Association Kokopelli is a non-profit organization based in Le Mas d'Azil,

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with small independent branches in

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and

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. It was created in France in March 1999 by a group of people who have been involved since 1987 in the protection of

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

medicinal plant Medicinal plants, also called medicinal herbs, have been discovered and used in traditional medicine practices since prehistoric times. Plants synthesize hundreds of chemical compounds for various functions, including Plant defense against her ...

s and the production of organic seeds. Its name reflects the

Southwestern The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

Native American fertility deity

Kokopelli Kokopelli () is a fertility deity, usually depicted as a humpbacked flute player (often with feathers or antenna-like protrusions on his head), who is venerated by some Native American cultures in the Southwestern United States. Like most fer ...

. In 2008, the foundation was fined €35,000 for selling varieties of seeds not in the EU Common Catalogue.

Development

In 2006, the association's turnover was around 800,000 euros. In 2015, the association's turnover reached 2.5 million euros, then 3.2 million euros in 2016. In 2016, Kokopelli claims to have nearly 12,000 members and approximately 120,000 clients. Based for more than ten years in

Alès Alès (; oc, Alès) is a Communes of France, commune in the Gard Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie regions of France, region in southern France. It is one of the Subprefectures in France, su ...

, in the Gard region, Kokopelli moved in August 2013 to

Mas-d'Azil Le Mas-d'Azil (; oc, Lo Mas d'Asilh) is a commune in the Ariège department in southwestern France, containing a cave that is the typesite for the prehistoric Azilian The Azilian is a Mesolithic industry of the Franco-Cantabrian region ...

in Ariège. In 2017, the association inaugurated its new 1,300 m2 headquarters, for an investment of 1.6 million euros, built with the support of local public authorities, including the Ariège departmental council, the Occitanie regional council, and the commune of Mas-d'Azil. In June 2018, Dominique Guillet relinquished the presidency of the association in order to be able to "free his speech and his actions without committing Kokopelli" a reference to the sometimes polemical comments posted on his blog. His son, Ananda Guillet, was appointed by the board of directors to take over.

Development

References

External links