Portrait – Christophe and Olivier

We take you to meet an animal lover who decided to live in the countryside, in Haute-Vienne, in the heart of the Limousin when a career as an architect might have allowed him to travel around the world.
What are the reasons that pushed Christophe to settle in Vassivière to do tourism?
In this portrait Christophe Plateau makes the questions and answers.
He welcomes you to his farm in Champseau for a quiet vacation in the company of his favorite animals: the donkeys.

Why the Haute-Vienne and how long have you resided there?

Rather than a weighed and considered choice, Peyrat-le-Château came naturally when I imagined leaving Paris and my job as an architect, in 2000. It was an obvious choice because this is where my great-grandfather’s farm was, this is where I had spent so many vacations building cabins or herding sheep with the shepherdess and her dogs!

Tell me about your job:

Once I had my agricultural diploma in my pocket, my life project in the Limousin was built around donkeys and hiking. It was a question of combining an agricultural activity (a donkey farm) and tourism (offering hikes around Vassivière). Quickly, a camp-site was born on the exploitation, then a camp of Mongolian yurts and more recently a caravan. The accommodation took more and more importance but the donkey remains in the heart of our activities: itinerant hike, storytelling walk, educational farm…

What do you like most about your job?

I always wanted to get away from Paris to have space and a life in the fresh air. And I am fulfilled!”
Here, nature is not an empty word, something of which we would be spectators. We are part of it, we are part of it and we contribute to it in our small measure as the days go by. It is precious. Another privilege: life with our animals. You learn about yourself in contact with the animals: a good deal of humility, respect, curiosity, and you grow every day from this encounter.

How is your job special, unexpected, or original?

At a time when we live connected, when everything has to go fast, it is no small feat to set out at the pace of the donkey on paths so little traveled that you will not cross paths with anyone during the day. No smartphone, no GPS: we read the map, we take our time. We sometimes get lost but it does not matter (when it is not voluntary!). For some, it is horrifying. For many, it is a “detox” and a source of appeasement.