The Thau Lagoon and its fishing and shellfish-farming activities

A learning journey about ourselves, others and the world around us

Monday 21 and Tuesday 22 September 2026 — Mèze

The setting

As part of its Assises (annual gathering), held from 21 to 25 September 2026 at the Maison des Pénitents in Mèze, the Maison du Processwork is offering a two-day learning journey, on Monday 21 and Tuesday 22 September, based on a complex territorial reality: the Thau lagoon and its fishing and shellfish-farming activities.

This learning journey invites us to pay attention to what is being experienced and what is emerging:

within ourselves;
in relationships between people;
within the groups, communities and institutions concerned;
in the territory of the Thau lagoon.

The aim will be to welcome and explore observations, feelings, questions, tensions and conflicts, but also ideas, projects, dreams and intuitions for the future of this territory, and also for ourselves and the realities we encounter.

These two days are organised by the Maison du Processwork, with the active collaboration of the Université Internationale Terre Citoyenne — UITC.

The participants

The group will bring together around ten field practitioners with strong social, economic and territorial experience in the shared management of natural resources, land or collective services:

residents of the Larzac involved in the Société civile des terres du Larzac — SCTL/GFA;
residents of Béarn and the Alps involved in the collective management of land and forests;
residents and community workers from urban neighbourhoods, in particular the Villeneuve district of Grenoble;
students working on fishing prud’homies and the management of the commons;
stakeholders in the management of the Thau lagoon who took part in the meetings held in Mèze in 2025, including Sylvie Mimosa.

Local stakeholders, students and recently established young professionals will also be involved at various points during these two days.

The journey will also bring together around fifteen Processwork practitioners. This approach aims to develop a finer awareness of what is at play, individually and collectively, in human relationships, beyond the immediately visible facts.

In particular, it seeks to better understand tensions and conflicts, so as to transform them constructively and make them, as far as possible, opportunities for transformation for individuals, groups and communities.

Programme

Monday 21 September — Discovering the fishing prud’homies

3 pm – 4 pm — Welcome and introduction Presentation of the full week of the Assises and of the two-day learning journey on 21 and 22 September.

4.30 pm – 6.30 pm — The prud’homies: a historic institution, alive today and holding promise for the future

History and current situation of the fishing prud’homies Talk by François Féral, former prud’homme and professor of law. He will present the history of the prud’homies, their current reality and the issues surrounding the existence and development of this type of institution. A small-group discussion will allow everyone to express their feelings, surprises and questions. A plenary sharing will then follow.
The prud’homies in the Thau lagoon Talk by Jean-Marie Ricard, first prud’homme of the Thau lagoon, subject to his availability. This presentation will also be followed by small-group discussion and then a collective sharing.

7.30 pm — Dinner

8.30 pm — Screening and discussion of a documentary film “Patrons pêcheurs en prud’homie de Palavas-les-Flots : modernité d’une tradition” (Fishing-boat skippers in the Palavas-les-Flots prud’homie: the modernity of a tradition)

The screening will take place in the presence of:

Eva Jouen, doctoral student working on the new management plan of the Palavas prud’homie;
Baptiste Canville, first prud’homme of Palavas;
Pierre Guy, director of the film, invited to join the meeting.

The screening will be followed by a discussion with participants.

Tuesday 22 September — Meeting the shellfish farmers

7.30 – 8.15 am — Breakfast

8.15 am — Departure for the field visits Participants will be divided into two groups. Each group will meet, in turn, two recently established oyster or shellfish farmers. These meetings will provide an opportunity to talk with these young farmers about their projects and difficulties, while each of us remains attentive to our own surprises and feelings, and to the questions, ideas and projects emerging within us…

11 am — Departure from the last visit towards the maritime school (lycée maritime)

11.30 am — “Surprise reports” Each person will share in their group the feelings, surprises, emotions, impressions and discoveries that particularly struck them during these meetings.

12 noon — Lunch with the students

2 pm — Open forum What do young people in training and those recently established have to say about fishing and shellfish-farming activities in the Thau lagoon? The “open forum” will allow participants to express themselves freely around this theme and around what concerns, interests and mobilises them. It will be facilitated by facilitators from the Maison du Processwork.

3.30 pm — Returning to oneself and collective sharing A time for personal integration and sharing about what was experienced and felt during the forum.

4.30 pm — End of the session at the maritime school and return to Mèze

7.30 pm — Dinner

8.30 pm — Process work Collective Processwork session with all participants, drawing on the experiences, encounters, tensions, questions, ideas and intuitions that emerged over the two days.

10 pm — Close of the learning journey End of the learning journey about ourselves, others and the world around us.

Registration

If you would like to take part, I ask you:

To pay a €20 membership fee as a supporting member of the Maison du Processwork. These two days are free of charge, but you will pay for your accommodation, meals and breakfasts.
To register for these two days by completing the attached file and paying a deposit.

The second day, Tuesday 22 September, will end at 10 pm. We invite you to stay overnight in Mèze.

The number of participants is limited. We ask you to register and pay the membership fee and deposit as soon as possible.