Chez Marie Groëtte
France and Jean Tierny
A richly diverse landscape that straddles the Franco-Belgian border. This is how France and Jean Tierny would like to present their region, the "boot-heel" of Hainaut, and more particularly, Sivry-Rance and the surrounding area.
On the edge of the Pays de Chimay forest, the landscape is a mixture of woodland and scrubland, streams and lakes. The countryside, architecture, historical sites and local produce revea, on either side of the border between France and Belgium, two facets of the art of living well.
Here the central emphasis is on the essence of a warm welcome, from which everything else flows naturally.
For your hosts, welcoming guests to their gîte is all about sharing their region, then a simple yet comfortable house they restored themselves. The natural garden is a lovely place to nap or to build a den, in sync with sustainable development actions. Raising awareness without preaching. Encouraging encounters with the villagers, tasting local produce and living the terroir.
Chez Marie Groëtte
16, Rue de Sautin, 6470 SIVRY
Province of Hainaut, Belgium
Tel: +32 60 45 66 48
https://chezmariegroette.wordpress.com/
Raising awareness without preaching. Encouraging encounters with the villagers, tasting local produce and living the terroir.
Living room at Chez Marie Groëtte
Garden clock at Chez Marie Groëtte
Nesting box in the garden at Chez Marie Groëtte
Terrace at Chez Marie Groëtte
Welcome sign at Chez Marie Groëtte
France and Jean recommend: La Botte Paysanne
La Botte Paysanne was founded in 2017 in a former stable in Sivry. It's a market-gardening co-op with a social purpose which brings together farmers and consumers. The farmers get paid a fair price and the consumers can buy healthy, environmentally friendly food.
The farmers are there every Friday afternoon and Saturday morning to welcome their customers, to fill their baskets and to chat. Today, 25 organic farmers sell their produce there each week. Everything on the stalls is organic: vegetables, potatoes, grain and flour, bread and pastries, eggs, dairy produce, cheese, meat, jams and honey, fruit spreads and chocolate, plus fruit juices from the organic grocer's shop. There's also personal hygeine and household cleaning products.
La Botte Paysanne also organises workshops, seminars and meet-the-producer events, to get to know and understand each other better and to consume in a different way.
La Botte Paysanne
1, Grand Thumas, 6470 SIVRY
Province of Hainaut, Belgium
Tel: +32 470 31 62 76
https://www.labottepaysanne.be/
Stalls at La Botte Paysanne
Some of La Botte Paysanne's producers
Bread and pastries at La Botte Paysanne
