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Under a blazing sun, two dromedaries, Lili and Touareg, crisscross the beach at Frontignan (Hérault): bags slung on their backs, they are looking for waste to collect from holidaymakers, surprised to come across such an animal far from the African deserts.
“The goal,” explains Coralie Le Meur, co-founder of the Dromasud farm and dromedary breeder, “It is to encourage people to take their waste home, or to throw it away at the beach towards the containers to be sorted. Camels attract, they act as mediators between humans and nature“.
“It allows us to get in touch with children to teach them how to sort. What better way than through animals to teach us to respect nature?“, continues the 28-year-old woman, to AFP.
Since 2023, during all summer holidays, once every 15 days, each time on Saturday, the town hall of Frontignan has thus chosen to raise awareness among tourists about respecting their environment, by calling on this local company and its camelids.
“It was a crazy experience at first. Walking camels on the beach, picking up trash. The goal is fun: to raise awareness among children from a young age and encourage them to sort their trash.“, explains Jean-Louis Molto, elected to the town hall of Frontignan, delegate for port and seaside areas.
On the beach, Saturday, success was once again there. Touareg, a 16-year-old male dromedary, and Lili, a four-year-old female, arouse the curiosity of holidaymakers, who are encouraged to throw their waste in bags stamped with the City’s logo and placed on the sides of the animals. They circulate on this beach every fortnight.
“Hello, do you have plastic waste, packaging?“, Coralie says, while pulling the dromedary towards her, to a small group of people lying on their towels.
“Champion of savings”
Luc Rivière, 64, wearing a swimsuit and sunglasses, can’t believe it. With two empty bottles in his hand, half reassured, he comes to put them in one of the bags carried by Touareg, without taking his eyes off the animal.This is amazing” he exclaims, “I think it can motivate people to be careful, motivate them to do what is necessary to keep a clean beach.“.
The ambling and swaying gait of the two dromedaries continues along the seven kilometers of Frontignan beach, there and back. A walk that took them more than three hours on Saturday, their presence attracting the attention of families.
“I had never seen one!” exclaims a little girl in a pink swimsuit. “It doesn’t smell good“, comments another young vacationer, bursting into laughter.
Once their passage on the beach is over, Lili and Touareg head towards one of the parallel streets, where the sorting bins are located. Their bags are emptied and their contents distributed in the corresponding containers. If the volume is significant, the exact number of kilos thus collected is currently being studied by the town hall.
“Before, we had trash cans on the beach“, says Jean-Louis Molto, the elected representative from Frontignan: “But once full, people would put their bags of rubbish next to them. The seagulls would come and burst them and the wind would blow everything back into the sea. So it seemed important to us to move these bins (Editor’s note: on the seafront road) by adding selective sorting.“, explains the elected official.
Accompanied by their guides through the city, the two dromedaries only have to return on foot to their farm, satisfied with a day “where everyone felt useful”, explains their owner.
“The dromedary is the champion of savings and resources.“, insists Cécile Le Meur, 55 years old, co-founder of the Dromasud farm with her daughter Coralie: “It is an animal that does not drink much, is hyper-adapted to heat, knows perfectly well how to walk in the sand, and therefore lends itself almost naturally to picking up waste on the beach.“.
Slideshow: Teach your children to preserve the environment while having fun