The EHS refuge in southern France

photo courtesy of Ann Rosenqvist Atterbom

The French environmental organization Next-Up (next-up.org) has created a low-radiation camp for people with electro hypersensitivity (EHS), called “The EHS Refuge Zone”. The camp is located in the French province of Drôme in southeastern France.

The nearest neighbor is about 1 km (2/3 mile) away. There are two cell towers in the area, 9 km (6 miles) and 15 km (9 miles) away. The nearest town of size is Valence.

People who wish to live in the camp must bring their own travel trailers. The camp has a bath house, water and electricity for the campers. There are also picnic areas inside Faraday cages, to shield against the distant cell towers.

Some of the picnic areas have non-electric gas stoves and gas refrigerators for use by the guests.

There are two shielded steel huts for people to stay in for up to three days, to check out the area before they invest in their own travel trailer. Tent campers are not accepted.

The area is divided into multiple zones, with some more restrictive than others.

People staying there are encouraged to grow their own vegetables on small plots.

The province of Drôme has decided to provide fiber optic broadband internet and telephone access to every household, so there will never be any wireless internet transmitters (WiMax or LTD) in the area. The camp already has telephone and internet services for the guests.

It is free to stay in the camp, but a doctor’s note or recommendation from an EHS organization is required. They have had guests from other countries, especially Austria and Germany. The camp is closed during the winter.

The French organizers hope to eventually have a low-radiation zone (called White Zones”) in each of France’s 96 provinces.

Source: The 2010/3 issue of Ljusglimten, a publication of the Swedish EHS organization FEB.