Coopérative Oasis is a Paris-based collective interest cooperative (SCIC) founded in 2018, which supports individuals and groups wishing to create or live in shared ecological habitats known as “oasis.” Its origins trace back to the “Oasis en tous lieux” movement initiated by Pierre Rabhi in the late 1990s and formalised through the Colibris association’s “Projet Oasis” starting in 2014. Mathieu Labonne and Gabrielle Paoli were instrumental in its early development, with all activities transferred from Colibris to Coopérative Oasis in May 2020, establishing an independent governance structure involving residents and a multidisciplinary board.
The organisation’s activities include professional guidance for project founders, training, and awareness-raising around participatory housing. It maintains a national scope, having identified over 1,600 ecolieu projects in cooperation with Habitat Participatif France. The cooperative facilitates collaborative resource creation, brand management for the “oasis” network, and financial solutions for new sites.
Concrete examples of its ongoing work involve supporting new community projects such as the donation and transformation of a historic home in Chavanac for nature preservation, and the development of an ecolieu in Béarn, for which candidate collectives are actively sought. Another highlighted initiative is La Rub in Alsace, where three families have jointly acquired a former hotel to establish a shared living space on 1.5 hectares.
Coopérative Oasis is recognised for its participatory governance and its role in scaling ecological and community-based living solutions across France.