We must return to the middle of the 19th century to find the origins of the Cooperative of Salt Farmers of Ré Island. During this period, salt production was at its peak: 1000 salt farmers produced up to 30,000 tons of Coarse Sea Salt per year.
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During the 20th century, several factors lead to a decline in activity:
- The development of railway transport which put salt from Ré Island in competition with industrially produced salt,
- New cold storage methods gradually replaced conservation by salt.
Born of a strong will to take their destiny in hand, the salt farmers of Ré Island created their Cooperative in 1942..
Today 70 salt farmers adhering to the Cooperative of Salt Farmers of Ré Island (out of around one hundred salt farmers on the island) are now associated to pool human and material resources to ensure the operations necessary for the sale of their salt: collection, storage, packaging and marketing.
The Cooperative continues to evolve with human values and conviviality where know-how is passed from generation to generation, with a spirit of mutual aid and collective effort.
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