Spirits - Ors na Bruma

At 850 meters altitude in Aucun, in the Val d'Azun, at the foot of the Gabizos and the Pic du Midi d'Arrens, Jana Petricova and Sylvain Delord cultivate their plants.

We arrived in the Val d'Azun in 2019. Our project and our installation correspond in fact to a reorientation for both of us.

Jana trained in organic market gardening and obtained a vocational diploma in farm management. This enabled her to set up this project and become an organic farmer. Sylvain used to work in the aquaculture industry, but had nothing to do with what they do today.

Our project came together bit by bit, first by visiting farms. We already traveled a lot to look for land. This also enabled us to learn a little about what was being done in the field of medicinal plants, because that was really the area we wanted to work in.

"Ors na bruma" means "bear in the mist" in Occitan and is the name of our distillery farm, where we grow aromatic and medicinal plants and berries on a half-hectare plot.

We have around twenty varieties of medicinal plants and berries. For berries, we have blueberries, raspberries and blackcurrants. We've also planted a few apple and plum trees. All the plants are distilled. First we harvest them, dry them and then distill them in a copper still to make floral waters and hydrosols. Some of the plants are also used to make liqueurs and pastis, and others for syrups.

We produce in a way that has the least possible impact on the environment. We're organic, and in fact we're getting closer to agro-ecology methods, with a lot of work done by hand. It's about respecting biodiversity. Low-impact farming is what the National Park promotes, with respect for flora and fauna. The Esprit Parc Nationalapproach gives us a network and visibility for our products. Above all, we're very proud to have been able to set up our business in the Pyrenees National Park.