If the Aigues-Vertes Foundation site resembles a village, it is not entirely by chance, but rather a visionary educational choice.
In this village, beautiful stories unfold.
Our history, our origins
Once upon a time, there was a small village on the banks of the Rhône…
Founded in 1961 on the initiative of parents and friends of people living with an intellectual disability, the Aigues-Vertes Foundation is a non-profit institution recognized as being of public utility.
In its early days, the institution was entrusted to an anthroposophical community which developed a living space adapted to the diversity of the beneficiaries' needs: a village.
Both the village's organization and its teaching methods were already based on innovative approaches for the time.
Over the years, the site has been enriched with new buildings which have given the institution this village-like configuration.
In the early 2000s, a new administration initiated a major infrastructure redevelopment project that brought the housing stock up to accessibility standards for people with reduced mobility and made the buildings more environmentally friendly. As a result, the village's residents benefit from comfortable, safe living spaces adapted to their specific needs.
The term “village” is not insignificant for the Foundation. Indeed, the Foundation is located on a magnificent natural space and includes 20 living spaces, workshops and occupational spaces, a farm, a town hall, a chapel, a cemetery, a shop, a grocery store, a bakery, a cafe, a restaurant, sports facilities, a multi-purpose hall, conference rooms, etc.
The social and economic integration of people with intellectual disabilities has remained a core value of our institutional project. We are one of the few institutions to have a town hall presided over by a resident. This allows our beneficiaries to fully experience civic engagement.
The village reflects a real state of mind which takes concrete form in its organization as a community with participatory structures.
Here, you will hear residents who have access to language speak about "their village" in relation to the Foundation. Personal fulfillment comes from a sense of belonging, well-being, and being rooted in a place that is theirs : "This is my village."
Meeting Annie, the village's first resident
“On September 18, 1961, our first night in Aigues-Vertes, we slept in the straw. The first night at the old farmhouse (now the Bégonia house), there was snow in the bedroom. In 1962, the herd numbered three heifers. During the first winter, there was no heating. Initially, there were Serge Thomas and Jean Carroz. I arrived when we were settled in the pavilion. At first, there were six of us villagers. During the winter of 1963-64, Serge remembers skiing between the St-Jean house (now the Colline building) and the spot where the Lilas house now stands, as there were no houses there at the time. The first fuel oil tanker (30,000 liters) arrived in the village on Thursday, September 5, 1963. The village received its first bus in 1963, a donation from RTS.” In 1965, we were given two sheep as a gift. The post office started delivering mail to the house in 1965.
St-Jean. I did the laundry and ironing, and Pierrette did the cooking. The laundry was done by hand in a large cauldron.
The first shop in Aigues-Vertes opened in 1965, half café, half shop. The first tractor arrived in 1967. Before that, everything was done with a horse. For the 1967 carnival, the villagers envisioned a modern village: they imagined elevators in the houses to accommodate people in wheelchairs! In May 1968, the foundation stone of the Sirius house (now the Clochette house) was laid. Also in '68, the swimming pool was covered. When the first work began to build the garden greenhouse, the villagers discovered Roman bones and tombs; it was Wednesday, August 23, 1973. I hid the Easter bunnies in the attic for a whole year before giving them to the villagers. The first horse was named "Maurice Migros" because it had been donated by Migros. In the end, it kept only the name Maurice.
On March 27, 1967, Easter Monday, an important visit took place: that of Mrs. Humphrey, the wife of the Vice President of the United States. I didn't want to move from the Old Farm to St-Jean. I finally put all my belongings in a wheelbarrow. Before we could plow, we collected stones from the fields, truckloads and truckloads of stones. Pierrette Humbert was the first weaver. She was already weaving linens. The first weaving workshop was in the Old Great Hall. The church bell is called La Gallante. It was donated by the parents of Jeff and Gérard Galland. We dug the pipes by hand. There were no machines yet. When we arrived, there were two houses with a wooden shack.
The Old Great Hall was a former barn. The first house built, the St-Jean house, was a gift from Alain and Pierre-Edouard Senn's parents. Initially, we shared a room, two to a room. In late September or early October, all the houses participated in the potato harvest. From the very beginning, we participated in the Household Arts Fair, which was then held at the old Exhibition Hall, where Uni-Mail is now located. We sold everything we made. Every Friday afternoon, everyone helped clean the village and the common areas. At Christmas, we put on plays and played games. Initially, we held the games in the Old Great Hall. In the village, we even celebrated the weddings of our colleagues. At the time, there were already music and theater classes. We practiced hippotherapy at the Onex riding school. In 1989, the Tourmaline (Espace Bartoli) was inaugurated with the play "The Crows."
