La Case à Gourdes seeks, at a time when objects loose their meaning and become waste, to give a new life to this fruits that grows all around the world and all men used in their daily life.
This universal support can serve as a creative mean and contribute, through its artistic uses (painting, sculpture, music, storytelling, shows), crafts (lamps, vases, boxes, jewelry, etc..) but also agricultural (organic gardens for example) to bridge cultures and help us for better understanding and accept our differences.
 For different reasons, this vegetal origin support is threatened of disappearing :
- Downgrading because of its origin (poor countries of Africa and South America mainly)
- Under exploitation of its creative possibilities but also artistic craft (while some pieces are true pieces of art)
- Replacement by "modern" materials for kitchen dishes (plastic, aluminum)
- Lost of the collective memory about its use in western countries (or gun powder jar, tobacco box or drinking gourd for farmers or St Jacques of Compostelle Pilgrim).
La Case à Gourdes has made the choice to set up long term projects in order to promote this fruit full of magic :
- Allow gourd artists to get well known and the selling of gourd craft - Animations (shows, tales,...) and workshops in schools, leisure centers as well as in cultural shows (Garden shows, Gourd Festivals, Christmas Markets, etc.)
- Creation of creative kits for children, youth and adults
- Creation of gourd shows
- Setting of fair trade projects
 La Case à Gourdes, has started a fair trade project with the ONG Avenir Togo, which allows us to act at different levels : agriculture, art and craft, culture.  AGRICULTURE :
Gourds in Africa are part of daily life : beliefs, cuisine, music and crafts are the pillars of its existence in African culture. However, its use is likely to disappear, especially in the kitchen in favor of plastic or metal.
La Case à Gourdes wishes to participate to the preservation of ancient varieties of cucurbits in general, and especially gourds. The idea is to promote the plantation of local varieties, which could lead to the creation of a seed bank in Togo as it already exists in Kenya for example.
ART CRAFT :
La Case à Gourdes wishes to give a new life to this magic fruit as its creative possibilities are infinite. Mixing being an inexhaustible spring, the idea is to develop, helped by partners' crafters a long time modern craft activity on gourds.   CULTURE :
If gourds are part of everyday life in Africa, its symbolic is not always well known in western countries. Whether it is real life or in tales, gourds are part of traditions.
The mixing of cultures can help populations to understand each other and accept the differences.
La Case à Gourdes set up kids workshops there and think about exchanges between France and Togo.
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