Free eco-friendly workshops: let's share our solutions, with neighbours or colleagues
“I had my phone repaired for €40 thanks to the repair bonus.”
“I cycle to work now, and I'm much less stressed.”
That's what you hear in an Ecofrugal Workshop: a friendly get-together of a few people, at home, at work or in an association, to share what works. Everyone discovers each other's hidden talents, leaves with ideas to apply the very next day, and together we grow the wish to act. It's free, and anyone can do it.
In English too. Workshops can be run in English, with colleagues or neighbours who don't speak French. The facilitation booklets are written in French and their English versions are being prepared: contact us to receive a translated copy.
How does it work?
One question, one round of the table
It couldn't be simpler: the booklet suggests a question, and everyone answers in turn. “Who has ever had something repaired?” One person explains how they replaced their phone screen with an online tutorial. Another gives the address of her repairer. A third discovers the repair bonus. In a few minutes, what seemed complicated becomes possible.
So that everyone feels comfortable, people speak in the first person, about what they do or would like to do. There is no debate, and nobody lectures anyone. You can even hand over: after the first question, each person asks the next one in turn. Everyone then realises that they can run a workshop too.
Choose your theme
Eight everyday themes, each with its free facilitation booklet and practical ideas for action. Some ideas come up in several workshops: that's intended, everything is connected!
Zero waste
11 ideas to reduce your waste: bulk buying, repairing, second-hand, swapping, homemade products, composting…
Zero waste junior (ages 9-14)
11 ideas to explore in class, in small teams: printable workbook, Wish Tree and actions for the school. Free booklet to download (in French).
Food
11 ideas to eat better without spending more: labels, local and seasonal food, organic, homemade, less meat, growing your own…
Shared housing
7 ideas to share between neighbours, owners and tenants of a building: waste, sorting, mutual help, water and energy, biodiversity, noise, upkeep.
Mobility
7 ideas to travel better and for less: walking and cycling, public transport, car-pooling, car-sharing, eco-driving, flying…
Responsible digital
21 ideas to make your devices last and lighten your digital use: repairing, buying refurbished, sorting your data, using AI sparingly…
Energy saving
12 ideas to cut your energy bill: heating, appliances, hot water, travel, renovation, low-carbon energy…
Saving water
8 ideas to use less water: leaks, good habits, water-saving equipment, garden, rainwater, water footprint…
Biodiversity
9 ideas to help nature: wildlife-friendly gardens and balconies, consumption, citizen science, raising awareness…
Breaking through the glass wall
Many people think that acting for the environment is complicated, takes time and costs more. That's what we call the glass wall: you can't see it, but it stops you from moving forward.
It comes down when someone like you tells you what they tried, what it brought them, and how to go about it. Their advice is disinterested, and it fits your own life. That's the whole strength of peer-to-peer recommendation.
The spirit of the workshops
“Remember that every person who takes new directions in their daily life [to reduce their ecological footprint] tells, in their own way, a story that can inspire those around them, as long as they try neither to convince nor to preach.”
— Cyril Dion (our translation)
That's the whole idea of the Ecofrugal Workshop: everyone tells their small everyday victories, and these stories put together make people want to act.
- Free. Signing up, the booklets and the workshops are free. Workshops are run by volunteers.
- Open to all. No need to be an expert or to follow a training course: the booklet guides you step by step, from choosing your guests to the closing words.
- Solution-focused. What can we do, here and now, at our own level, at home, at work, in our association? No polarising debate: everyone talks about what they do or would like to do.
- Among peers. The advice of a neighbour or a colleague who has tried something is worth more than any recommendation algorithm. We learn from each other.
- An example, not a role model. Nobody is a role model on these topics, and nobody will ask you to be one. Sharing an example is enough: talking about your train holiday at the coffee machine, or your first second-hand purchase. That's how the wish to act spreads.
- Flexible. We recommend one hour, about 10 minutes per idea. The group chooses the ideas it is interested in, and meets again another time for the rest… or for another theme.
- Friendly. An Ecofrugal workshop is more like a neighbourhood party than a training course. At a time when everything pushes us to consume alone, each behind our own screen, it brings back community, connection and mutual help.
Why join the Ecofrugal community?
monatelier-ecofrugal.fr is not a social network like the others. It's a friendly network serving the ecological transition, quality of life and social ties:
- Organise and find workshops near you, public or by invitation.
- Offer your own events about the transition (Repair Café, swap, nature walk, cooking workshop…), with registration tools as complete as an event website, but free and ad-free.
- Share your feedback, so that the good ideas of one workshop benefit the whole community.
- Privacy respected: each participant chooses whether or not to appear in photos, and your data is protected under the GDPR. No ad targeting, no algorithm telling you what to read.
- Real members: every sign-up is checked by the team, and nicknames are not accepted. Here, people really meet.
Please note: the member area of the site is in French for now, and is being translated.
Ecofrugal Workshop or Climate Fresk: what's the difference?
We are often asked. The Fresks — the best known being the Climate Fresk — have introduced hundreds of thousands of people to environmental issues. Ecofrugal Workshops don't replace them: they complement them.
| Ecofrugal Workshop | Fresk | |
|---|---|---|
| Goal | Share practical solutions to apply straight away | Understand the causes and consequences of an issue |
| Starting point | What everyone already does or would like to do | Cards to connect, based on scientific work |
| Facilitation | Anyone, without training, thanks to the booklet | A trained facilitator |
| Length | Flexible, one hour recommended | About 3 hours |
| Price | Free | Varies: often pay-what-you-want for the public, paid in companies |
| Atmosphere | A friendly conversation between neighbours or colleagues | An educational, collaborative workshop |
The two work very well together, both ways. After an Ecofrugal Workshop, some participants want to understand the issues better and take the matching Fresk. Conversely, after a Digital Collage (Fresque du Numérique) for example, you can move on to action with the Ecofrugal Responsible digital workshop.
They tried it
Ecofrugal survey of members, July 2024.
All the more remarkable as a carbon footprint usually grows with income: proof that a more frugal lifestyle can also be a more pleasant… and cheaper one.
“Ecofrugal workshops are down-to-earth; they're like Tupperware parties, which is actually how I present them internally. They are easy to run, friendly and open to all.”
— Emmanuelle Temkine, Ecofrugal Ambassador, CSR and innovation director of Orange's Enterprise France division (from Le Guide Écofrugal, 2025, our translation)
Mon Atelier Ecofrugal is also listed by ADEME Académie (the French Agency for Ecological Transition) among the facilitation tools that support behaviour change.
And after the workshop?
Very often, the story goes on. People discover shared interests and skills, and the group decides to do something together: a give-box, a clothes swap, a Repair Café between colleagues, a compost get-together, an email-free day to get back to direct contact.
At Orange, participants created an Ecofrugal community to keep the experience going. At Quimper Bretagne Occidentale, nearly 250 managers met in 2025 for an XXL Ecofrugal Workshop, and left with practical ideas for their local authority.
And at work?
Most Ecofrugal workshops take place… at work! Over a lunch break, between colleagues who share the same values, it's a chance to act at home but also to change the practices of your organisation: give-box, compost, Repair Café between colleagues… Any employee can run a workshop for free with the booklet; talk to your HR or CSR team.
Organisations that want to roll out the workshops on a large scale can book the XXL Ecofrugal Workshop: a half-day run by an Ecofrugal Coach, from a network of freelancers that includes Philippe Lévêque, founder of Ecofrugal. This paid format is presented on ecofrugal.fr (in French).
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to be an expert to run a workshop?
No. The solutions come from the participants: your role is simply to introduce the topics, give everyone the floor and keep the discussion practical. The booklet gives you the whole running order.
Can a workshop be run in English?
Yes. The facilitator chooses the language of the workshop. The booklets are written in French and their English versions are being prepared: contact us to receive a translated copy.
How much does it cost?
Nothing: signing up, the booklets and the workshops are free.
Where can I hold a workshop?
At home, in a common room of your building, at the office, in an association, a library, a café… or even over a picnic, as long as people can sit down and hear each other. And anywhere: in mainland France, in the French overseas territories, abroad… and even online, on a video call, although nothing beats meeting in person! Only the Ecofrugal Box is reserved for workshops held in mainland France and Corsica.
How many participants?
Ideally 8 to 12 people, facilitator included: enough to exchange plenty of ideas, not so many that people can't all speak.
Can I take part without organising?
Yes. Once signed up, you can see the workshops held near you. Workshops are public or private: for a public workshop, just ask to take part, and the Ambassador approves your registration. The community is still growing: if there's no workshop near you, why not start the first one?
To go further
More than 500 practical solutions to save money and reduce your ecological footprint are in Le Guide Écofrugal (Leduc, 2025, in French), with a foreword by Fabrice Bonnifet. At the end of each section, the book presents the matching workshop.
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