mon séjour en France: février 2012

Here is a free translation of an article which I read in a French journal "La décroissance"(degrowth) found accidentally in the train on my way to Strasbourg. (degrowth is the idea of an economy that would simply not grow, since people would be contented with what they have and thus would not buy more than they need. )

Henri and Roseline are 45 and 46 y.o. They are originally from the Norh of France. They've built a wooden house by the sweat of their brow in the middle of pine forest. Without neither running water, nor electricity, nor TV or mobile phone they spend their happy hours sheltered from the society of consommation.

I imagine that your roads didn't cross in the commercial centre...

Roseline: Of course not! We met each other on the football field. I was 15 years old, Henri was 16.

And it was the love from the first sight?

Henri: Exactly! At first we met each other only on the sly. We had to wait until Roseline came to age.

Roseline: The day of my 18th birthday I moved to Henri.We lived in his mother's house. We had nothing, we started off in life.

So, you aren't spoilt children as all the members of the degrowth?

Henri: Oh no! I am from a very poor family. I know the price of the sweat. I saw my father, who is originally Polish, struggling to earn some crumbs. When I was 5 he had an accident and fell in coma. He became 100% handicaped. My mother left with 4 children. It was a real galley from day to day. And I always knew that I didn't want to waste my life working.

Roseline: That's why you formed a firm caracter. At my place it wasn't easy neither. But I also learnt the value of the money quiet early. I took care of hens and of the garden. Sometimes I helped my grandmother to wash dishes.My grandfather gave me a coin and told that I should keep it till later.

Henri: One day, I had 10 francs in my pocket. I asked myself: "what is more important?" Try to earn more or being able not to spend them. For me, it was the turning point.

You've chosen not to spend them?

Henri: I've decided not to look for earning more. It was fundamental for the rest of my life. If I had spent those 10 francs, I would have to work to earn more. I would probably end up divorced with a big house, car. Instead of this, I've chosen to live in autonomy and voluntary simplicity with the maximum of liberty and a woman who I love more than everything.

What was your dream at that time?

Henri: It was to build a house. We didn't think about the degrowth yet, but we were already sensitive to ecology. There were swamps where I lived and I threw stones at the cars who run the toads over .
Roseline: We took a little flat where we didn't put the electricity. We were anti-nuclear. We went to work by bicycle.
Henri: We wanted to leave the region, ad we chose Landes with its forests, little people and possibilites for riding a bike.
Roseline: We found some little jobs, I did the chores, we were seasonals. We've learnt how to pick up mushrooms. We also guarded forest houses, Henri was a naturalist guide.
Henri: Before finding the round for building, we passed around 12 years camping.
Roseline: We lived with a vital minimum. The less space you have, the less things you need.
Henri: What we always have with us are bikes and books. In our house we have 19 m2.
Roseline: It's enough for us. We always live outside. We receive the wind, the rain, we ouch the ground. The house is just a place for a shelter, rest and eating.

How do you earn your bread?

Henri: To have some cash, we sell mushrooms, honey, hens or cocks, woods. In majority, our food comes from kitchen garden, beehive, henhouse and fruit trees. With our knowledge, we manage to supply ourselves with bread free of charge. We also exchange some products with our neighbours. The rabbit which we ate Wednesday was exhanged for a little wood with our neighbour. We sometimes take things that were neglected by other people. To live as we do, you should have gumption and imagination. Besides, for me the degrowh is not a laze. It's already a form of resistance which implies mental and physical forces... Our style of life is a form of resistance. We had a period of activism, but we know perfectly well that the objection to "the growth" is more important. It's more enhancive and it's also less dangerous! (laughes)
... The trips by bicycle are the part of our life philosophy.We like to go to meet people, landscapes, the faune and the flore.
Roseline: When we leave for a long time, we disperse the hens to the left and to the right, to friends, and when we come back, we take them back. We made a tour around Europe by bike two years ago, destination North Cape before going down to Greece by passing Baltic countries, Romania...
Henri: We never settle some definite route. We leave with some money, but we try not to use them.
Roseline: We watch the life of people and we try to do the same.
Henri: The trip if the continuity of what we live sedentary. We just have the luxury to meet unknown people.

Is there something you could not live without?

Henri: Without seeing each other!

Roseline: Yes, living one without another.

Henri: To live like this, it's better to be two.

Roseline: Otherwise, it's too difficult.

The last message to convey, maybe?

Roseline: People lower their arms too easily, though it is exigent to move forward.

Henri: You are not revolutionary when you abuse alcohol or smoking. I think that it demotivates and prevents to take a new look at oneself, to seem credible. You should be aware of the fact that it involves certain dependance, which is contrary to the very principal of the degrowth. As for me, the voluntary simplicity is the extraodinary weapon to fight against the capitalist system.

collected by Catherine Thumann