After a two-year cycling adventure, he launched his farm in Marmande

Since May 16, Loris Baruzier has been selling the products he grows on his farm in Marmande, at the Jardin des Sables.

From Iran to Marmande in just a few months: that's the path taken by Loris Baruzier. Having settled in Lot-et-Garonne for about a year, the 35-year-old entrepreneur has an extraordinary career path. Born in the Paris region, he then headed to Vaucluse with a BTS in horticultural production to launch a market gardening business.

Although he had the opportunity to advance by partnering with his employer, Loris finally decided to set off on an adventure in January 2022. Following a first cycling tour of France previously completed as part of woofing (working on an organic farm in exchange for room and board), he pushed the boundaries by heading further east. “For two years, I crossed Europe,” explains the adventurer. “I stopped for eight months in Greece, where I harvested olives and pruned olive trees, then I toured the Peloponnese. Then, I crossed Turkey, and went up through Georgia, all the way to Iran. I had in mind to go to Mongolia, but the visa application for the next country, Turkmenistan, was complicated.”

At 35, the man who grew up in the Paris region already has a wealth of experience in market gardening. A love for nature that was born in the Périgord countryside. "I grew up in the city, my only contact with the countryside was during the holidays. My grandfather had a house in Montignac," he says.

Following this crazy adventure spanning thousands of kilometers, Loris Baruzier returned to France. In the end, he didn't settle in Vaucluse, but in Lot-et-Garonne, in Marmande: "The owner bought it three years ago. We met in Avignon," explains the thirty-year-old. "I visited him, we talked, and the project came together quickly. He rents me the land that I farm."

In just a few months, the Jardin des Sables was established, starting with a simple individual plot. Since then, the site has evolved drastically. The plot has been enlarged to accommodate a much larger number of seedlings; all accompanied by an irrigation system. In addition, 800 m² of greenhouses have already been installed. A good start, but the development phase is far from over: "The plan is to expand by purchasing two new greenhouses to reach 1,800 m²," explains Loris Baruzier. "That would allow me to have production in the winter."

In the meantime, a large quantity of diverse and varied vegetables is already available depending on the season. From tomatoes to kohlrabi, including beans, beets, lettuce, basil, and onions, dozens of locally grown vegetables are available for sale.

Jardin des sables, 502, route du fleuve, in Marmande. A shop, located in a former tobacco drying shed, is open Mondays and Fridays from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.