Problem addressed
The Pistyles project was set up to address the under-use of environmentally friendly techniques in the landscaping sector and to highlight the human, social and entrepreneurial qualities of gardeners, whose profession has become increasingly technical in recent years and has lost its original purpose: caring for nature.
Innovative solution
Pistyles’ role is that of both a gardener (someone who looks after the garden, a space of human-shaped nature) and a mediator (that is to say, someone who facilitates dialogue and rebuilds close-knit relationships).
The project is structured around three key areas:
- Putting residents back at the heart of their gardens and customer relations
- Putting nature and respect for it back at the heart of the professional landscaping and gardening sector
- Restoring the gardener’s full role as a passionate professional and entrepreneur
Key results and benefits
In terms of environmental performance, the organisation has succeeded in:
- Achieving virtually zero waste, meaning zero export of materials and zero use of plant protection products (no pesticides)
- Eliminating virtually all bare ground (to combat soil depletion, erosion, etc.)
Potential for mainstreaming
Pistyles is a laureate of the 2016–2017 cohort of the P'INS scale-up support programme, jointly run by Fondation Macif and Avise.
