Gisy Farm, Abundance at the Gates of Paris

After our first WWOOF experience at Les Racines d’Or in eastern France, our second stop took us to the outskirts of Paris, in the small town of Bièvres, for a one-day visit. After two weeks in Brittany followed by several days enduring Paris’ early summer heatwave, we were craving exactly one thing: being back in the fields, learning alongside passionate growers and reconnecting with the living world.

We chose La Ferme de Gisy for two reasons. First, because it can be reached by public transport in less than an hour from central Paris. Second, because we were fascinated by what it represented. The idea that market gardeners could make a living just outside one of Europe’s largest cities seemed almost too good to be true. And yet, what could be more logical than producing fresh food close to the people who eat it?

A Farm Born from Career Changes and a Shared Vision

Today, La Ferme de Gisy cultivates almost three hectares of certified organic vegetables. But the adventure only began in 2021 on less than one hectare.

The farm is the result of two very different life stories converging around a common purpose. François was an agricultural teacher and later led organisational change projects in the social housing sector. After years away from farming, he felt called back to the land with the ambition of rebuilding the connection between city dwellers and the people growing their food. Nicolas followed a very different path. He worked as an engineer on the Ariane 5 rocket programme and the International Space Station before managing industrial improvement projects across France and overseas. Confronted by the ecological and climate crises, he decided in 2020 to leave the aerospace industry and dedicate his energy to something that felt more directly connected to life.

The two met through environmental and community organisations where people and ecology were placed at the centre of every action. Together, they imagined an agroecological market garden that could help restore the historic market garden belt that once supplied Paris with fresh food throughout the nineteenth century.

After visiting more than ten potential sites, they finally found the perfect piece of land. The municipality of Bièvres, which owned an abandoned agricultural parcel left uncultivated for many years, launched a public call for proposals to support the creation of an organic farm. Their project was selected, and the adventure began.

Their ambition extends far beyond producing beautiful vegetables. They also want to create meaningful jobs where market gardeners can earn a fair living, reduce the physical strain of farming through thoughtful ergonomics and organisation, mentor future growers, supply food exclusively through short supply chains, and reconnect local communities with high-quality, locally grown food.

What’s Growing at the Farm?

By the end of June, despite two consecutive heatwaves, the fields were abundant with food.

The first red and yellow tomatoes were ripening, zucchinis seemed to multiply overnight, eggplants promised generous harvests, while cucumbers, baby leeks, onions, garlic and lettuces completed the landscape. Some crops, especially the lettuces, were already struggling under the unusually high temperatures, a reminder of how closely farming remains tied to the changing climate.

The harvest is sold almost entirely within a twenty-kilometre radius through vegetable box subscriptions for more than one hundred families, local organic shops, Biocoop stores and community-supported agriculture schemes (AMAPs).

To strengthen the long-term resilience of the farm, the team has also diversified its activities by producing honey, hosting corporate seminars, offering training in intensive organic market gardening and welcoming aspiring growers who want to test the profession before starting their own farms.

What We Did in a Day

Mondays are one of the busiest days on the farm. After an entire weekend of uninterrupted growth, hundreds of kilograms of vegetables are ready to be harvested before deliveries begin.

Our morning started by picking around twenty crates of zucchinis, more than one hundred eggplants and almost thirty kilograms of tomatoes. We then removed the suckers from the outdoor tomato plants, which had quickly grown into thick bushes, before weeding young leeks using hand tools designed to make the work more efficient.

As in our first WWOOF experience, we rediscovered the satisfying balance between precision, physical work and constant observation. Behind every vegetable harvested lies a series of small decisions taken at exactly the right moment.

Lunch became another highlight of the day. Around the table sat Antoine and Nicolas, an engineering intern, a lawyer retraining through an agricultural diploma, another WWOOF explorer, and the two of us. The tomatoes and zucchinis we had harvested only hours earlier were already on our plates. Meals like these are just as valuable as the work itself. They create space for conversations where different life stories meet, doubts are shared openly, and dreams slowly begin to feel possible.

What We’ll Remember

This visit strengthened a belief that career-changing market gardeners do exist, they can build economically viable farms, and most importantly, they genuinely seem happy.

The three partners have brought the skills from their previous careers with them to create a thriving model. Organisation, project management, teaching, budgeting, documentation and systems thinking now work alongside the practical skills they acquired through agricultural training and a few years of hands-on experience.

Their work is far from easy. Heatwaves arrive earlier each year, crops remain vulnerable, customers have diverse expectations, price negotiation can be tough, and working with living systems always involves uncertainty. Yet none of them seemed to miss office life. Even in winter, Nicolas told us with a smile.

We also discovered an installation model that deeply inspired us. Rather than purchasing farmland and beginning their journey under heavy debt, the farm was made possible through a partnership with a municipality committed to lending agricultural land and supporting local food production.

It reminded us that perhaps the farms of tomorrow will not always be built by individuals working alone, but through collaborations between growers, local governments and communities. A hopeful model that continues to shape our own reflections.

The Mana of This Place

The mana of La Ferme de Gisy lies in the beautiful meeting point between city and nature:

• Magnificent vegetables thriving despite the heatwaves.
• Pollinators dancing inside zucchini flowers.
• An organic farm accessible by public transport from Paris.
• Hundreds of local families eating vegetables grown only a few kilometres from their homes.
• Former office workers who now spend their days growing food and caring for living soil.
• A beautiful timber farm building insulated with straw, thoughtfully designed to care for both vegetables and the people working there.
• And finally, a shared lunch prepared with vegetables harvested that very morning.