Visit to “L’Arbre qui Pousse”

Visit to “L’Arbre qui Pousse” – 50 Master’s Students in CSR

As part of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) course led by Professor Sabine Denis, a group of 50 LSM Master’s students visited L’Arbre qui Pousse, an inspiring initiative located in Ottignies. The visit was designed to bring to life key concepts from the course, including regenerative economy, participatory governance, human values in business, and social entrepreneurship.

L’Arbre qui Pousse is a third place – a vibrant ecosystem where artisans, entrepreneurs, associations, and citizens come together to experiment with new ways of producing, consuming, working, and making decisions collectively. The site hosts a shared workshop, a cooperative restaurant, coworking spaces, community gardens, a sustainable bakery, and a training hub — all designed to combine ecological, social, and economic impact.

Its governance model particularly inspired the students: collegial, horizontal, and participatory, it applies the principles of holacracy and sociocracy. Every stakeholder takes part in decision-making, ensuring coherence between the community’s values, mission, and economic activities.

The visit provided a concrete and engaging opportunity to explore key dimensions of the course, such as creating shared value beyond profit and measuring holistic impact — economic, social, and environmental.

Discussions with members of the collective were rich and insightful. Students had the chance to ask questions about how the project is financed, how decisions are made, and how they measure the regeneration they aim to achieve.