imagined-community

La Sabranenque is a French organization founded in 1969 to promote the restoration of rural medieval structures. To my mind, the mission of La Sabranenque is to preserve the beauty and harmony of traditional Provençal architecture by restoring, maintaining, and conserving historic buildings; to raise public awareness about the unique qualities of Provençal architecture by training volunteers in the use of original materials and traditional building techniques; to promote a deeper understanding of the relationship between building techniques, traditional architecture, and the environment; and to educate the public about the rewards of natural building. The Sabraneque volunteer compound is located in Saint Victor la Coste, a village located about 25 minutes northwest of Avignon. I volunteered for two weeks, from Monday, September 17 through Saturday, September 29.

My first day volunteering with La Sabranenque began late Monday afternoon. At 4:00 p.m. I met our volunteer coordinator Sarah at the Avignon train station (Sabranenque does a volunteer pickup at both Avignon center and Avignon TGV). Along with 4 other volunteers, I climbed into a rugged white van that took us directly to Saint Victor la Coste. (Luckily, I hadn’t brought much luggage, since we did have a bit of an uphill climb from the parking lot to Sabranenque.) At La Sabranenque, we met the rest of the volunteers, who were seated outside at a large table. After introductions we snacked on grapes and sipped coffee and tea. The initial icebreaker over, Sarah showed us our houses and assigned us roommates. At 7:30 p.m. everyone gathered for a homemade meal outside on the patio.

Read more about the volunteer work at Sabranenque tomorrow….