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Paper short abstract:

Between utopian rural mobilities and disillusions, the creation of an ecovillage engenders some contradictions. While rural exodus appears for founders as a necessary solution to preserve the environment by developping its "authentical" self, it also generates ecological issues as tourism.

Paper long abstract:

Ecological crisis, globalisation, fast lifestyles, loss of social relationships and identity indetermination forces citizens of our current western society into an uncomfortable and stressful way of life (Le Breton, 2015 ; Rosa, 2020). Some of them decide to move toward rural locations in order to create new futures far away from pollution of cities. It is the case of the ecovillage of Le Ruisseau (alias), in Occitanie (France). Living close to nature is perceived as a good way to develop an « authentic self » which is necessary to resolve ecological dysfunctions. Urban exodus appears as a necessary solution to preserve the environment. The creators of this ecovillage tried to set up what is Godelier (2007) named a superreal imaginary which means to be able to produce different levels of realities. They made real what was at dream state (in the sense of Glowczewski, 2021). By proposing workshops and retreats in this designed place, the inhabitants create another type of mobility : the tourism of authenticity and self-quest (Selwynn, 1996 ; Cravatte, 2009). Unfortunately, the enchantment of authenticity, made by an aesthetic device, does not work on everybody. In this paper, I will discuss the many contradictions between the utopian rural mobility and the disillusion that it can provide. Moreover, I will describe the paradox between the response to the environmental crisis and its ecological implications.