[Go Green] Festivalito Into this Wood

Far from anywhere, deep in the Ardennes’ forest, public transport stops 16 km from the valley. To avoid excessive car traffic, we have set up car-sharing schemes, as well as walking and cycling routes to promote slow-tourism. To our great surprise, we've even had people arriving in horse-drawn carriages, testimony to an experience that goes beyond the Festivalito and includes the journey to get there. Immersion in nature reinforces the desire for quality, authenticity and a more conscious way of life. We're part of a growing number of people who want to be an example of the politics of transition, and who see sustainability as a self-evident goal. Out of conviction, the Festivalito makes use of local resources by favouring short circuits with local producers. In line with this model of transition, the site uses spring water and has a vegetable garden developed on the principles of permaculture; a way of promoting more environmentally-friendly approaches. Workshops were also on offer, with the aim of encouraging the circular economy, the development of self-reliance and survival techniques, as part of a dynamic of awareness-raising and lifelong education. The forecast of rain was an organisational struggle, but having previously feared another summer of drought, it came as a godsend. At the start of August, festival-goers were well and truly warned and turned up in large numbers, fully equipped. In this even brighter green setting, the cataclysm was transformed into an 'ode to life': feet in the river, hands around the fire or in the cocoon of an umbrella - listening intensified.

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(General Editor: Simon Mundy)