Communauté & Mission / 縁 En
Un cercle de gardiens et de praticiens
The Wabi-Sabi Preserve exists because of the people who tend it — those who come to practise, to learn, to volunteer, and to carry its spirit into the world.
Notre Mission / 使命 Shimei
To preserve, to transmit, to welcome
The Preserve was founded on a single conviction: that the contemplative traditions of East and West — their practices, their aesthetics, their ways of attending to the world — are not museum pieces but living disciplines, capable of nourishing contemporary life. Our mission is threefold: to preserve the land and the traditions it holds, to transmit them through education and practice, and to welcome all who come in a spirit of genuine inquiry.
We practise and teach with sincerity — without pretension, without performance. The traditions we hold are not ours to own; we are their temporary custodians.
We hold the land, the traditions, and every person who enters the Preserve with deep respect — including those whose ways of understanding differ from our own.
We seek clarity — in our intentions, in our practice, in our relationship with the land. Not the purity of perfection, but the clarity of honest attention.
We cultivate stillness — not as an escape from the world, but as the ground from which genuine action and genuine care become possible.
Notre Histoire / 物語 Monogatari
How the Preserve came to be
The land has been inhabited since the twelfth century — a fact that announces itself in the weight of the stone walls, the depth of the well, the particular silence of the meadow at dusk. For most of its history it was a working farm, passing through the hands of successive families who shaped it and were shaped by it in return.
The Preserve was established in 2019, when the current stewards — a small group of practitioners, educators, and conservationists — acquired the property with the intention of restoring it and opening it to a wider community. The restoration took three years: the farmhouse, the barn, the walled garden, the stone paths. The land itself needed less intervention than expected; it had been tended with care.
The name Wabi-Sabi Preserve came later, almost by accident — a recognition that the land itself embodied the aesthetic it was meant to teach. The cracked plaster, the moss-covered walls, the asymmetry of the old orchard: all of it wabi-sabi, all of it beautiful in its imperfection and its age.
L'Équipe / 仲間 Nakama
The people who tend the Preserve
Sky LeClerc
Directrice & Enseignante de Chadō
Élise studied chadō for twelve years in Kyoto under a master of the Urasenke school before returning to France. She founded the Preserve with the conviction that the way of tea is not a Japanese practice but a human one — a practice of presence that belongs to no single culture.
Kenji Watanabe
Maître de Shodō & Conseiller Culturel
Born in Osaka, Kenji has lived between Japan and France for twenty years. He teaches shodō and serves as the Preserve's cultural advisor — the person who asks, quietly and persistently, whether what we are doing is true to the traditions we claim to honour.
Marie-Claire Dubois
Responsable du Domaine & Jardinière
Marie-Claire has tended the land of the Preserve since its founding. She is a trained horticulturalist with a particular interest in the relationship between Japanese garden philosophy and the French formal garden tradition — and in what happens when you let both go a little.
Thomas Leclerc
Enseignant de Yoga & Tai-Chi
Thomas has practised yoga for twenty-five years and tai-chi for fifteen. He teaches both at the Preserve with an emphasis on the quality of attention that both practices cultivate — and on the surprising amount they have in common when you look closely enough.
「一期一会 — Ichi-go ichi-e」
Une rencontre, une fois dans la vie
Adhésion & Bénévolat / 参加 Sanka
Join the circle
The Preserve is sustained by its community — those who come to practise, those who give their time as volunteers, and those who support the work through membership. All are welcome; all are needed.
Friend of the Preserve
Ami du Domaine
60 € / an
Annual membership supporting the preservation of the land and traditions. Includes priority registration for all programmes, a 10% discount on workshops, and our seasonal letter.
- ·Inscription prioritaire aux programmes
- ·Réduction de 10% sur les ateliers
- ·Lettre saisonnière
- ·Invitation aux événements membres
Guardian of the Preserve
Gardien du Domaine
180 € / an
A deeper commitment to the work of the Preserve. Includes all Friend benefits plus two complimentary workshop places per year and an invitation to our annual gathering.
- ·Tous les avantages Ami
- ·2 ateliers offerts par an
- ·Invitation au rassemblement annuel
- ·Accès aux archives et ressources
Volunteer
Bénévole
Gratuit
Give your time and skills to the Preserve — in the garden, in the kitchen, in the restoration of the buildings, or in the organisation of events. In exchange: free attendance at all programmes during your volunteer period.
- ·Accès gratuit aux programmes
- ·Formation aux pratiques du domaine
- ·Hébergement possible sur place
- ·Communauté de bénévoles
Partenaires / 仲間 Nakama
Those who walk alongside us
École Française de Chadō
Our partner school for the formal study of the Japanese tea ceremony in France — offering certification programmes recognised by the Urasenke school in Kyoto.
Institut Franco-Japonais
A cultural institute dedicated to the exchange between French and Japanese culture, with whom we co-organise several events each year.
Conservatoire du Patrimoine Rural
Our partner in the preservation of the historic fabric of the Preserve — the stone buildings, the walled garden, the ancient orchard.
Nous Rejoindre / 申込 Mōshikomi
Devenir membre ou bénévole
Whether you wish to become a member, volunteer your time, or simply ask a question about the community, we would be glad to hear from you. We respond to all enquiries within 48 hours.
Nous répondons dans les 48 heures. Votre adhésion sera confirmée par e-mail avec les instructions de paiement.
Venez marcher sur la terre
The best way to understand the Preserve is to visit it. Come for a workshop, a retreat, or simply a walk on the land. The door is open.