Longo Maï

Longo Maï is an international network of agricultural co-operatives whose origins lie in the political and countercultural movements that followed the events of May 1968. The initiative was developed by groups of students from Austria and Switzerland who wanted to create a collectively managed rural community rather than participate in conventional capitalist agriculture. After raising funds, the groups acquired approximately 270 hectares near Limans, close to Forcalquier in southeastern France, and established the first Longo Maï community there in 1973. The network combines agricultural production with an explicitly political and social philosophy. Its stated orientation is anti-capitalist, anti-militarist, pacifist, egalitarian, and environmentally conscious. Longo Maï communities aim to organize land, labor, housing, energy, water, and other resources collectively. Activities have included farming, livestock raising, wool processing, wine and olive production, craft work, food production, and local infrastructure management. The communities have generally emphasized self-sufficiency and shared responsibility rather than conventional commercial expansion. Roland Perrot, a military deserter from the Algerian War and an associate of the ideas surrounding Jean Giono’s Contadour experiment, became the movement’s principal ideological reference during its early development. His influence helped shape Longo Maï’s emphasis on non-militarism, rural autonomy, and collective life. The organization’s name became associated not with a single consumer product but with a federation-like network of communities, projects, media initiatives, and solidarity campaigns. Over time, the network expanded beyond its original Limans base. Its documented facilities have included communities in several parts of France, including the Limans settlement, a wool-processing operation in the Hautes-Alpes, the Mas de Granier community near Saint-Martin-de-Crau, and agricultural sites in the Ardèche and Provence. Outside France, projects have operated in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Ukraine, and Costa Rica. Examples include Ulenkrug in Mecklenburg, Hof Stopar in Carinthia, the Montois farm in the Swiss Jura, a project in Transcarpathia, and Finca Sonador in Costa Rica. The scale and activities of individual sites have varied over time. Longo Maï has also developed communication and publishing activities. Radio Zinzine, founded in 1981 and named after the hill near Limans, operates as a free-radio project associated with the European free-radio movement. The network has additionally been connected with an independent news agency, the publication Archipel, and book publishing. These activities extend Longo Maï’s role beyond farming: the network has used media to discuss rural life, social movements, international politics, migration, and resistance to authoritarian rule. International solidarity has been a recurring part of Longo Maï’s identity. The network has supported causes connected with resistance to dictatorships and has organized donation and public-awareness efforts through its Swiss headquarters. Its activities are therefore best understood as a combination of communal agriculture, alternative social organization, political advocacy, media work, and transnational solidarity. Available reference material documents the network’s historical structure and projects more clearly than its current financial position, legal organization, or the precise operating status of every named cooperative.

Longo Maï emerged from the political atmosphere created by the events of May 1968 and from the wider European search for alternatives to military authority, consumer capitalism, and centralized institutions. Groups of students from Austria and Switzerland, influenced by anarchist and anti-authoritarian ideas, sought to create a permanent rural base where land and production could be managed collectively. Rather than establishing a short-lived commune, they raised money to acquire agricultural land and organize a durable network of settlements. In 1973, the groups purchased about 270 hectares near Limans in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence region of France. This became the founding Longo Maï community. Roland Perrot, who had deserted from the French military during the Algerian War, served as the movement’s leading ideological figure. Perrot’s connection with Jean Giono and with the earlier Contadour free-commune experiment reinforced Longo Maï’s interest in rural autonomy, nonviolence, and collective organization. The Limans community developed an economic and social model based on shared work and shared access to resources. Agriculture, animal husbandry, construction, crafts, energy, water, and domestic responsibilities were treated as collective concerns. The network’s principles included opposition to militarism and capitalism, pacifism, equality among members, and respect for the natural environment. Self-sufficiency was an important objective, although the communities also relied on exchange, donations, sales of products, and links with supporters outside the settlements. Longo Maï expanded through a network of agricultural sites rather than through a conventional corporate branch system. In France, documented projects included Limans; a community in the Briançon and Saint-Chaffrey area that processed wool; Mas de Granier near the village of Caphan in Saint-Martin-de-Crau; a site at Treyne in the upper Ardèche; and Cabrery, associated with vineyards and olive trees. The network also established or supported projects in other countries. These included Ulenkrug in Mecklenburg, Germany; Hof Stopar in Carinthia, Austria, where sheep were raised; the Montois farm in the Swiss Jura; a project in Uzhgorod in Transcarpathia, Ukraine; and Finca Sonador in Costa Rica. The size, membership, and precise activities of these projects changed over time, and historical descriptions do not establish that every site remains active in the same form. The network’s work extended into communications. In 1981, it founded Radio Zinzine, a free radio station named for the hill near Limans. The station became part of the European free-radio milieu and provided a platform for subjects connected with rural communities, social movements, and political solidarity. Longo Maï also supported an independent news agency known as l’Agence Indépendante d’Information, or AIM, and was associated with Archipel, a journal linked to the European Civic Forum. Book publishing added another channel for documenting political and social issues. International solidarity has remained a defining theme. Longo Maï has participated in efforts focused on resistance to dictatorships and has used its Swiss headquarters in Basel to coordinate fundraising and donation appeals. Historical reference material describes substantial donation campaigns during the 1990s, but does not provide sufficiently current or independently verified financial information for inclusion here. The network’s international work, media projects, and agricultural communities are connected by a common belief that practical cooperation and collective control of resources can support political independence. Longo Maï is consequently difficult to classify as a standard agricultural company or consumer brand. It is better understood as a transnational cooperative movement with agricultural, residential, cultural, media, and advocacy dimensions. Its historical significance rests on the longevity of its communities and on its attempt to combine everyday production with an explicit political program. Publicly available reference material gives a substantial account of its origins and projects, while details about current governance, membership, revenue, and the present status of individual sites remain limited.

• 1990

  Expansion of the cooperative network documented across Europe and Central America

  [1]Longo Maïen.wikipedia.org

  By the late twentieth century, Longo Maï had developed or supported agricultural communities in France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Ukraine, and Costa Rica.

• 1981

  Radio Zinzine founded

  [1]Longo Maïen.wikipedia.org

  The Limans community launched a free-radio station named after the nearby Zinzine hill.

• 1973

  First Longo Maï community founded near Limans

  [1]Longo Maïen.wikipedia.org

  Groups of students from Austria and Switzerland acquired approximately 270 hectares near Limans in southeastern France and established the network’s first agricultural cooperative.

A politically engaged cooperative network combining collective agriculture, rural self-sufficiency, ecological stewardship, alternative media, and international solidarity.

• Agriculture · 1973

  Agricultural and livestock production

  Longo Maï communities have produced food and agricultural goods through collective farming, animal husbandry, and small-scale rural processing. Documented activities include sheep raising, geese and sheep farming, vineyards, olive cultivation, and other forms of mixed agriculture. Production is integrated into the network’s broader goals of self-sufficiency, shared labor, and environmental responsibility rather than presented as a standardized mass-market product range.

• Textiles

  Wool processing

  A Longo Maï site in the Briançon and Saint-Chaffrey area has been associated with wool processing. Historical material describes annual processing in the range of 12 to 15 tons, although the reference does not establish whether that volume or the operation’s structure remains unchanged today.

• Food and beverage

  Wine and olive products

  The Cabrery cooperative has been associated with vineyards and olive trees, making wine and olive-related agricultural production part of Longo Maï’s documented rural activities. Available sources do not specify product labels, volumes, distribution channels, or current commercial availability.

• Media · 1981

  Radio Zinzine

  Radio Zinzine is a free-radio initiative founded by the Longo Maï community in 1981. It extends the network’s work into independent communication and provides programming connected with social movements, rural life, political issues, and international solidarity.

• Media and publishing

  Independent news and publishing

  Longo Maï has been associated with l’Agence Indépendante d’Information, a contributor-based news agency, with Archipel, a journal linked to the European Civic Forum, and with book publishing. These activities support the network’s advocacy and solidarity work, although the available material does not fully describe their current legal or operating status.

• International solidarity campaigns

  Europe · Central America

  Longo Maï has participated in solidarity efforts focused particularly on opposition to dictatorships and support for resistance movements. Its Basel headquarters has historically coordinated donation appeals and related public campaigns.

  Source

• 1981

  Radio Zinzine begins broadcasting[1]Longo Maïen.wikipedia.org

  Product launch

  Longo Maï launched Radio Zinzine, a free-radio project named after the hill associated with the Limans community.

• 1973

  Longo Maï establishes its first cooperative near Limans[1]Longo Maïen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  Student groups from Austria and Switzerland acquired land near Limans in southeastern France and began the first Longo Maï agricultural community.

1. 1Longo Maïen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Longo Maï official websiteprolongomaif.ch