Arriving from Digne or from the lake of Castillon. Just after the roundabout called “rond point du Casino“. You will see on your left a pretty Provençal building restored to its original style. And well stop! The house of local products of the gorges of the verdon awaits you!
A house of local products of country of the verdon
The House of local products of the Verdon opened its doors in Castellane in June 2021. It gathers about forty agricultural producers and craftsmen. The building chosen is an old sheepfold of more than 200 m2 entirely restored for the cause. The House of local products of the Verdon is the ideal setting to come and meet the many skills. Local know-how, developed on the Verdon territory.
This house of Country wants to be like an economic keystone. It must contribute to the perpetuation of existing activities. But it must also support new emerging activities. It must also meet the expectations of both local and visiting customers.
Birth of the House of local products of the Gorges du Verdon
First of all, the association of the “Maison de produits de pays des Gorges du Verdon” was created. An association whose purpose was to create the House of local products in Castellane. It gathered the local economic actors wishing to invest in the future of the house of local products. An intelligent status that allowed the project to be set up at a lower cost. Indeed, all the files related to the rehabilitation, to the fitting out of the building as well as the various missions related to it were led by the future occupants of this space.
It is a project which was born thanks to an intense collaboration between various structures. The association of the members, the Chambers of Agriculture of the Alpes de Haute Provence and the Var and the delegation 04 of the regional Chamber of trades Provence Alpes Côte d’Azur. This House of local products is a real tool for local economic development. The development of the building made available by the town of Castellane has been economically supported by the community of municipalities Alpes Provence Verdon.
House of local products already offers many local products; pottery, jewelry, textiles, knives, paintings, essential oils, cosmetics, soaps. But also; Vegetables, delicatessen, cheeses, preserves, cookies, wine, beer, jams, honey, fruit juice, meat…
There is also a repair shop for neoprene suits. The white water activities are now part of the “services of the country”!
A project that almost remained on hold
Indeed, during the Municipal Council of Friday, June 12, 2020, the mayor of Castellane, presented the project of the House of Country Products which was carried by the former municipality so that the new elected officials take note of this file.
Thus, the municipal building of the Jas, which formerly housed the municipal technical services, was to be made available to the Community of Communes via a free agreement with no time limit. The Community of Communes would be responsible for undertaking the renovation work. After rehabilitation, the building was to be made available to an association of about twenty producers from the area. The association would agree to pay an annual rent of 12 000€ for a period of twelve years to the Community of Communes. This would cover the repayment of the loan taken out to carry out the work.
Once this presentation was made, the mayor made it clear that the previous municipality had somewhat sold off this communal building since Castellane did not get any consideration for it on paper. Moreover, he feared that the building would be in unfair competition with the village’s merchants. The mayor then indicated that he wished to establish a new agreement with the community of communes but that he would give in rather than scuttle the project. History seems to indicate that he did give in.