Their names are Florent, Selma, Thomas and Ana. Aged between 27 and 37, they studied audiovisual, political science, business and agronomy, and then one day decided to take the plunge and go into market gardening.
What do they have in common? They each had the opportunity to work with Baptiste Saulnier and Vanessa Correa, co-founders of Cultive, during their respective careers, whether at the Jardin-potager de Chambord or Une Ferme du Perche.
While more and more non-agricultural people are turning to this profession, the questions are numerous! So Cultive has invited them to a webinar for an informal discussion with those who are wondering, to understand their choice of transition and the steps they took to get there.
What triggered your interest?
“It happened while my partner and I were woofing around the world. I'm a city kid and I'd never had access to a garden, so on the 1st evening when the hosts suggested we go and help ourselves directly to the vegetable garden for our dinner, I thought “What? You can harvest vegetables just like that?” I knew it was possible, but I'd never done it before. So it was a bit of a shock for me. At that stage, I didn't know if I wanted to become a market gardener, but I knew I wanted to learn how to grow vegetables. So as soon as we got back home, we immediately looked into taking some training courses to explore this further.” - Thomas, 35, business school graduate and now self-employed as a market gardening trainer
“The 1st season I did at Une Ferme du Perche was a time when I wanted to try something, but I had no idea where it was going to take me. There were a lot of unknowns, but what really clicked for me was realizing the reality of the job and the versatility it required. It was so diverse! Sales, production, team management... I very quickly found myself in a wide variety of situations where I had to be able to adapt. In the end, it was being on the farm that I felt most like an agricultural engineer: observing, testing, the technical nature of the job also appealed to me very quickly.” Ana, trained agricultural engineer and market gardener
“The versatility of the job also played a part in my decision to join! And the quality of life at work: being outside, getting away from the office. It stimulated things in me that my previous professional life didn't offer. In the end, being a market gardener is a bit like the whole job: you have to manage technical, commercial and sanitary aspects...”. Florent, market gardener at La Ferme de Gonnies after several years in audiovisual production
What obstacles have you encountered in your transition? Social, family, financial...?
“Let's just say that my mother's “All that for this!” was not necessarily easy to accept. I had taken out loans to finance my studies and I was still in debt during my trip, but I think you have to be prepared for these shocks, without forgetting that for a sentence like that, there are 70 people behind you! Another point to watch out for is managing the financial transition: don't underestimate the fact that you have a given pace of life, and realize that the fork in the road is going to have an impact on that, so you can plan ahead. For me, in any case, it was important to move forward serenely. Thomas
“When you've been to university, your parents can expect you to go in that direction, it's true, but as I hadn't worked yet, it wasn't a subject on my side! On the other hand, it's interesting to see that at Une Ferme du Perche, we have a lot of overqualified people who come to work even though they had a comfortable lifestyle and generous financial conditions, and yet they choose market gardening! After that, as I'm not settled and I'm salaried, it's a comfort too. There's a lot of talk about setting up, and people want to be self-employed, but I think there's a lot to be done on other farms too. Today, it's a balance that I like. Selma, Director and partner at Une Ferme du Perche, after a master's degree in political science.
“Over and above the obstacles, I think you also have to take the time to accept the fact that you're changing careers. It's a process! It doesn't mean giving up what you've done before, but it's an extra step. And the further along I get, the more I realize that what I did before feeds into what I'm doing now.” Florent
What training choices did you make?
“For my part, I chose practical experience by going abroad to work on farms - first in Norway, then in Sweden at Ridgedale Farm - also because I couldn't get my BPREA financed, and after 5 years of study I needed action and field experience! And I don't regret it, because having the rhythm, the pace, the eye on what you're doing in the field, only practice allows you to do that I think.” Selma
“I had already oriented my career towards agronomy, and with my organic prep school, it helped me a lot afterwards. I appreciated having this agronomic knowledge before practicing, to make the links and understand better when you get down to the practical side. On the other hand, I think you also have to accept that you can't know everything - there are so many things to master! It's a never-ending process of adaptation. That's where I think practice is essential: to experience different seasons, different situations...”. Ana
“I chose to do the BPREA over 9 months because I wanted to give myself enough time to make the switch. But after my 10-week internship, I wasn't yet ready to set up my own business, and that's when I joined the Jardin-potagers de Chambord project led by Baptiste Saulnier: they were looking for people with an entrepreneurial spirit, not just market gardeners/farm workers, to set up the project, and that spoke to me! It was a great experience. It also made me realize how much I could put my previously acquired skills to good use in my new job, for example, using Excel to do crop planning! After that, I took a 1-year internship at Paysan Créatif to see other farms and learn about other systems. In short, it all takes time, and setting up a farm is so complex that it can't be learned in 3 days! Thomas
The final word?
“The human experience again and again, it's not an adventure that can be lived alone! I had the image of a market gardener who's no fun, withdrawn into himself, but in fact I met some great people, and they were the ones who carried me through!” Florent
“If you're going into training, do it with a lot of humility! Open your ears wide!You'll make your own decisions later." Thomas
“Our working tool is our body.We're going to get to know it, and sometimes abuse it too. You have to be prepared for that!” Selma
How to become a market gardener?
If you're looking for training, there's still time to join the 1st Cultive class, which starts on January 6 2025 !
Cultive is a unique training program for future market gardeners who want to set up profitable organic farms where life is good.
At a time when 60 to 70% of market gardeners are closing their doors within 4-5 years for lack of a viable economic model, and when 50% of our farmers are due to retire by 2030, there is an urgent need to set up and support projects that will contribute to the food resilience of our regions.
In concrete terms, the Cultive career path is based on :
- a proven method inspired by agro-ecology and bio-intensive farming
- practical training and hands-on experience as levers for solid, accelerated skills development
- personalized project support throughout the first 5 years of operation
- a network of players committed to the economic sustainability of farms.
2035 targets :
- 900 apprentices trained
- 510 farms set up and perpetuated