Economic development, urbanisation and population growth have gradually erased Brussels’ rural landscapes. Yet the Pays de Neerpede in Anderlecht still forms a vast preserved area of more than 400 hectares, made up of fields, woods, ponds and streams. A true remnant of the Pajottenland, it remains one of the capital’s last agricultural zones and plays an essential ecological role.
At the heart of this area, on the edge of the Pede pond, stands the Ferme du Chaudron, built at the end of the 19th century and owned by the Region. Once used to supply Brussels with agricultural products through mixed farming — market gardening, orchard and livestock — it has now been restored by Brussels Environment and granted for ten years to a collective of four associations: DoucheFLUX, Happy Farm, le Champ du Chaudron and les Gastrosophes. Their aim is to develop a House of Food Sovereignty. Dedicated to solidarity-based initiatives addressing concrete issues of food sovereignty, exclusion and the necessary ecological, economic and social transition, the site offers a range of activities open to the public from all backgrounds.