Taking care of the local inhabitants and their future
Why this is important
Caring about a sustainable future for our territory means taking care of its inhabitants and their future. Over 8000 people live in our mountain territory. Tourism is an essential driver of La Plagne’s economic activity and its attractiveness.
The tourist economy based on winter and summer sports activities feeds a chain of direct and indirect values: ski lessons, accommodation, catering and sports shops, as well as all the upstream suppliers (construction, transport, materials, food, etc.).
We have to invest, support and diversify this activity in order to maintain a dynamic life and a year-round population in our territories. However, our role does not stop there. We must also make sure that the essential services of daily life are maintained: schools, crèches, care and health services, assisted housing, transport, etc., so that our local population can continue to live for a long time in our mountains.
Our first steps
Encouraging youth employment
The mountain tourism sector is highly seasonal. Multi-activity and seasonal employment are essential to the mountain territories’ economic model. Every year, La Plagne must recruit the workforce it needs to welcome its visitors. Thousands of seasonal contracts offer an opportunity to work in the heart of an exceptional natural environment.
👉 For the operator of the ski area which employs over 700 people, 80% of whom are season workers, this is a real challenge. To encourage the integration of young people into the company and to develop work-study programmes, the company (a subsidiary of the Compagnie des Alpes) launched the first forum to encourage apprenticeships in March 2022. The local universities and schools were invited to participate in this festive day in the resort. An initial success that should be reiterated every season.
👉 As regards the tourist office: 1st participation in the High Five Festival’s “Mont Job” village in October 2022, to highlight jobs in the mountains and attract the younger generation. The thirty or so season workers who have joined the OTGP teams benefit from a personalised integration programme: very specific training for their job, mentoring, educational tours and free entry to a number of activities that enable them to discover the area, as well as an integration day with all the employees.
👉 Based in Aime, the Groupement d'Employeurs pour l'Insertion et la Qualification Mer et Montagne (the GEIQ) is moving the lines in the tourism, sport and leisure professions. This organisation recruits young people aged between 18 and 25 under professional training contracts throughout France. They may be inexperienced with a profile that does not make them easily employable or they may be undergoing professional retraining. They are trained, accompanied (particularly for accommodation) and employed by the GEIQ’s member structures.
Champagny-en-Vanoise, a lively village
Champagny-en-Vanoise and its 579 year-round inhabitants is like all the small mountain villages in our territory.
At first glance, they are exceptional places to live, immersed as they are in a natural environment, but daily life there is not always simple. Shopping, getting around, finding somewhere to live … In Champagny-en-Vanoise, a new generation of Champagnolais as well as new arrivals have settled in recent years, revitalising the village spirit. Several initiatives are emerging to recreate social links and share services: library and café associations, shared gardens, coworking space, etc.
Focus on the shared gardens: The "Bio-Cortis de Champagny" association created in the spring of 2021 is the result of a desire to cultivate the land together with neighbours, friends and village residents of all ages. The association has mobilised some fifteen plots and thirty gardeners. We can't wait for the next crop of high-altitude tomatoes!
Local inhabitants mobilised to preserve their heritage
Historically, man has shaped his environment according to his needs of survival and obligation. In the mountains, where the natural terrain had to be developed for cultivation, retaining walls and terraces were built using materials obtained from scouring the land. These walls, damaged by time and the regular passing of locals and visitors on the paths, are now becoming fragile or even disappearing.
The "Patrimoine du village de Tessens" association, based in the La Plagne area, is mobilising the local residents to restore the dry stone walls along the pathways near the village. By helping each other and working together, they are passing on the art of dry-stone construction and reviving the biodiversity and the balance of the territory within this structure. Other voluntary work is regularly organised by the inhabitants to maintain the footpaths and trails in the area.
Did you know?
The “Art of dry-stone construction” is an expert technique included on the “Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity” list since 2018.
Antropia: a new social location
Limiting the impact of our consumption on our environment and recreating links in our daily life is the project of the company (SCIC) "Antropia - Une Montagne de Ressources", with the creation of a new collaborative area in the centre of Aime.
It will offer 4 different areas:
🤝 A recycling / collection centre / shop for the reuse and recycling of materials
🛠️ A Fablab: a shared workshop and plastic micro-factory
🖼️ A place for cultural experimentation: exhibitions and conferences to raise awareness
☕ The provision of convivial areas to make it easier to meet and share accommodation
