BEYOND DREAMS CABINS* is an artistic exchange and construction project involving young adults in rehabilitation programs in Kanaky-New Caledonia and Berry. They are invited to work in pairs to collectively design and build hybrid eco-friendly cabins at five sites in each region.

The project aims to promote imagination, history, architecture, and contemporary art, as well as the respective traditions and construction practices of the two regions. It also aims to help participants regain confidence, self-esteem, and cultural pride through sharing and listening, under the guidance of supervisors: artists, project leaders, and key figures from associations on each coast.

 

PROJECT LEADER

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The TJUNGU & PACIFIKA1 association, whose purpose is to promote mobility, encounters, and intercultural exchanges between young people from Berry and the Kanak region, as well as Pacific diasporas living in Cher and France, from Caledonia, Tahiti, Wallis and Futuna, and elsewhere.

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POTENTIAL PARTNERS IN KANAKY

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- Kâorè: Cultural and development association promoting traditional Kanak knowledge, social integration and reintegration through cultural and manual practices, support for sustainable economic, social, and environmental development in tribes, and the creation of bridges between tradition and modernity.

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- Itkel: Non-governmental organization for the protection of the environment and customary lands, support for young people from mining communities, promotion of social and ecological innovation, and development of sustainable models based on indigenous knowledge

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Quai Branly Museum / Municipality of Mont Dore / Grand Sud Sustainable Development Pact / Northern Province / New Zealand Consulate in Kanaky-New Caledonia / European Development Fund / Kanaky-New Caledonia Congress / Grand Sud Pact / Danielle Mitterand Foundation.

 

PROJECT DEVELOPMENT

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The young adults (aged 18-30) from Kanaky-New Caledonia and Berry involved in the project are young people undergoing social reintegration, some of whom have experienced deprivation of liberty. The project aims to motivate and mobilize their capacity for action towards a collective project, in which they can draw on their own imaginations and abilities. The construction techniques, practices, and traditions specific to the two territories will be pooled, allowing ideas, forms, and practices to be intertwined.

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These young adults are called upon to collaborate on the collective design and construction of five original, contemporary hybrid cabins at five sites in each region. They are supervised in each region by an artist and a project manager, as well as by the association actors involved.

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The cabins will be built using eco-construction methods, from recycled and sustainable materials. They will be built in each region by groups of young residents linked to sites defined in agreement with the customary (Kanaky) and territorial (Berry) authorities, and will be designed to be sustainable. Participants will be free to define their uses, in consultation with the artist and the project manager, according to the morphology of the proposed sites.

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Five groups of young adults will be recruited in Kanaky and five in Berry, who will work in inter-territorial pairs.

 

Kanaky:

- Ile des Pins (South)

- Thio (Center)

- Saint-Louis (South)

- The two areas in the North are still to be defined by the NGO Itkel.

 

In Berry, the five sites could be determined from the following proposals:

- the Bourges marshes

- the Bourges Natural History Museum site

- the Gibjoncs landscape park

- the Hameau de la Fraternité, Chancellerie

- Val d'Auron lake

- Noirlac Abbey

- Saint Florent-sur-Cher castle park

- St Roch museum park, Issoudun

 

FORM OF EXCHANGES

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In order to achieve a low carbon footprint during the design phase of these exchanges, they will take place between the different groups via videoconferencing, based on regular meetings. There will be a period of presentations and familiarization between the participants in each Kanako-Berrichon pair. This will allow them to gradually exchange ideas at their own pace.

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These video exchanges will have to take into account the time difference between the two territories, which is 9 hours: 9:00 a.m. in Bourges = 6:00 p.m. on the Isle of Pines.

 

FUNCTIONS OF THE CABINS

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The purpose of the cabins will be determined based on the morphology of the selected sites (urban or rural), which will guide their uses: bird shelters, rest areas, reading cabins with book deposits, workplaces (powered by solar panels), spaces for cultural exchanges and discussions, project and entrepreneurship centers, third places, etc. These decisions may be made during discussions between pairs of participants, led by the artists and project leaders.

 

NURTURING KNOWLEDGE AND IMAGINATION

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Preliminary research will be carried out in each group on the specific construction methods and forms used by the other group.

- Berry: technologies, uses, and symbolism of Kanak huts;

- Kanaky: technologies and uses of huts (in trees, vineyards, fields, gardens);

- Berry and Kanaky: conferences on artists' huts: Daniel Buren, Tadashi Kawamata, Nils Udo, Cornelia Parker, Lucy Orta (see appendices...), which will stimulate the imagination of the participants.

 

EXCHANGES - HYBRIDIZATIONS - ECO-CONSTRUCTION

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Stage 1 – Project outlines - Following these preliminary steps, the young adults in the different pairs will produce construction outlines (sketches, models) which will be presented to the other group during video sessions, then sent by email in both directions (Kanaky/Berry and back) for review, reflection, and debate.

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Stage 2 – Hybridizations – The collective design of potential hybridizations will be implemented based on the forms explored by each pair. Analysis and development of hybridization projects. Collective decisions on the use of the cabins, based on the characteristics of the proposed sites. The aim will be to work on five joint projects and ten different creations, linked to the materials and methods specific to each region: one project/two forms.

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Stage 3 – Eco-construction projects - The concept of eco-construction is a prerequisite for the project: use of recycled, recyclable, and sustainable materials (wood, bamboo, hemp, straw, raw earth, cob, etc.) to erect environmentally friendly structures, minimizing waste production. These will be ecological and sustainable constructions, limiting the use of overexploited natural resources and greenhouse gas emissions linked to the production of overexploited materials.

PROJECT SUSTAINABILITY

The sustainability of the cabins is inherent to the project. Each cabin will be managed by the host site in terms of construction and maintenance. We plan to develop a trail of cabins in the city and along the banks of the Cher, a wild river.

 

TIMELINES

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Due to differences in vacation dates between mainland France and New Caledonia, the projects cannot be carried out at the same time. The construction schedule will be based on the availability of the various partners and artists. We estimate the maximum total duration of the project to be one year. The construction of each hut is estimated to take one or two months, depending on the collective progress of five pairs.

 

SUPERVISION & MANAGEMENT

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Guillaume Vama will be the project manager for the Kanaky part;

Christiane Carlut will be the project manager for the Berry part.

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Artists: in mainland France, we have considered Clément Richeux, Stéphane Thidet, and Tadashi Kawamata (see appendix). In Kanaky: proposals to come.

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In Kanaky, the project will be managed by the Kaorë association and the NGO Itkel.

Potential project managers (still to be confirmed), who would oversee the project:

Ile des Pins: Jean-Marie Vama

Saint-Louis: Anderson, President of the Kaorë association

Thio: Loïc Toura

The NGO Itkell is currently working to identify the two other areas in the north, as well as those responsible for monitoring.

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In Berry, the managers of the sites involved will provide the project with a manager who will assist the project manager in organizing video conferences, sourcing construction materials, providing the necessary tools, and generally facilitating the project in conjunction with the municipalities.

The municipalities of the sites will provide, if necessary, accommodation and meals for the participants, young adults, and supervisors.

 

FINANCING OF CONSTRUCTION

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We are starting with five constructions in Kanaky and Berry. The financing of each construction will be covered by a specific partner.

 

PHYSICAL EXCHANGES

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As far as possible, we would like to organize meetings in the field. We believe these meetings are important in order to give the exchanges a concrete, human dimension.

If the budgets allow (this will be a separate budget), we would like a young adult and a representative from the other side to participate in the construction of each cabin, in both directions.

 

COMPLETION OF THE PROJECT

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We imagine that the project could be finalized, after the construction of the 10 cabins, with a joint opening ceremony on the same day, via a collective videoconference between the 10 different sites, between Kanaky-New Caledonia and Berry. This would allow for a global meeting between all the protagonists of the project.

1- In the Pitjantjatjara Aboriginal language (Anangu people, Central Australia), Tjungu means “together as one.” It is a word widely used in intercultural projects in Australia to symbolize encounter, friendship, and cooperation: being together, united, in harmony and sharing.