetable garden on LinkedIn
