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🌱 Invitation to the Lost Glacier Open Day 2025
You are warmly invited to join us for a convivial Open Day at Lost Glacier on Sat 13 September from 10 am to 16.00, at the foot of the Criou, between Samoëns and the village of Les Allamands. Come and share in a day of discovery, good food, and inspiring conversations about living more sustainably and autonomously.
đź•™ Guided Tours
To help you explore the site and our projects in more depth, we will offer tours of the farm on the hour, from 10:00 through to 16:00. Each tour will showcase the innovations in energy, food cultivation, and regenerative farming that make Lost Glacier a unique experiment in practical autonomy.
🛤️ Getting Here
We encourage visitors to come by bike or on foot to enjoy the fresh mountain air and reduce traffic. If you must drive, please park at Le Pied du Crêt parking lot and avoid driving down the narrow mountain road to Le Latay for safety and environmental reasons. You can find the location here: Le Latay, Samoëns, Haute-Savoie (map).
This year, we are especially excited to present:
🥔 Rare and colorful mountain potatoes
Taste fries made from ancient potato varieties safeguarded by ProSpecieRara. In 2025, seven local and early varieties, specially adapted to high altitudes, were cultivated at Le Latay at 1000m altitude. These historic varieties, selected over centuries by Walser communities and others, are a living heritage you can now rediscover on your plate – at our friendly potluck buffet!
⚡ Alternative energy for autonomy
Over the past five years at Lost Glacier, we’ve developed – through much trial and error – a low-cost system that produces all the electricity a modern household needs. It uses wood pellets turned into biochar through pyrolysis, rather than burning them for heat. This revolutionary system not only provides clean energy but also locks carbon safely into the soil. Biochar is a powerful soil amendment, helping vegetables (and our rare potatoes!) grow up to 20% bigger.
🌾 Perennial wheatgrass trials
We are also taking part in a pioneering agricultural project: the cultivation of Thinopyrum intermedium (perennial wheatgrass), alongside 20 other farmers across France. In collaboration with the Centre Agroécologie and the ISARA agricultural university, this project explores perennial cereals as a way to reduce the need for ploughing – one day offering a truly regenerative alternative for our food systems.
🍄 Shiitake mushroom cultivation
Learn how to grow your own shiitake mushrooms on logs – an accessible, natural technique that enhances food self-sufficiency.
đź’§ Life close to autonomy
At Lost Glacier, energy and resources are managed with creativity and resilience:
- Electricity & heat: solar panels and biochar pyrolysis
- Water: lifted by a water ram pump
- Sanitation: natural phyto-purification systems
- Regenerative farming: restoring soil fertility and storing carbon with biochar
🌻 A convivial day together
The event will culminate in a shared potluck buffet, where everyone can bring and enjoy dishes together in a spirit of conviviality and exchange.
This Open Day is part of the Fête des Possibles, organized locally by Giffre en Transition (GeT). It’s an opportunity to explore practical, innovative, and inspiring approaches to regenerative agriculture, energy autonomy, and resilient living – all while enjoying beautiful mountain surroundings.
✨ Come discover, taste, and share in the future of sustainable living – with guided tours every hour from 10 am to 4 pm. We look forward to welcoming you!
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