The Ôkhra Conservatoire des Ocres near Roussillon in Provence, France was once a thriving ochre factory before the widespread use of acrylic paints. It is run by a cooperative of people “passionate about ochre, color, culture, and socially responsible economy”. Down a country road about 1.5 km south-east of Roussillon, it is great to visit on a sunny summer day in Provence (and aren’t they all really). There’s not much of a café but the grounds are pleasant and access is good. The rooms where ochre was processed are lovely old things, machinery coated in the coloured dust. In some rooms there are walls filled with vials of ochre, some of which are for sale.
There is also a bit of an elephant theme going on for some reason, obscure but admirable.
