• Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Snapchat
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

MsMarmiteLover

  • Food
    • Recipes
    • Vegetarian
    • Vegan
  • Travel
    • France
    • Italy
    • Spain
    • UK
  • Wine
  • Gardens
  • Supperclubs/Events
  • About
    • Published Articles
    • Books
  • Shop
    • Cart

Longo Mai- preparatory meeting for PGA France 2006

November 24, 2005 1 Comment Filed Under: Uncategorized

re:pga France 2006

Went to the PGA meeting which was held in an annexe of Longo Mai.

Longo Mai is a community that’s been going since 1973 and is building Eco houses, from straw bale for instance. There are many families there. They try to be self-sufficient which is why they eat meat. As the location is quite high up, it is more of an animal farm in terms of agriculture. Also water is a problem there.

Meals are communal. They produce meat, veg, honey, jams, bread, herbs and essential oils which they sell in the local market in Limans. But this is becoming a problem as the French state is clamping down on small businesses producing dried herbs and oils. The official excuse is that this is for health reasons but in reality it’s because big pharmaceutical companies have ‘copyrighted’ certain herbs. Next spring they will get their own mill so they can grind their own grain for their bread (they are particularly interested in using heritage grains to produce gluten-free bread). They also have their own radio station, Radio Zinzine.

It seems to be financed by rich Swiss benefactors. There is a branch of Longo Mai in Switzerland and in also in Eastern Europe.

Everybody gets 15 euros a week pocket money for drinks and fags but if they want any other money to, say, buy clothes, they have to ask the community.
I have visited this community before and have found some of the people terribly rude and unfriendly. They seem to be very into themselves and not interested in other activists. However on getting to know some of the Longo Mai residents, they explained that the personal coldness is due to the Swiss German origins of the community. Also they wish to discourage activist tourism, that is when activists bum around the world staying in communities and squats and never give anything back or commit. This branch of Longo Mai, being in Provence, a popular tourist destination is particularly wary of that.

The conveners of this PGA are ‘les sans-titres’ or STAMP as they are called for this PGA. PGA in French is AMP so it’s s.t.(sans titres) and a.m.p. (action mondiale des peuples) together which makes …stamp!
These consist of activists from Dijon (Les tanneries) Grenoble, Geneva, St.Etienne, Lyon (La Friche), Ales and a squatted village near Ales called La Vallette.

The next PGA won’t be held at Longo Mai itself or perhaps just one bit of it. They have decided to split it up into five different locations around France, some in the city, some in the countryside. This is to avoid centralisation and an overemphasis on either urban or rural issues. It is also designed to encourage contact between activists which is thought to be harder at a larger centralised gathering. Decentralisation will also lessen the burden of provision on each site chosen. Each location will have a practical project in which people can contribute to helping, learning and interacting with the locals.

Each location would concentrate on 3 of the 5 themes to be discussed at this PGA conference.

Then at the end it is planned that everyone will meet for four days in one location. The whole thing will last around 17 days. It will need some fund raising as it costs about 15,000 euros to put on the conference.

I will be doing the translations into English so I will post translations to English speaking samba and activist lists when I receive the documents. They have a call-out for people who want to hold practical workshops such as self-building, fuel conversions to bio diesel, building unusual pedal powered vehicles, artistic projects.

In terms of the samba band, which they were all thrilled about us coming, it means that unless we have a huge amount of people going from across Europe, we will have to choose one of the locations.

Geneva and Dijon expressed interest in starting a band. Just think! When those poor people do protest marches, they just walk along silently like we did in the past… how boring. Although thinking about stuffy French cities in August it may be nicer to go to one of the rural locations.

This will all take place next August after the July anti-g8 in St Petersburg. So this will also be a time for a debrief of that meeting.

There were a couple of Russian activists at this meeting. If people are considering going to the anti-G8 in Russia, they need to be aware that Russian police are not fluffy and that Russian fascists have just killed a couple of ‘Food not Bombs’ protesters. Also be aware that visas for Russia are expensive. However the Russian activists were worried that no one would support their anti-g8 protest.

Olivier from Geneva asked if Dissent or the British would be interested in hosting the PGA in 2008, for it is bi-annual, so if anyone knows anybody from that network could they pass this message on? He was so impressed with the organisation of the g8 in Scotland.

Recent posts

Soup recipes for a broken arm

February 26, 2025

The future of farming

January 20, 2025

Poppy seed kifli pic: KERSTIN RODGERS

Hungarian poppy seed pastry ‘Kifli’ recipe

November 5, 2024

Previous Post: « France is on fire!
Next Post: Gormenghast »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. mickey

    August 24, 2017 at 8:43 am

    nice

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

MsMarmiteLover aka Kerstin Rodgers.

Chef, photographer, author, journalist, blogger. Pioneer of the supperclub movement.

This is my food and travel blog, with recipes, reviews and travel stories. I also stray into politics, feminism, gardening.

Kerstin Rodgers/MsMarmiteLover

msmarmitelover

@camilleosullivapics and @grahnort @wiltonsmusicha @camilleosullivapics and @grahnort @wiltonsmusichall god this woman is talented. She did a solo show of The Rape of Lucrece. Her voice! #theatre #shakespeare #london
My latest article on Hungarian cuisine, a unique m My latest article on Hungarian cuisine, a unique meeting of east and west, for @ckbk It's a blend of Ottoman, Eastern and middle European, Austro-Hungarian empire and cowboy food. #food&travel #foodanthropology #hungary
Made Fermented Cucumber dill pickles from @nickvad Made Fermented Cucumber dill pickles from @nickvadasz book The Pickle Jar. At @katzsdeli in New York they sell half sours and full sours. I reckon these are 3/4 sour. The white mould is fine btw. These are delicious #pickleperson #fermentation #guthealthy
London in bloom: wisteria, cherry blossom, lilac, London in bloom: wisteria, cherry blossom, lilac, plum blossom, 🌸 you don’t need to go to Japan for the Sakura season- it’s all here- london at its most beautiful. #london
Bluebell walk on Wanstead flats. The scent is incr Bluebell walk on Wanstead flats. The scent is incredible: similar to lily of the valley. These are actual English bluebells - a deeper colour & more delicate than Spanish bluebells which are rather invasive. #london #walks #april #bluebells
Snapshots from portobello rd market. Portuguese fo Snapshots from portobello rd market. Portuguese folar de pascua bread from Lisboa patisserie,  a gorgeous mosaic table from Fez, my favourite antique shop @muirshindurkin, Alice’s shop, an Easter hat, the best wisteria I wrote a substack on portobello road: https://open.substack.com/pub/kerstinrodgers/p/where-to-go-in-portobello-road-the?r=3873k&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true #london
I visited @tokyobagellondon with my granddaughter I visited @tokyobagellondon with my granddaughter yesterday to try one of their viral wobbly bunnies. We also tried the multi layer Oreo pancake cakes, the onigiri shaped croissant. My sister had the black sesame latte and I had yuzu tea. I spent £35 in a short space of time as each dessert was £5 but it was a fun experience. Ophelia said ‘lovely flowers’ which shows a degree of sophistication for a 2 year old. I preferred the strawberry to the coconut flavour . #londondaysout #grandmacore #easter
A quick high protein lunch of ratatouille with smo A quick high protein lunch of ratatouille with smoked tofu.  @pomoragoodfood olive oil then an aubergine cut into thick slices then quartered. Fry till translucent then add the chunks of red pepper. 2 fat garlic cloves sliced thinly, a block of smoked tofu in chunks, 2 bay leaves, a small handful of maldon salt. A courgette cut into thick half lengthways- then sliced into half moons. I might chuck in a handful of pantelleria capers in vinegar to give some acidity. Serve hot or cold. #sololunch #protein #vegetables
Inspired by @nickvadasz book The pickle Jar I used Inspired by @nickvadasz book The pickle Jar I used his dill pickles to make one of my favourite recipes for lunch - a potato, sour cream & pickle soup. Recipe on the blog. #soup #pickles
One of my favourite ways to eat mushrooms. Cook wh One of my favourite ways to eat mushrooms. Cook whole button mushrooms in olive oil, lemon juice, a little white wine vinegar, salt, bay leaves, whole coriander seeds, thyme, and white wine if you have it to hand. I used @pomoragoodfood olive oil. You can eat it straight away or leave it to marinate longer and eat the next day. #vegetarian #vegan #mushroomrecipe
Table side Caesar salad @maisonfrancois for @sienn Table side Caesar salad @maisonfrancois for @siennamarla birthday 🎂 #london #restaurants #caesarsalad
I went to sheffield to visit the @reclaimedbrickco I went to sheffield to visit the @reclaimedbrickcompany to look at their hand cut, wire cut and tumbled bricks for a herringbone patio. I love the historical aspect of bricks, the different quarries from different parts of the country. #patio #englishhistory story
Made brussel sprouts with pistachio pesto. The pis Made brussel sprouts with pistachio pesto. The pistachios came from Brontë in Sicily- they are the best pistachios in the world. You can make pesto with any nut: it’s usually with pine nuts but I’ve used hazelnuts, almonds (trapani), walnuts. #vegetarian #pesto #bronte
Bathroom palette: @firedearthuk scallop tiles @top Bathroom palette: @firedearthuk scallop tiles @toppstiles honed white marble skirting and dado @paintandpaperlibrary paint @sanderson1860 wallpaper this is my first rodeo when it comes to bathroom design. Follow my progress
Yesterday I cooked ( needed help with heavy pans a Yesterday I cooked ( needed help with heavy pans and pouring) pesto alle genovese. Made pesto in the vitamix: fresh basil leaves, 4 cloves garlic, 100g pecorino, 100g pine nuts, 150ml olive oil, salt, and juice of half a lemon. Whizz up.  Then cook the pasta - traditional shape is trofie but I only had fusilli. Top with small boiled potatoes and steamed green beans. Douse again with olive oil and more pine nuts. I served this with green salad with cucumber, avocado, pumpkin seeds and a mustard lemon olive oil dressing. #familylunch #sundaylunch #pestopasta #pestgenovese
Unstyled food photos no.4: butternut squash soup. Unstyled food photos no.4: butternut squash soup. Peel and cut up the butternut squash. Discard the seeds. Roast with olive oil, salt, smoked paprika in the oven for 30 minutes. Soften 2 brown onions in a deep pan with olive oil, add 3 cloves garlic minced, 3 bay leaves. Then add the veg stock powder and 1.5 litres hot water to the pan. Stir. Pour in the roast butternut squash. Cook for 10 minutes. Then remove the bay leaves and blend. Add 3 large scoops of natural yoghurt or skyr. Season to taste. Transfer back to the deep pan and serve with grated cheese, pumpkin seeds, chilli. 🌶️ #vitamix #soup #winterfood #agacooking
Unstyled food photos #3: roast cauliflower & garli Unstyled food photos #3: roast cauliflower & garlic cheese soup. Roast the cauliflower florets, unpeeled garlic cloves, one chopped brown onion in olive oil. Once golden, tip into a saucepan with a potato chopped small, 3 tbsps veg stock and 1.5 litres hot water. Boil till soft the. Add 100g cheddar. Stir then blend in a blender. Serve with grated cheese on top. #soup #vitamix #winterfood #cookingwithonehand #simplerecipes
Unstyled food photos: whole roast cauliflower with Unstyled food photos: whole roast cauliflower with ground almond crust, yoghurt, cumin, lemon juice and tahini sauce using @pomoragoodfood olive oil. First I parboiled the cauliflower then roasted it for 30 to 30 minutes with salt and olive oil in the oven. Add the ground almonds and bake for another 10 minutes. Then serve hot with the sauce. #highprotein #lowcarb #vegan #vegetarian #glutenfree
Unstyled food photos: carrot and preserved lemon s Unstyled food photos: carrot and preserved lemon soup. I’m eating a lot of soup as it’s easy to make with one hand and a vitamix. I roasted the carrots ( 1 kilo) in olive oil. Then boiled them with 2 tbsp veg stock, 1 tsp ground coriander, 1 tsp ground cumin and 2 litres hot water. For a thicker soup, add 1 tbsp of cornflour mixed with the stock juice and add. Once tender, I blended this with 2 whole preserved lemons, adding a little of the juice from the jar. Blend on medium then high. Serve with yoghurt. It’s a way of effortlessly eating a lot of vegetables in one meal. #winterfood #soup #vegetables
So hard to cook with one hand- screwing off lids, So hard to cook with one hand- screwing off lids, pouring, scraping, lifting pans. 3 more weeks with a cast. I’ve made a vegan mushroom Paprikash with cashew cream and acacia smoked paprika from a Hungarian paprika farm that I visited in October. #comfortfood #vegan #mushroom #paprikash
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Archives

Copyright © 2025 msmarmitelover