{"id":3704,"date":"2019-01-19T09:31:29","date_gmt":"2019-01-19T07:31:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.charleroi-metropole.be\/?p=3704"},"modified":"2019-01-30T11:06:35","modified_gmt":"2019-01-30T09:06:35","slug":"the-basket-of-vegetables-healthy-sustainable-and-creates-a-social-relationship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cm-site.fidelodev.be\/en\/the-basket-of-vegetables-healthy-sustainable-and-creates-a-social-relationship\/","title":{"rendered":"The basket of vegetables: healthy, sustainable and creates a social relationship"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ferme du Trieu Gilson, Gerpinnes<\/h2>\n

In the borough of Gerpinnes, at\u00a0Ferme du Trieu Gilson<\/a> in Joncret, Denis Dal and his partner Nathalie Bodart produce vegetables for 300 families whilst respecting the environment. These local market gardeners explain why the baskets of vegetables are an ethical and sustainable solution for eating high-quality food.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u2018We find about 7 types of different vegetables in the basket: lettuce, flat-leaf parsley, aubergines, fennel, tomatoes… All for 10 euros. \u00a0The vegetables are fresh, I have just been to pick them\u2019<\/em>, explains Denis Dal, 37 years old, market gardener for about ten years.<\/p>\n

For him, the baskets of vegetables are one of the solutions for the future, both for his profession and for the quality of our food.<\/p>\n

\"Dal-Gerpinnes-l\u00e9gumes-saison\"
Denis Dal produces seasonal vegetables organically in Gerpinnes<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Locally-sourced thanks to baskets of vegetables<\/h2>\n

Nothing predestined Denis Dal, who was educated in art, to produce vegetables. However, this thirty-year-old was immediately hooked when he started to grow some vegetables in his mother\u2019s garden in Joncret.\u00a0\u2018I distributed vegetables from left to right, to various friends, until they wanted to pay me for what I gave them. It was then that I decided to produce vegetables professionally. \u00a0I learnt everything on the job\u2019<\/em>, says Denis Dal.<\/p>\n

Little by little, Denis Dal started to grow larger quantities. \u00a0He found his first customers in Brussels via the Gasap network, les Groupes d\u2019Achats Solidaires de l\u2019Agriculture Paysanne [Small Farmers\u2019 Sales Support Network]. \u00a0\u2018Several friends from Brussels were looking for a local producer, so I suggested Denis\u2019 vegetables, they immediately accepted\u2019<\/em>, explains Nathalie, educational social worker and supportive spouse.<\/p>\n

The principle of Gasap is quite simple: they offer baskets of organic vegetables for direct sale without an intermediary. \u00a0The consumers are in contact with producers at the time of delivery and in participative projects, organised one to two times per year. \u00a0\u2018We welcome the Gasap to pick potatoes or to make apple juice, for example\u2019<\/em>, says Nathalie.<\/p>\n

Customers gather around a producer of seasonal vegetables<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In addition to the organic quality of the vegetables, the baskets represent a social relationship between the producer and consumers, as well as a long-term commitment. Customers commit at the start of the year to take baskets for the full season. Denis Dal can therefore concentrate on producing the vegetables which will be eaten by these customers.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, in addition to the social relationship, the vegetables are local. They are produced in Joncret. The delivery transport time is therefore very short and the products have no packaging. Currently, Denis Dal and Nathalie Bodart supply 250 to 300 baskets every fortnight in Brussels.<\/p>\n

Developing Greater Charleroi\u2019s local economy<\/h2>\n

By choosing the baskets, you are also choosing local economic development. \u00a0After having looked in Brussels, Denis Dal and Nathalie Bodart finally found happiness in the borough of Gerpinnes: affordable agricultural land, as well as a farm. \u2018We lived in Brussels, but there it was impossible to run a market gardening business: agricultural land is too expensive, farms are exorbitant. \u00a0In Joncret, we found land and a farm that suited our needs\u2019<\/em>, says Denis Dal.<\/p>\n

Finding affordable agricultural land was possible in Greater Charleroi<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Currently, Denis Dal and Nathalie Bodart grow produce in 6 hectares. \u00a0They have built 9 greenhouses on their land. \u00a0They distribute their vegetables via baskets and a small farm shop, open on Fridays from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. in their barns. \u2018The vegetables that we sell directly are the same price as elsewhere, as the producers, it\u2019s we who set the prices and not the intermediaries who could negotiate a profit margin\u2019<\/em>, explains Nathalie Bodart, manager of the small shop.<\/p>\n

Buying baskets from a local market gardener guarantees local jobs, vegetables at a fair price and the region\u2019s economic development. \u00a0In the future, these market gardeners are looking to develop a network for depositing the baskets in Greater Charleroi. \u00a0The\u00a0Ceinture Alimentaire<\/a>\u00a0[food belt] of Greater Charleroi is also a significant resource for them.<\/p>\n

\"Denis-l\u00e9gumes-gerpinnes-culture-terre\"
Denis Dal produces his vegetables whilst respecting the land, in particular by applying the crop rotation principle<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Focusing on sustainable agriculture<\/h2>\n

Vegetable production through baskets is designed according to sustainable logic. The vegetables are produced whilst respecting the environment. Denis Dal grows his produce without chemical input, he uses natural fertilisers (compost, manure, etc.), lets the land rest and practises crop rotation so as not to deplete the soil.<\/p>\n

He is thinking about long-term agriculture. \u2018It\u2019s important to respect the land, it ensures that the vegetables will taste good\u2019<\/em>, Denis tells us.<\/p>\n

What\u2019s more, the baskets prevent food waste. Only the vegetables sold will be picked. This method of consumption limits the surplus of vegetables and inefficient ways of storing them, such as fridges, for example.<\/p>\n

At the end of the day, if the vegetable baskets can change some consumers\u2019 attitude to the normal method of consumption (in particular, we are thinking about well-stocked vegetable shelves), they represent a significant solution for the future.<\/p>\n

The vegetable baskets prevent food waste, long transport periods and inefficient storage methods.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

Contact\u00a0:<\/strong>
\nFerme du Trieu Gilson
\nDenis Dal
\nRue du Trieu Gilson 22
\n6280 Joncret
\n+32 (0)475 31 24 69
\nOn Facebook<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a9Video\/Reed & Alex Dossogne<\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ferme du Trieu Gilson, Gerpinnes In the borough of Gerpinnes, at\u00a0Ferme du Trieu Gilson in Joncret, Denis Dal and his partner Nathalie Bodart produce vegetables for 300 families whilst respecting the environment. These local market gardeners explain why the baskets of vegetables are an ethical and sustainable solution for eating high-quality food. \u2018We find about […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1402,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[400,172],"tags":[45,257,293,262,258,303,256,274,259,333,128,118,22,43,161,115,127,39],"class_list":["post-3704","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-eat-local","category-economic-dynamism","tag-artisan","tag-autres-en-2","tag-autres-en-20","tag-autres-en-6","tag-autres-en-3","tag-autres-en-23","tag-autres-en","tag-autres-en-12","tag-autres-en-4","tag-autres-en-30","tag-ecology","tag-health","tag-local","tag-nature","tag-organic","tag-region","tag-sustainable","tag-vegan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cm-site.fidelodev.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3704"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cm-site.fidelodev.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cm-site.fidelodev.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cm-site.fidelodev.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cm-site.fidelodev.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3704"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/cm-site.fidelodev.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3704\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4259,"href":"https:\/\/cm-site.fidelodev.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3704\/revisions\/4259"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cm-site.fidelodev.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1402"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cm-site.fidelodev.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3704"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cm-site.fidelodev.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3704"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cm-site.fidelodev.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3704"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}