Château du Feÿ is a pragmatic utopia in rural France, where people find a sense of belonging through a thriving community that shares one mission: to rethink our possible futures. In a polarized, isolating world, inside a 400 year-old chateau which lay empty for a decade, we created a sustainable and regenerative ecosystem that builds bridges: between local and global ideas, rural and cosmopolitan populations, between countless disciplines, and between the world of yesterday and that of tomorrow.

For the past 8 years we have been developing a virtuous ecosystem made of 5 complementary structures:

FEŸTOPIA, a community of ~200 international artists, technologists, entrepreneurs, and researchers rethinking the world of tomorrow, which every year turns the Chateau into a co-living /co-working space in the winter (Dec-April).

SAS. CHÂTEAU DU FEŸ, a profitable company that rents Feÿ in the summer (Mai-Nov) for events with aligned values.

FEŸ ARTS, non-profit in charge of our yearly multi-disciplinary arts festival that brings 1500 people for a unique weekend-long immersive experience, as well as artist residencies prior to the festival.

FRIENDS OF FEŸ, non-profit in charge of bridging between natural heritage and built heritage. It leads projects and workshops around permaculture/agroforestry, biodiversity preservation and old techniques of renovation.

CONVERGENCE DES POSSIBLES, a consortium with local nonprofits in charge of nurturing our local community to support projects around food, energy and technological resiliency.

We have prototyped a sustainable model, which is improving its land, its local economy, its community fabric, its people, its culture, its heritage and that has already catalyzed others to do the same. The last grant was awarded to Friends of Feÿ, and we are applying again through this non-profit. For the past seven years, Friends of Feÿ has been stewarding 100 acres of forest and a 2 acres permaculture garden. The organization has hosted 20 week-long workshops focused on sustainability and empowerment for the local community, particularly for children from underprivileged neighborhoods.

We have also transformed the garden management by planting meadows and indigenous plants, eliminating the need for mowing. Our garden has since inspired other historical monuments to adopt a similar approach. Recently, we've been working on a tree nursery project in collaboration with a national non-profit called PLANTEURS. By next September, the nursery should be fully operational, with a production capacity of 10,000 to 30,000 trees per year. We are applying for this grant because we need to renovate a space near the nursery, which we call the REGEN HOUSE. This space will provide housing for the nursery workers, serve as a permanent office space for PLANTEURS, and include two guest bedrooms for people working on regenerative projects. Currently, we have a shortage of spaces to accommodate our partners.