Villebeon, le 1er Avril 2014. Rémy, au village depuis plus d’un an, dans la caravane qu’il a aménagée. Villebeon on 1 April 2014. Rémy, in the village for more than a year, chills in the caravan he repaired.

Cyril Marcilhacy

The Village

Brann du Senon, former homeless, former biker, ex-con and eternal rebel, decided to change his life two years ago. After an eventful existence and several heart-attacks, he became a housing rights activist, bought a field in Fontainebleau forrest, 80 kilometers away from Paris, some old caravans he accommodated, and organized a community to host homeless people. Since then, men – and some women – thrown into the streets, come relax in this improvised village. The aim is to provide them with shelter and food to enable them to consider more serenely reintegration.

In order to communicate about his initiative, Brann owns a website and a Facebook page giving contact information to homeless so that they can reach the village. But the website is as well a platform putting into direct relation homeless people with individuals ready to help with a shower, a meal, a job or a temporary bed.

Independent of any structure, the community has its rules. No addiction, and everyone has to give a hand : feed the animals (pigs, chickens…), maintain the garden, fetch water in the the neighboring wells, general repairs, retrieve of daily unsold goods given by supermarkets nearby…

Every week, the members of the community cook a big soup and go to Paris or elsewhere to share it with people living in difficult conditions, talking about housing rights.

Life conditions are not that easy (no shower, no tap water, electricity 8 hours a day), and community life does not fit everyone. Turnover is high; sometimes the village has only 3 or 4 people living in it, sometimes 15.

I’ve been documenting the daily life of this community since August 2013, spending one week per month in the village. Even if this community is not changing the lives of the tens of thousands homeless in France, it shows that locally, with little means, some things can be done.

Villebeéon, le 3 Mai 2014. Steve et Heather, amis de l’association viennent se produire en concert au village. Villebeéon, 3 May 2014 Steve and Heather, friends of the association are to perform in concert in the village.

Villebeon, le 24 Aout 2013. La consommation d’alcool est interdite dans la communauté en semaine. Une exception : le vendredi soir. Villebeon, 24 August 2013 The consumption of alcohol is prohibited in the community during the week. One exception: on Friday night.

Villebeon, 12 Janvier 2014. Rémy brûle les poubelles. Villebeon, 12 January 2014. Remy burns the garbage.

Villebeon, le 4 Octobre 2013. Clément et Tony. La promiscuité et l’isolement du village impliquent certaines tensions. Villebeon, 4 October 2013. Tony and Clement. Promiscuity and isolation of the village involve some tension.

Villebeon, le 31 Janvier 2014. Un froid matin d’hiver au village. Villebeon, 31st January 2014. Cold early morning in the village.

Villebeon, le 10 Janvier 2014. Serge passe la moitié de l’année en camping, ou il retrouve sa petite amie. Pendant l’hiver, le camping est fermé. Un problème administratif l’a forcé à quitter son logement. Tout juste retraité, il touche moins de 800 euros par mois. Villebeon, 10 January 2014 Serge spends half the year in a public camping, where he meets his girlfriend. During the winter, the site is closed. An administrative problem forced him to move out. Just retired, he receives less than 800 euros per month and cannot afford a proper house.

Villebeon, le 13 Janvier 2014. Serge dans sa caravane. L’organisation du village implique une forme de promiscuité entre les habitants. Villebeon, 13 January 2014 Serge in his trailer. The village organization implies a kind of promiscuity among residents.

Villebeon, le 10 Janvier 2014. Laurent, le mécano. Villebeon, 10 January 2014. Laurent, the mechanic.

Villebeon, le 4 Octobre 2013. Mme Perrault 76 ans, habite dans les environs du village. Elle accueille chez elle des handicapés depuis 53 ans. Villebeon, October 4, 2013. Ms. Perrault, 76 years old, lives close to “the village”. She’s been welcoming disabled for 53 years in her farm.

Villebeon, le 13 Janvier 2014. Brann en visite au supermarché des alentours. Villebeon, 13 January 2014. Brann, the founder of the village, visiting a nearby supermarket.

Villebéon, le 4 Octobre 2014. Un coq s’est échappé du poulailler. Jacquouille, l’un des chiens du village ne lui a laissé aucune chance. Villebéon, October 4, 2014. A rooster escaped from the henhouse. Jacquouille, one of the dogs of the village has left him no chance.

Villebéon, le 02 Octobre 2013. Carlos était l’homme actif du village. Il était en charge des chantiers du village. Père de deux filles, il quitte le village en Janvier 2014, après un court passage en prison. Villebéon, 2 October 2013, Carlos was an active man in the village. He was in charge of building projects in the village. father of two daughters, he left the village in January 2014 after a short stay in jail.

Villebéon, le 02 Octobre 2013. Carlos était l’homme actif du village. Il était en charge des chantiers du village. Père de deux filles, il quitte le village en Janvier 2014, après un court passage en prison. Villebéon, 2 October 2013, Carlos was an active man in the village. He was in charge of building projects in the village. father of two daughters, he left the village in January 2014 after a short stay in jail.

Villebeon, le 29 Mai 2014. Brann et les habitants du village, au début de l’été 2014. Villebeon, 29 May 2014 Brann and “the villagers”, in early summer 2014.

Villebéon, le 02 Octobre 2013. Jean était le cuisiner de la communauté. D’apparence joviale et détendue, il quitte la communauté. Dans sa caravane, tous les palcards sont remplis de canettes de bieres terminées et de boites de Subutex et de cotons tâchés de sang. Villebéon, 2 October 2013, Jean was the cook of the community. Seemingly relaxed and jovial, he left the community. In his trailer, all the cupboards were filled with cans of beers and finished boxes of Subutex (substitute for heroin) and cottons stained with blood.

Villebeon, le 26 Aout 2013. Certaines caravanes attendent d’être réparées avant de pouvoir accueillir de nouveaux pensionnaires. Villebeon, 26 August 2013 Some caravans waiting to be repaired before they can welcome new residents.

Villebeon, le 4 Octobre 2013. Un voisin dans le besoin, à qui Brann donne un coup de main de temps en temps. Villebeon, 4 October 2013. A neighbor in need, whom Brann gives a hand from time to time.

Villebeon, le 19 Aout 2013. Après réception de la nourriture, une équipe de la communauté trie les denrées, destinées à être consommées rapidement, congelées, transformées en bocaux pour l’hiver ou donnés à des riverains dans le besoin. Villebeon, 19 August 2013. A team from the village sorts the vegetebles they got for free from a supermarket. The food will be eated quickly, or frozen, or put in jars for the winter.

Villebéon, le 18 Aout 2013. Brann du Senon, fondateur de l’association du 115 du particulier. Après une vie de brigand biker, il accueille à présent des SDF dans les caravanes aménagées qu’il a installées sur son terrain. Villebéon, 18 August 2013 Brann of Senon, founder of the association. After a lifetime of bandit biker, he now welcomes homeless in repaired caravans he has installed on his land.

Villebeon, le 26 Aout 2013. Tony, nouvel arrivant dans la comunauté se repose de deux jours sans sommeil dans sa caravane, juste après son installation. Villebeon, August 26 2013 Tony, who just arrived in the village after 2 days without sleeping, rests in his caravan.

Bio

Cyril Marcilhacy was born in Roubaix, France, in 1981.
After studying Finance and spending two years in an audit firm, he traveled for a year and a half along the Panamerican highway, from Seattle to Ushuaia. It is then that he was sure of his passion for reportage and decided to switch to photojournalism. From 2009 to 2010 Marcilhacy joined a photojournalism training at EMI-CFD in Paris and then started working as a freelance photographer. Since then he has made two web-documentaries on various classes of age for Lemonde.fr of which excerpts were screened during the festival “Photographic Night” in Paris in 2012. Cyril first worked on social issues in France, then focused on the Voodoo in Benin, the plight of the civilian populations in the Colombian conflict, and the consequences of the Libyan revolution a year after the fall of the regime. He regularly works for newspapers and magazines such Le Monde, VSD, Le Parisien Magazine, Neon, Geo Voyages, l’Obs.
Marcilhacy joined Cosmos photo agency in 2012.
He currently lives in Paris.

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Cyril Marcilhacy