Stop by and discover!

France Passion offers 2,200 stops and just as many people and activities to discover. This month, we're stopping at the Altiplano farm located in Meurthe-et-Moselle (54) to meet Quentin and his family, who have been hosting guests for nearly 10 years.

Hello Quentin!

Can you tell us about the Altiplano farm?

It's the family farm, certified as an educational farm, where I joined my father and mother in 2017. My brother and his partner have also been working here since last year. We raise 200 dairy cows, Holsteins and Montbéliardes, whose milk is mainly processed into Emmental or Munster cheeses in a cooperative.

For the unusual part, we have also been breeding alpacas since 1994. We started with one male and ten females directly from Chile. Today, we have 45 alpacas. They have the particularity of being smaller than a llama, and of producing very fine and soft wool. With this breeding, we had the project of promoting the wool and the finished product. We even have a small shop that we open upon request where you can find balls of wool, sweaters, socks, scarves...

 

How did you become a France Passion host?

We became a France Passion host almost 10 years ago, at the instigation of a cousin of my mother's, a campervan owner. Already a member, he stopped by our house one day and immediately thought our farm was a good fit for the France Passion association's mentality and way of working. So we became members through a member... a member of our family.

We have a small concrete platform where we can accommodate up to three campervans. The France Passion system is fantastic because we shear the alpacas every year, which allows us to showcase the work that goes into this farm and then introduce people to dairy farming.

As a side note, shearing an alpaca isn't as easy as shearing a sheep. They don't give in easily, and it takes three people to do it. A real spectacle!

 

What makes a good traveler?

On our farm, a good traveler must be understanding. The farm is a working farm; we're often with the animals or engaged in seasonal work like haymaking, so we're not always there to immediately welcome campervan owners.

They can therefore park wherever they want, provided we show them where they can park if it's not in the right spot. We're very lucky because, in the majority of cases, everything goes very well. People are respectful!

 

What do you get out of this adventure?

From a human perspective, it's great because it allows us to meet people we wouldn't necessarily meet. We see people who have taken a sabbatical and are traveling for a year, vacationers, retirees... all types of people and from different backgrounds. We talk about their jobs or what they used to do. It allows us to travel while staying at home. It's a very enriching experience.

 

Have you experienced a funny or unforgettable anecdote?

One summer, we were in the middle of harvesting. It was 40 degrees. We weren't feeling very well.

A huge campervan arrived with a really nice guy who came to chat with us for a good half hour. It was good because it gave us a break and we were able to rest a little. Except he offered us a glass of rum at 3:00 in the afternoon. We drank a little so as not to upset him, but we really didn't want to collapse in the heat! :')

Thanks, Quentin!