Presentation

Founded in 2002, the Mémoire de Soye association aims to set up and maintain a philanthropic cultural program based on the promotion, knowledge, transmission, education, preservation, rehabilitation and maintenance of the artistic, architectural, archaeological, historical, natural and human heritage of the Soye-en-Ploemeur site (Morbihan).preservation, rehabilitation and maintenance of the artistic, architectural, archaeological, historical, natural and human heritage of the Soye-en-Ploemeur site (Morbihan). The association's project is in the general interest, open to all publics, especially the most vulnerable, while preserving the non-profit, secular and apolitical nature of its activities.The association's activities are organized around four main areas of interest: the château, the barracks, the gardens and young people.

In 2014, the association entrusted the city of Lorient, Ville d'art et d'Histoire, with the management of the two houses that bear witness to the provisional cités "Les baraques". They house the memories, including photographs, of the former inhabitants of these former emergency housing estates.

Since 2010, with the help of the Institut médico éducatif de Kerdiret in Ploemeur, it has been rehabilitating an 18th century fruit garden belonging to the urban community.century fruit garden belonging to the urban community, into a shared community garden for the conservation of a local vegetable species.

The objective

The aim of the association is to promote and encourage the rehabilitation of the existing heritage through projects that respect the economic development of the high-tech park, sustainable development, culture and popular education. The association's volunteers, most of whom are "former barracks workers" or beneficiaries of vegetable gardens, meet regularly for picnics and meals, and play an active part in the restoration of heritage accessible to all!

In this way, the association is able to perpetuate its presence on an evolving site, preserving the richness of the living environment by creating a link between memory, heritage, culture, education and the business park.

The origins

Owned by Laurent Esnoul Deschateles, a shipowner with the powerful Compagnie des Indes, and the birthplace of engineer Dupuy de Lôme, Château de Soye and its wooded grounds are a direct descendant of the 18th and 19th centuries.

In 1925, Soye was bought by the city of Lorient and witnessed the creation of a social work dedicated to children, before the occupying forces turned it into a fortress during the Second World War.

After the Liberation, the estate became home to the largest group of barracks in the Lorient region, and was the scene of temporary life for 40 years.

In the 1980s, before the creation of the high-tech park, the château and part of its heritage were abandoned and falling into disrepair.

The action

The Parc de Soye preserves this rich past, providing an insight into the entire history of the Lorient region. The Bâtiments de France department describes Soye as "an important witness to history that must be preserved".

Since 2002, the association has collected almost 3,000 photos of temporary housing estates.

In 2007, the association was awarded the Fondation du Patrimoine label for the restoration of a French barracks, which has since become its headquarters.

In 2009 she was recognized by her peers and joined the REMPART association and created the Union Natioale des Cités Provisoires.

In 2010, she obtained the château's vegetable garden to begin its rehabilitation.

Alongside the UTL of the IME de kerdiret and the Cohérence network, she is setting up a conservatory garden for Lorient cabbage.

In 2012 and 2013, it organized the in-extremis rescue of the last American barracks in the Lorient area, and was once again awarded the "Fondation du Patrimoine" label.