In 1996, the project of the cooperative "Les Bergers du Larzac" was born:

11 farmers, including the president and founder André Parenti, thus add value to the milk from their ewes. According to the commercial director, Patrick Garcia, "the initial objective was to add value to sheep's milk and to set up young breeders.

Their families could then live on their own resources without having to rely on the industry and the production quota system.

Respecting tradition

Right from the start, the cooperative bought the premises of Roquefort Coulet in La Cavalerie and hired a cheese technician. The first cheese production began on 8 April 1996, with ewe's milk tomme.

"The ambition of the cooperative was to promote local products, real products that respect tradition", says Patrick Garcia. Today, this structure supports 17 families:

the 6 delivery cooperators and the 11 employees of the cooperative. However, selling cheese is not something you can improvise. At the beginning, the cooperative did not sufficiently define its commercial policy.

In addition to local sales, it markets through commercial agents to large and medium-sized supermarkets as well as to a few wholesalers at Rungis, but it generally only obtains small commercial margins.