Compagnons, Walloon stakeholders creating a better world

The non-profit association Compagnons Bâtisseurs is a youth organisation of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation. As their website explains, their "goal is to help young people develop their personal skills and responsibility so that they can become responsible, active, critical and solidarity-minded citizens."

As a CB (nickname of the Compagnons Bâtisseurs) volunteer, I corroborate their values. Last week, I led a youth exchange called "Meaningful food", an exchange between nine young French people from the 'Ecole de la 2eme chance' in Valences and eight young Belgians. During these exchanges, the shared values included "learn to live together", "discover new cultures" and "learn to live in society by respecting duties and schedules". Each exchange had a common theme, in this case "Meaningful food". The aim of this exchange was to examine their food consumption practices. With this in mind, Juliette showed us some edible wild plants and then we cooked them. It still didn't convince the young people to "eat grass", as they said, but they all got involved in the project by cooking and tasting and they all learned a great deal. We also visited the communal beehive in Marche-en-Famenne, where two volunteers kindly showed us around and explained the honey-producing process. After this visit, the young people prepared a delicious honey sauce. In the 'Jardin des p'tits potes' (shared vegetable garden in Marche-en-Famenne), we made pallet benches, planted potatoes and helped with other tasks. We also spent two days in Namur, where we discovered the Walloon Fresco and visited the "farmers-artisans", the Namur farmers and consumers cooperative, which organised a delicious tasting session of their produce. We also visited the La Houppe brewery. Slightly less related to the theme of food, we took part in a paddleboard and Catamosan session on the river Meuse, which the young people really enjoyed.

One of CB's goals is also to include the local population. To do this, we organised a meal in which everyone involved in the project (Juliette, the beehive volunteers, the members of 'p'tits potes', CB members, etc.) were invited to taste recipes prepared as part of the project. These dishes included comfrey stuffed with goats' cheese, a honey sauce to accompany the chicken, petits fours made by the participants and filled rolls. 

The participants and leaders really enjoyed this exchange and discovered Valence and Belgian specialities as well as another way of looking at food. Some of them opened up more and more over the two weeks spent together and some discovered new passions (piano, guitar, cooking).

The CB organises youth exchanges, as well as VLDs: Volunteering, Leisure and Disability. In July, I will take part in my first VLD, when we will stay in a sheepfold in France. The CB also welcomed EVS (European Voluntary Service) volunteers; I was lucky enough to meet Djordje from Serbia, Tamara from Serbia and Julie from Ukraine, with whom I am learning to lead a project. The CB also help young Belgians to do voluntary work abroad.

The Compagnons Bâtisseurs therefore offer a cultural exchange on several levels, knowledge of local projects, etc. They play an important role in Wallonia, helping to make positive changes.

If you are interested in this, you can be a volunteer or take their leadership training. Please consult the website for more information: https://compagnonsbatisseurs.be/en/