Excerpt from the Special Issue of Les 4 Saisons Magazine / Terre Vivante Edition
Published in April 2026
Lucas learned everything he knows in Portugal.
His allotment garden in Aubervilliers provides him with food, and his shed serves as his pantry.
Inside, one can find everything needed to get through the winter: onions, potatoes, and garlic, along with seeds that he carefully preserves. He welcomes his fellow gardeners into his shed—he has even set up a counter—and out in the garden, the barbecue is always ready for use.
He has joined forces with other gardeners to stand up to real estate developers.
For the past ten years, construction sites have been multiplying across Aubervilliers and Pantin—though he does acknowledge that “the Olympic swimming pool is a good thing for the children.” Together, they succeeded in getting plans for a solarium and a wellness area—which would have encroached even further upon the gardens—cancelled.
Lucas grows several varieties of cabbage: the “Aubervilliers cabbage”—it doesn’t get more local than that—and the “early Milan cabbage of Aubervilliers,” as well as “fodder cabbage” (or kale)—the very same variety used in the traditional Christmas soup served in Portugal.