La Ferme Nos Pilifs

What La Ferme Nos Pilifs does

La Ferme Nos Pilifs is a Belgian non-profit (ASBL) operating as an Entreprise de Travail Adapté (ETA) approved by COCOF under number 194, with a social mission of providing meaningful employment to 145 workers with recognized disabilities. Founded in 1984 by Benoît Ceysens as a small farm and now spanning a 5-hectare campus in Neder-Over-Heembeek (Brussels) plus a leased greenhouse nursery at Stuyvenberg, the organization runs 12 interconnected commercial activities. These include an eco-garden center (La Jardinerie), an organic grocery and bakery (Épicerie Bio & Boulangerie), an organic biscuit workshop (La Biscuiterie Bio) producing 25+ varieties, an on-site restaurant (L'Estaminet), and a circular-economy carpentry workshop (Bout2Bois) that upcycles Brussels construction wood. It also offers professional garden services through eight teams, vocational training programs (CAP since 2009, AUT'Travail since 2016 for youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder), children's holiday camps and birthday parties, school visits, teambuilding, and the annual HappyLife Festival.

The business operates a hybrid go-to-market model: direct-to-consumer via on-site retail, e-commerce (gift cards, registrations), and events; sales-led for B2B garden maintenance and custom carpentry; and event-driven for the flagship HappyLife Festival and recurring school/corporate engagements. Revenue is generated through unit-priced services (€120/week holiday camp, €210-250 birthday packages, €9/child school visits), quote-based B2B services, retail sales of plants, organic products, biscuits, and carpentry goods, plus alternative financing through a €400,000 ethical citizen bond issuance in 2023. Customer segments are fragmented across Brussels-region families, schools, corporate clients, municipalities, and a reseller network for biscuits—indicating low customer concentration but also a small geographic footprint limited to Belgium.

The organization is governed by director Eric Fripiat and operates within a broader 'Galaxie Pilifs' constellation of non-profits. It holds partnerships with PHARE/COCOF, the European Social Fund, Brussels Environment, Pairi Daiza, Cap 48, FEBRAP, BRUXEO, and specialized secondary schools. Sustainability infrastructure includes a biomass boiler (avoiding 88 tons of CO2 annually since 2020), 100+ solar panels, and buildings constructed with rammed earth and straw. No revenue, app, or AI capabilities are publicly disclosed, and the company has no parent entity or external equity investor.

Name

La Ferme Nos Pilifs

Legal name

ASBL LA FERME NOS PILIFS

Website

https://fermenospilifs.be

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

La Ferme Nos Pilifs is a Brussels-based non-profit sheltered workshop (ETA) employing 145 people with disabilities across 12 activities including organic retail, eco-circular carpentry, garden services, vocational training, and educational farm experiences.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Enterprise Sheltered Workshop Services

NAICS

Caterers (722320), Special Food Services (7223)

SIC

Services-Child Day Care Services (8351), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Family Entertainment Centers (Indoor развлечения: Arcade, Soft Play, Party Centers) (THAJAEAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Multi-Activity Enrichment Camps (Academic + Arts + Sports) (EDAMALAA)

Keywords

• Sheltered workshop services
• Social enterprise employment
• Ecological landscaping services
• Organic food production
• Disability vocational training

Headquarters

HQ city

Brussel

HQ country

Belgium

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Retail Sales (Shops): On-site retail operations including eco-jardinerie (plants, flowers, garden tools), bio epicerie and bakery (organic products, artisanal bread), and bio biscuiterie (25+ varieties of organic biscuits sold wholesale and retail). Revenue from direct consumer sales in shops and via e-commerce.
2. Estaminet Restaurant & Catering: Restaurant serving seasonal products with daily specials, plus catering services for events. Operates Tuesday to Sunday, with variable hours by season (March-October: 10:30-18h, October-March: 10:30-17h weekdays, 10:30-18h weekends). Closed Mondays.
3. Garden Services (Parcs et Jardins): Professional garden maintenance and landscaping services for private gardens and public spaces. Eight teams offer full-service green space management. Specializations include green roofs, natural pools, natural and edible gardens. One team travels by bicycle.
4. Bout2Bois Carpentry: Custom carpentry workshop transforming reclaimed Brussels construction wood into new products (nesting boxes, garden beds, cabins) for individuals, businesses and public authorities. Products also sold in eco-jardinerie.
5. Event Activities: Children's holiday camps (stages) during all school holidays except December, priced at 120€ per 5-day week. Birthday party packages (210€ Wednesday, 250€ Saturday for up to 10 children). School visit days at 9€/child.
6. HappyLife Festival: Free-entry annual festival (August 22-23, 2026) showcasing engaged artisans, local initiatives, workshops, music, nature discoveries. Features 70+ exhibitors across crafts, gardens/nature, and food products.
7. Citizen Bond Issuance: In 2023, raised 400,000€ through ethical and sustainable citizen bond issuance, demonstrating alternative financing model aligned with social mission.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

La Ferme Nos Pilifs is a Brussels-based non-profit sheltered workshop (Entreprise de Travail Adapté) that provides meaningful employment to 145 people with disabilities across 12 commercial activities. Its offering spans direct retail (eco-jardinerie, organic grocery and bakery, Estaminet restaurant, bio biscuit workshop), professional services (Parcs et Jardins garden maintenance with 8 teams, Bout2Bois circular carpentry upcycling construction wood), and educational/recreational activities (vocational training programs, holiday camps, birthday parties, school visits, guided tours, corporate teambuilding, and the annual HappyLife Festival).

Product overview

La Ferme Nos Pilifs operates as an Entreprise de Travail Adapté (sheltered workshop) offering a diverse portfolio of interconnected products and services united by their social mission of providing meaningful employment to 145 people with disabilities. The core offering spans retail operations (eco-garden center, organic grocery and bakery, organic biscuit workshop) and service divisions (eco-circular carpentry, park and garden maintenance company, restaurant/café). These are complemented by educational and recreational services including training programs for youth with disabilities, children's holiday camps, birthday parties, guided tours, and teambuilding activities. The farm also hosts the annual HappyLife Festival. Most products are produced or served on-site, with the biscuit workshop and carpentry workshop creating goods for sale both at the farm and through resellers across Belgium.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Bout2Bois: Eco-circular carpentry workshop upcycling Brussels construction wood into custom furniture, birdhouses, garden sheds, and other creations.
• AUT'Travail
• CAP

Products and services

• La Jardinerie (Eco-Jardinerie) On-site garden center and nursery offering plants, flowers, ecological garden materials, and edible plants produced by the farm's own nursery. Located at the Trassersweg campus in Neder-Over-Heembeek, Brussels.
• Epicerie Bio & Boulangerie On-site organic grocery store and artisanal bakery offering biological products from short supply chains or fair trade, with a bulk section for dry goods and the farm's own biscuits.
• La Biscuiterie Bio Organic biscuit workshop producing over 25 varieties of organic cookies from local and fair-trade ingredients, without preservatives. Products are sold on-site and through a reseller network across Brussels and Belgium.
• L'Estaminet Restaurant and café located in the park offering seasonal products and daily specials, with catering services and meeting room rentals for events. Open Tuesday to Sunday with seasonal hours.
• Bout2Bois (Menuiserie) Eco-circular carpentry workshop that upcycles Brussels construction wood into products such as birdhouses, garden beds, and cabins, offered as custom work or small series to individuals, businesses and public authorities.
• Entreprise de Parcs et Jardins Garden and park maintenance service offering complete services for private and public green spaces via 8 teams (one bicycle-based), specializing in green roofs, natural pools, and edible gardens.
• Formations et Apprentissages Training programs including CAP (Contrat d'Adaptation Professionnelle professional adaptation contracts for young people, launched 2009) and AUT'Travail (professional learning program for youth with autism spectrum disorders, launched 2016), plus company internships.
• Stages et Anniversaires School holiday camps and birthday party packages for children aged 4-11, featuring farm animal contact, bread making, apple sauce preparation, bee education, pond exploration, and pony rides. Holiday camps: €120/5-day week; birthday packages: €210 Wednesday, €250 Saturday.
• Visites Guidées Thematic guided tours for groups covering topics such as inclusion of people with disabilities, sustainable development, environmental education, natural gardening, market gardening, composting, biodiversity, circular economy, and organic food.
• Teambuilding Team building activities and corporate events combining nature, inclusion, sustainable food, and farm animals, with meeting rooms and seasonal catering services for company groups.
• HappyLife Festival Family-friendly, inclusive, and sustainable festival featuring engaged craftspeople, local initiatives, interactive workshops, music, nature discoveries, and culinary experiences. Held annually on the 5-hectare farm campus.
• Pépinière (Nursery) Plant propagation workshop located in the greenhouses at Stuyvenberg (Laeken) under a 10-year lease with Brussels Environment, where a team of eight workers with disabilities, guided by two horticulture supervisors, cultivates aromatic plants, vegetables, fruit trees, and all sedums used for green roofs.
• Gift Cards Gift cards available in denominations of €10, €20, and €50 for use across the farm's shops and services. Sold through the e-shop on the fermenospilifs.be website.

Quantifiable outcome

• 88 tons of CO₂ avoided annually through biomass heating system
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• BISSIBminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Brussels institute for social innovation. Organizing 'rendez-vous de l'innovation sociale' events featuring La Ferme Nos Pilifs as an example of innovative social financing through citizen bonds.
• FinancitéminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Organization promoting ethical and sustainable finance. Co-organizing social innovation events with BISSIB, BRUXEO, FEBRAP, and La Ferme Nos Pilifs.
• BRUXEOminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Brussels employers organization. Co-organizing social innovation events featuring La Ferme Nos Pilifs as case study for ethical financing.
• Pairi DaizacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Collaboration for the 'Chemin des Oiseaux' (Bird Path) initiative, including funding support. Pairi Daiza contributed to the installation of 2 bird observatories in the park, enabling visitors to discreetly observe majestic bird species.
• Cap 48coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Collaboration for the 'Chemin des Oiseaux' bird path project. Cap 48 contributed funding for bird observatories and educational installations in the park.
• Be CircularcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Funding partner for the 'Chemin des Oiseaux' bird path project and circular economy initiatives at the farm.
• Phare (COCOF)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2009Initiator of the CAP ( Contrat d'Adaptation Professionnelle) program. Phare is the Brussels administration that recognizes disability and issues work permits ('yellow card') enabling employment of people with disabilities. Provides ongoing quota approval and support for the ETA.
• Apis Bruoc SellacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration for the 'Sentier des Abeilles' (Bee Trail) - a small educational path featuring a glass beehive and interactive panels teaching about bees and pollinators. Part of biodiversity protection efforts in the park.
• Brussels Environment (Leefmilieu Brussel)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner10-year lease agreement for greenhouses at Stuyvenberg in Laeken where the Pépinière (plant nursery) operates with 8 workers with disabilities.
• FEBRAPcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFederation of Adapted Work Companies (Entreprises de Travail Adapté) in Belgium. La Ferme Nos Pilifs is a member, sharing best practices and advocacy for social employment.
• Ados-PilifscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSpecialized secondary school for adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. Co-developed the AUTtravail program in 2016, enabling students to participate in vocational training internships at the ETA.
• Institut Communal Professionnel des PoldersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSpecialized secondary school participating in the AUTtravail program, providing internship opportunities for students with autism spectrum disorder.
• Les 4 VentsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSpecialized secondary school participating in the AUTtravail program for vocational training of students with autism.
• La ClairièreminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSpecialized secondary school participating in the AUTtravail program for vocational training of students with autism.
• O.N.E. (Office de la Naissance et de l'Enfance)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBelgian child welfare office that provides official recognition to the Animation Farm (Ferme d'Animation), validating the educational quality of holiday camp programs.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Jardins de Cocagne: French network of organic market gardens employing people in social difficulty and selling produce through CSA baskets. Directly comparable organic food production model integrated with social employment, mirroring the Pépinière and bio-biscuit workshop lines.
• Oxfam-Magasins du Monde: Belgian fair-trade retail organization employing vulnerable populations to sell fair-trade food and craft products. Comparable Belgian fair-trade/social-retail model intersecting with the bio épicerie and biscuit lines.
• De Kringwinkel: Belgium-wide network of social/circular retail stores operated as sheltered workplaces employing people at a distance from the labor market. Closest Belgian analog to Bout2Bois's circular economy plus social employment combination.
• Lebenshilfe Werkstätten: German federation of Werkstätten für behinderte Menschen (sheltered workshops) providing vocational training and employment for people with disabilities across multiple industrial and service activities. The closest international structural analog to the COCOF ETA framework under which La Ferme Nos Pilifs operates.
• Les Petits Riens: Long-established Brussels social economy organization running reuse shops, collection, sorting, and reintegration activities for vulnerable populations. Comparable social-inclusion mission and multi-channel retail/services model in Brussels.
• Atelier Groot Eiland: Brussels-based social enterprise operating multiple workshops (woodworking, bicycle repair, restaurant, garden services) that employs vulnerable populations. Directly comparable multi-activity model located in the same Brussels social economy ecosystem.

Broad incumbents

• APF France Handicap: Major French disability-inclusion organization running adapted work enterprises, services, and advocacy for people with disabilities. Comparable disability-employment mission at significantly larger national scale.
• UNEA (Union Nationale des Entreprises Adaptées): French national federation of adapted work enterprises (Entreprises Adaptées) representing the sheltered-workplace sector at national policy level. Comparable adapted-work-enterprise network at French scale.
• Groupe One: Belgian social enterprise support organization providing resources, training, and advocacy for the social economy, including co-organizing 'rendez-vous de l'innovation sociale' that featured La Ferme Nos Pilifs. Adjacent ecosystem player rather than direct operator.
• Emmaüs France: Large French social-economy network spanning reuse, recycling, housing, and community activities with a social inclusion mission. Comparable multi-activity social economy platform but operating at substantially greater scale and geographic breadth.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/fermenospilifs
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/la-ferme-nos-pilifs

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about La Ferme Nos Pilifs