Natacha KANCEL

In Guadeloupe, when sustainable agriculture goes hand in hand with job integration

Drain’ailes is the first association in Guadeloupe to benefit from a free loan from France Active Guadeloupe. Thanks to this financial support, it is consolidating its economic base. It will also enable it to write a new page for its rural territory, with its high unemployment rate, and for the dozen or so women who work there in sustainable agriculture.

Natacha Kancel has set up her Drain’ailes back-to-work workshop in Sainte-Rose, a town in the north of Basse-Terre in Guadeloupe. Since the end of 2023, she has been employing a dozen women on the farm, working in three areas: agroforestry (cocoa, vanilla, coffee, etc.), permaculture organic farming (market gardening, fruit trees, etc.) and agro-processing (sauces, seasonings, juices, etc.).

A culinary and agricultural heritage

In creating Drain’ailes, Natacha Kancel had one aim: to pass on the island’s natural heritage. First and foremost to the younger generation: “Many young people are turning away from local produce in favour of processed and imported foods, which are often unhealthy,” she explains. “So my aim is to introduce them to local products, such as our fruit syrups and jams, which have the double advantage of being 100% Guadeloupean and much less sweet”.

This tradition is also passed on by women. Natacha Kancel drew her inspiration from her grandmother and mother who, like many at the time, had a small piece of garden that they cultivated themselves. “My aim is to reintroduce local women to the skills that enable them to increase their purchasing power and regain pride in providing for themselves and their families with the fruits of their labour. At Drain’elles, most of the women in the integration programme are single mothers.  Ultimately, with the association, our aim is to develop food self-sufficiency, the economy and education, but also to give a positive image to Sainte-Rose, often cited unfortunately for its unemployment and delinquency rate”, she adds.

So when the regional programme for enterprises that aim to re-integrate people through work (Dispositif régional d’accompagnement des Structures d’insertion par l’activité économique), which supports the project, redirected it to the newly-created France Active Guadeloupe, supported by the European Social Fund (ESF+), the latter had no hesitation in backing the project.

“Drain’ailes meets all the points of France Active’s commitment,” confirms Magali Lacambra, Director of France Active Guadeloupe. Namely: participative governance, action in the social and employment sectors, at the heart of a territory with strong needs and in response to the challenges of sustainable transition.

Unprecedented support for associations

Drain’ailes is the first association to benefit from a free loan – i.e. a zero-interest loan – granted by France Active Guadeloupe (amounting to 21,000 euros). “When we were putting together the financial package for our project, it became clear that we needed a lot of working capital to be able to sustain and develop our business. This loan gave us the stability we needed to move forward”, confirms Natacha Kancel.

The free loan offered by France Active Guadeloupe, with funding from the Banque des Territoires, the Region and the Department, is an innovative product. “This free loan is an accessible solution and a real lever for associations that often have difficulty accessing bank loans,” explains Magali Lacambra. “We can co-finance up to 70% of their needs. This opens the door to new financial solutions for associations.”

With this support, Drain’ailes can now look to the future by multiplying its projects and has the means to increase its financial autonomy: extending the workshop to accommodate around ten extra people (in particular to offer essential oils or floral waters), or improving the vanilla processing. “In 2-3 years’ time, our ambition is to present our vanilla at the Concours Général, which will be an additional lever for promoting the work of the women who produce it”, concludes Natacha Kancel.

The France Active Guadeloupe offer is being structured

With the aim of making its offer available in all regions, France Active created France Active Guadeloupe in 2023, after two years of experimentation. “Financing via France Active Investissement, particularly equity loans, already existed in Guadeloupe. With the creation of the France Active Guadeloupe association, we are now in a position to offer free loans to associations. We play the role of investor in conjunction with other co-financiers, to provide a unique tool for organisations that are setting up, relaunching or experiencing difficulties. Our range of support services is expanding”, explains Marie Chauvin, head of the Services and Advice Department.