This is the story of a rather crazy project, carried out by a Breton village, a village named after an island, the island of Molène. We have an appointment at the tip of Finistère, south-east of Ouessant, in the Iroise Sea. It is Thomas who welcomes us on the Ledenez de Molène.
Whoever sees Molène sees his pain, this adage well known to sailors applies perfectly to this ledenez, devoted since the 18th century to the seaweed farming activity. The presence of pigouilles reached its peak in the 1930s when more than 280 people worked in extremely difficult conditions. During the harvest, the entire 11 hectares of the island, from the meadows to the rocks, was covered with seaweed. Once dry, the seaweed was burned in ovens dug simply in the dunes, to form soda loaves from which iodine was extracted.
Access to the Ledenez at low tide by a string of pebbles
So, what to do with this deserted island located 350 m from the village, linked at low tide by a pebbled cord, an island crad with colours, with an amazing white sand beach with transparent waters, a moor in bloom and a wild bird fauna? Thomas fell in love with the island, he left the North to come and settle there, with his wife and child.
"Molène's town council wanted to give a new lease of life to Lendenez while preserving its history. The wooden huts had to be saved before they disappeared. So they were restored". No showers, no drinking water, but toilets... dry on the Ledenez: "we have rehabilitated the impluvium which allows to recover rainwater, a huge job. For electricity, we are autonomous with solar panels and batteries, it's always nice here, it's known!"
The Ledenez impluvium
The Sea Shelter opened in June 2017. "The first customers were kayakers, we also received hikers, boaters, families looking for new and atypical experiences". The cabins have 2 bedrooms with 3 beds and a common room including a kitchen. Spending the night on a desert island will only cost you 15 euros per person. A great opportunity to have a barbecue while enjoying a magnificent sunset on the Ponant islands.
