Les Voisins de Paniers: Buying local online

December 2008

Before becoming a new volunteer in the Dublin Food Co-op, I was a member of another Food Association, in Brittany, Northern France, in the county of Cotes d'Armor. Set up in April 2004, this French Association, called Les Voisins de Paniers, was founded by a group of friends, who wanted to offer an alternative way to sell and supply organic produce. The association promotes local agriculture in order to protect both animals and the environment. You're probably asking yourself what Les Voisins de Paniers means. I'm sorry but I can't give you a direct translation from French to English. But I think you will discover its true meaning by reading this article.

The structure of the French Association is quite similar to that of the Dublin Food Co-op. However, it offers another way to buy local and organic produce. Unlike the Dublin Food Co-op, Les Voisins de Paniers, doesn't have a weekly trading day. It sells its products on its website: www.voisinsdepaniers.org. This website provides a lot of information about the association's producers. A products list is also on-line, from which you can choose your purchases. You simply fill in an order form and send it in by email before Tuesday of each week. The order is put in a shopping basket and dropped off to the store, closest to your home. The shopping baskets are delivered to the customers' designated stores every Friday evening or Saturday morning and there are approximately eleven of these stores in the area.

Les Voisins de Paniers originated when a group of friends decided to offer an alternative to the traditional supermarket method of supplying and selling food. Most of the group were already members of cultural or environmental associations and had a large network of friends. This gave them the confidence to set up their own association, Les Voisins de Paniers, and to involve more people from their locality. Les Voisins de Paniers has two hundred members and seven hundred non-members have used its on-line facilities. People can purchase items from the on-line store three times without actually becoming a member. But you can only purchase further items by paying a membership fee of €25. The association has a Board of Management, made up of six members.

The association supports around thirty local producers and offers its members all sorts of products, which come from local farmers, such as fresh and seasonal fruits and vegetables as well as milk, eggs, pasta and meat. Home-made dishes cakes and desserts are also available - chocolate mousse, yogurts, jam etc.

The association offers advice and encouragement to all its producers. The purpose of Les Voisins de Paniers is to source locally-produced food items, organic or non-organic. The association believes that the importation of organic products has a harmful effect on the environment. The association gives financial support to the producers every year, to the amount of 88% of its annual turnover (approximately €200,000 annually). The association is keen to spread its message and staff are always on hand to answer questions and give information about developments and initiatives that have made Les Voisins de Paniers what it is today.

Linda le Metayer (Co-op Member)