Hello and welcome to the wonderful and weird world of ‘cave gardening’. If you’re hearing this term for the first time, don’t worry-you’re not alone.
Many people actually had no idea until they checked out the BBC’s Follow the Food show and realized the immense agricultural things happening below the streets of Paris.
And, it leaves you amazed by the stunning future of urban food production.
The Organic Mushroom Farm Happening on a Parking Lot in France
The agricultural start-up Cycloponics runs the farm known as La Caverne. It’s located in an underground parking garage which has been abandoned.
In this empty concrete area deep under the ground, a group of urban farmers produce organic mushrooms. The amount is between 220 and 440 pounds on a daily basis.
There are various types of mushrooms, including oyster, white button, and shiitakes. They also grow endive, the fourth most popular veggie in France which grows in total darkness, as well as microgreens that need LED lights.
The space releases a fusty and forest-like smell. And, it has neat rectangular bales which are suspended from the ceiling with small mushroom clusters coming out of each.
And, steam is released from the overhead pipes while the floor is less than a centimetre of water in parts.
Why Is Farming Being Done in Abandoned Parking Garages?
Back in the 70s, the officials in Paris mandated from every new residential building in Paris to have 2 parking spots per apartment; however, with the car ownership declining (in part because of Anne Hidalgo’s, the mayor, efforts to encourage public transit use rather than cars), these spots were empty.
This is where the urban mushroom farming came into the picture. The founder and CEO of Cycloponics, Jean-Noel Gertz-a thermal engineer- explains that he launched the farm back in 2017.
The first process is to grow the mushrooms in straw bales and then the straw is sterilized and incubated with mycelium. The next step is fruiting.
Food cooperatives receive the harvests which they transport using a cargo bike. La Caverne wants to offer an emission-free transport and the 10% remote deliveries done with cars are going to be electric soon.
What Are the Benefits of Growing Food beneath the Streets of a City?
The farm is located in the neighbourhood of Porte de la Chapelle under a housing complex that has more than 300 units. In fact, this area has double the poverty rate of the average one in Paris and 30 percent of residents under 25.
For more than 3 years, La Caverne is succeeding and their model has already been replicated in Bordeaux. Their next plan is to do it in Lyon. They’ll also open up two additional spots in Paris.
Farming food under the streets of the city has a lot of advantages, the most obvious being the shorter distance of the food’s travel from farm to plate.
And, La Caverne are proud of the short turnaround times that gives customers a chance to serve fresh mushrooms. Also, they strive to build strong relationships between the eaters and the farmers.
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