Le Village Potager hosts day seminars for 10 to 50 people and residential seminars for 10 to 25, on an organic vegetable farm in Saint-Pierre-lès-Nemours, in Seine-et-Marne. The place sits at the edge of the Fontainebleau forest, about one hour from Paris. It offers two meeting rooms opening onto the park, 14 bedrooms and meals made from the farm's own produce. It is used for off-sites, management seminars, ideation sessions and training days held away from the office.
Seminars and company events
The venue describes itself as an eco-place that welcomes companies for green seminars, off-sites, leadership meetings and team building. Two formats are offered. A day seminar takes between 10 and 50 people. A residential seminar keeps the group on site for one or two nights, with 10 to 25 participants staying in the 14 bedrooms.
The meeting rooms face the park and receive natural light. The venue positions them for workshops, training and meetings. Fast Wi-Fi and professional equipment are mentioned in the venue's own articles. The two founders, Hélène and Étienne, run the place and speak English, which is useful for international teams.
Activities can fill the breaks or an afternoon: a visit of the market-garden farm, hands-in-the-soil workshops, an introduction to permaculture, walks in the forest, a wild plants walk, canoeing on the Loing, an introduction to climbing at the Dame Jouanne site, running and cooking classes. On site there is an outdoor pool and games such as table tennis.
Rooms and capacities
Apollo is the smaller room. It covers 35 m² and holds up to 15 people. It has exposed beams and a working fireplace. Bleu d'Artois is the larger room. It occupies former stables renovated with natural materials, covers 80 m² and holds up to 50 people, under a high cathedral ceiling.
Accommodation
The 14 bedrooms are furnished simply and sleep up to 25 participants in total. The farm also has renovated gîtes in an 18th-century farmhouse, including a large family house available all year with access to the pool. Ask the venue whether the gîtes can be added to a residential seminar.
Catering
Meals rely on the farm's organic produce. The farm grows 160 varieties of vegetables a year without chemical inputs, and the venue says its seminar menus are organic and local, prepared from what the garden provides. A farm shop with regional products is also run on site.
History and setting
The founders created the project after volunteering with an NGO in the Philippines. They combine three activities in one place: an organic market-garden farm, seminar rooms and accommodation. The farm lies in a Natura 2000 area at the edge of the Fontainebleau forest, south of Fontainebleau in the Pays de Nemours. The venue is also open to the public as a third place and presents its farming methods, which protect soil and biodiversity.
Getting there
The address is rue de Larchant, 77140 Saint-Pierre-lès-Nemours. The venue states that it is about one hour from Paris and reachable by car or by train; the pages read do not name a station or give a shuttle.
