The Hameau des Rosiers, a participatory eco-community in the Cèze Valley
- Par nbesse
- Le 31/10/2025
- Dans Living in Uzès and around
FR - A “participatory, intergenerational, and inclusive eco-community in a rural setting” promoting the values of mutual aid, transmission and sharing, the Hameau des Rosiers project is led by the DYNAMIS association and supported by the Monastère de Solan endowment fund.
To find out more, our editorial team went to meet Sister Claire from the Monastery of Solan and Madeleine Mutel from the DYNAMIS association.
Let's visit
A participatory and intergenerational eco-community... A brief presentation?
The concept behind Le Hameau des Rosiers is simple and in line with the philosophy of other intergenerational structures that are becoming increasingly common in France: bringing together several generations in a community with housing and shared spaces that support social life, to combat isolation and continue to forge bonds within an environment that encourages sharing.
It also meets the housing needs of younger people, who face a shortage of rental properties in a region heavily influenced by tourism.
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"France has more than 2,000,000 elderly people for whom old age is synonymous with exclusion, heartbreak, and uprooting. More than 500,000 of them are in a situation of severe social isolation, left to fend for themselves. Every year, too many lonely, destitute people who are losing their independence are forced to leave their homes, their neighbors, their simple everyday pleasures to move into an anonymous medical facility where they will find none of their habits, values, or world.
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The Hameau des Rosiers is “Living at home without being alone”
Indeed, the Hameau des Rosiers is an innovative alternative to institutionalized facilities (retirement homes, nursing homes, etc.). It will eventually comprise eleven homes adapted for elderly people with reduced mobility or disabilities and seven for families, couples, or independent singles who care for the former.
They will have shared spaces that encourage socializing (meeting and activity rooms, quiet areas, guest rooms, a workshop, a laundry room, a large garden, and an organic vegetable garden cultivated using agroecology methods).
Support for people who are losing their independence will be organized in partnership with local medical and social professionals who provide home care.
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In 2025, the national movement Habitat Participatif France awarded the Hameau des Rosiers 'Habiter les Vieillesses Autrement label', thus recognizing the collective's in-depth reflection on the needs of people with reduced independence.
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The Hameau des Rosiers is a place based on exchange and mutual aid between people of all ages, enabling them to live, grow, and age with respect for each person's freedom and privacy, according to their needs.
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A project near Saint-Laurent-la-Vernède
For this project, a large building plot near the town center was essential. In Saint-Laurent-la-Vernède, such a location had been waiting for 30 years an initiative like this, its owner having refused several purchase offers from developers.
No other housing will be added to the 18 units that will count the Hameau des Rosiers, as we have reached the maximum capacity of the land.
But... why not consider indeed expanding the concept, perhaps, although this is not on the agenda right now. Nevertheless, none will be built in the immediate vicinity.
A participatory community project?
Yes, Le Hameau des Rosiers is a participatory project. All residents are actively involved in the architectural design, the choice of operating procedures, and the management of the hamlet. When it opens in 2028, residents will be actively involved in their environment on a daily basis and will be full members of the collective behind the project.
The Hameau des Rosiers is much more than a real estate project. It is a social project that paves the way for a different way of living: more supportive, more sustainable, and more vibrant. It invites us to believe in the power of the collective and to build, starting today, the conditions for a better life for all.
“Solidarity, citizenship, ecology”
The Hameau's environmental approach is at the heart of the project. Construction will be carried out in an eco-responsible manner using local bio-sourced materials: straw, wood, and earth. Plans include rainwater harvesting, appropriate vegetation for the land and buildings, environmentally friendly energy solutions, and architectural simplicity to limit the artificialization of the environment.
This approach echoes the ideas of Pierre Rabhi, a regular guest speaker at conferences held at the Monastery of Solan, a pioneer of agroecology, and founder of the Colibri citizen action movement, which aims to connect personal transition with societal transition.
The Hameau des Rosiers and the Monastery of Solan endowment fund
The Hameau des Rosiers and the Monastery of Solan endowment fund are, above all, a partnership to lighten the project's land costs. While the total cost of the project will ultimately amount to €4,360,000, by June 2026, the sum of €650,000, included in the total cost, must be raised in order to acquire and develop the 6,100 m² plot of land, ideally located 200 m from the village center.
A preliminary sales agreement has been signed with the Monastère de Solan endowment fund, which aims to support the creation of inclusive intergenerational housing. This land will be made available to the Dynamis association, which is leading the project, with a long-term lease allowing it to build Le Hameau des Rosiers.
The current fundraising campaign is intended to purchase the land. The funds collected by the endowment fund will be added to the personal contributions of the founding members and future residents, subsidies from mutual insurance companies, pension funds, local authorities, and charitable foundations, and bank or solidarity loans, which will be repaid through rent.
The Dynamis Association
Created in 2022, the Dynamis Association promotes, supports, experiments with, and democratizes a new form of inclusive housing, combining shared and supported housing for elderly or disabled people with families.
The association was conceived for the Hameau des Rosiers as the first intergenerational inclusive housing project, but with the possibility of sharing this pioneering idea and/or serving as an example for other similar projects.
Are partnerships and collaborations also planned with associations, organizations, and institutions in the Gard region?
Partnerships are indeed being studied or considered, notably with the Escale du CRT de l'Escalette project, the ADAO Association, the EHPAD les Cistes and the Pierre Mendès France Intercommunal Social Center (both in Saint-Quentin-la-Poterie), as well as associations in the village of Saint-Laurent-la-Vernède, the school, and the library. However, these partnerships will only be established once the land has been acquired.
We also plan to participate in local events organized by local associations and the village town hall, to be a source of new ideas for activities, and to open the site to people from the village who would like to participate in the activities organized at Le Hameau des Rosiers.
Many thanks to Sister Claire from the Monastery of Solan and Madeleine Mutel for their collaboration on this article.
For more information: The Hameau des Rosiers, Association Dynamis. Find Le Hameau des Rosiers on Instagram, Facebook, Photographs©AnaïsBoileau.