Benjamin Baker

In the early 11th century, the monks of the Abbey of St-Michel-en-l’Herm established salt marshes on the Île de Ré, which became known as “Ré-la-Blanche” due to the white salt mounds. From the Middle Ages to the 19th century, these marshes ensured the region’s economic prosperity, with a peak production of 30,000 tons of salt per year. However, the Industrial Revolution and a drop in salt prices led to a decline in activity. Since the 1990s, the cooperative of around 70 salt workers has revived the salt tradition, helping to preserve the island’s cultural identity. The cooperative is a pooling of skills, human and material resources to collect, store, package, and market coarse salt and fleur de sel from our 70 member producers. It offers a wide range of coarse salt, fine salt, fleur de sel, and aromatic salts in various packaging options, all produced within the cooperative’s workshop. The cooperative holds the highest level of IFS (International Food Standards) certification and is a proud member of the Fair for Life initiative. Moreover, after years of dedicated effort, our salt farmers have been recognized by the government, which has officially acknowledged the need to protect salt from the Île de Ré. Recently, this recognition was solidified with the granting of a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI), source of immense pride and joy for our farmers.