Hi there!

We are appealing for donations in order to continue the renovation work of a wonderful 15th century building: the Château de Miramont d'en bas.

Since the end of 2017, we have been striving to bring this place back to life by pursuing what led us to this purchase: the collective renovation of a historic property. The “Welcoming” of all, especially those with atypical backgrounds, is the cornerstone of this project.

We are David and Alice, managers of the legal real estate organization "A roof above all", which we created when we bought the place. David wanted to build, work with large structures, with stones, lime, sand and especially metal and wood. As for me, I was dreaming of a welcoming space that would allow everyone to consolidate themselves, to have access to trees, to create a quiet and peaceful place that would reinforce the power of people to act.

We dreamed of the Pyrenees and Ariège in particular. An incongruous announcement- in the French online small ads site Leboncoin- about a castle in the Couserans area, turned this dream into reality.

It was in January 2017 that David and I came across this old building and the descendants of the Lady of the Portrait. We met and chose each other.

We will save this castle !! as our predecessors did, thanks to and with a collective of inhabitants (the "chatelain.e.s") who share common human, ecological, cultural and social values.

In two years, we have been able to organize a few cultural events, a bunch of participatory projects, an artistic residency, two wellness workshops and several visits of adolescents who are in the process of consolidation. Recently, we managed to host the collaborative marriage of two of us. It was a great success:

"The Potos of the castle dressed up for the wedding". August 2020.

Hundreds of people have already taken advantage of this unique and revitalizing place. An association: "Les Potos du château" (The castle buddies), coordinates the welcoming of people. Its main aim is to contribute to strengthening everyone's power to act.

Until October 2019, our top priority was the repairs of the roof which mobilized the organization "A roof above all", the association "Potos du château", the collective of inhabitants, dozens of volunteers who came from all over France, more than ten neighbors, people of our village and the ones nearby. They all came to the castle to support us enthusiastically. This is our first great collective success!

Once the roof was redone, the castle was protected from the water that falls abundantly in this part of the world.

We were ready for the next step: ensuring the drainage of rainwater and household wastewater.

After a few months of work in spring 2020, we are now benefiting from an unmatched phyto-purification (up to standards).

Now that the roof and sanitation works are complete: the castle is saved!

We can now focus on the rest of our story. Two and a half years after the start of this adventure, we still have many wishes and projects, for example to create two new rooms in the "Cabinet of curiosities" dormitory, to raise the height of the tower and to redo its round framework, to finish Susana’s spinning wool workshop, to continue the extension of the vegetable garden, to place the terrace on the technical room, to build an activity room, etc.

We are appealing for donations in order to collect funds that will allow us to build a dormitory in the attic. It will allow us to go further in welcoming volunteers, artists in residence and temporary residents.

With these € 12,000, "A roof above all" will be able to continue on its way to “Welcoming”.

Long life to the castle - château de Miramont d'en bas

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