Isolated Brittany island seeks new farming family
A small island off the coast of Finistère is searching for a new family to live and work on a self-sufficient farm - the only permanently-inhabited property on the island.
The 30-hectare island of Quéménès is seeking replacement residents to take over the smallholding, which has been owned by the Conservatoire du Littoral (the French Coastal Protection Agency) since 2003, and is currently home to a couple and their two children, who are set to leave in January.
This Tweet shows the location of the island, which is just off the Brittany coast
The property is the only house on the island - and the family the only residents - except for the tourist gite, as well as a number of outhouses, farming sheds, an old sheep pen, a water well, stables, and an old bread oven.
The current family has tried to keep the farm as independent as possible, and keep sheep and pigs, and grow potatoes. They also take charge of any tourists visiting the island, and run the nearby guesthouse ‘gîte’.
The new residents will be bound by the terms of a contract requiring them to agree to the ‘development of an economically viable project’ that ‘respects natural spaces and wild spaces’, and generally ‘preserves the environment’ when it comes to waste and consuming drinking water. They will also need to welcome and look after tourists.
The Conservatoire du Littoral has already received around 15 offers, but will continue to accept them until September.
The new family contract is set to be signed in October, with the new family committing to live on the island for at least six to nine years.
