A former ochre factory to gather the region around color

Ôkhra is located in a former ochre factory built in 1921 in the area of Roussillon, a small town of 1300 inhabitants in the south of France’s Natural Parc of Luberon. When the early business stopped in 1963, the association Ôkhra renovated in 1994 and in 2005 changed its status to become a social cooperative grouping different stakeholders: local bodies, workers, users, etc. Today, the cooperative is gathering 41 worker-members and producer-members and others 248 cooperators (companies, artisans, clients, suppliers, volunteers and local authorities).

Ôkhra’s aim is to promote arts, sciences and professions of colour. It defines itself as a cultural cooperative open to all generations of visitors and professionals dedicated to sharing resources and transmission of knowledge and know-how for anything to do with colour.

For the past 20 years, Ôkhra has been developing links between the actors of colour by bringing them together for various exhibitions, conferences, training sessions and meetings. Today the cooperative is developing the Territorial Pole for Economic Cooperation “Matières & Couleurs Luberon Provence” gathering companies, cooperative associations, university and local authorities to develop the colour sector in the region.