Our Story
We’re a tranquil space in the center of south Louisiana’s vibrant cultures and breathtaking natural environment. Our incredible cuisine, amazing local music and one-of-a-kind attractions make our home a very special corner of the universe.
We’re organic gardeners, naturalists and art & music lovers. We opened our Bonne Terre: Louisiana Farm Stay five years ago, and started our organic farm in the late 1970s.
Located in the heart of Cajun and Creole country, Bonne Terre — the good earth — is a 10 acre organic farm with 3 separate residences: The Main House, The Studio, and The Cottage. We’re just a few miles from Breaux Bridge, Louisiana, which happens to be the Crawfish Capital of the World!
We have two organic gardens, a small orchard, several flocks of free-range chickens, including Lavender Orpingtons, Polish Chickens, Serama Miniature Chickens, Olive Egger Chickens and Black Copper Marans, to name a few here at our farm. Some of our most popular occupants are our heirloom Royal Palm Turkeys and Sebastopol Geese. We also house a little herd of goats that provide lots of daily entertainment. Since you are what you eat, we are extremely particular about what our animals consume. We support our local feed store, which provides us with Non-GMO feeds for our critters and we support ethically produced food.
We care deeply for the environment. Our main house and the studio are comfortably settled in a rural Louisiana landscape to leave the lightest impact on the land. We furnish our guests with: recycling bins, a kitchen compost pail for organic waste, 100% cotton linens, natural soaps and sprays created by local artisans, Organic and Fair Trade Certified food products, cloth napkins and non-disposable dishes, access to books, music and DVDs by Louisiana artists, and a non-smoking environment.
Bonne Terre’s homestead includes a two-acre woodlot and a National Wildlife Federation certified wildlife habitat. We are tree ambassadors and sponsor planting trees at the equator through http://www.communitycarbontrees.org/.
When visiting our farm stay, personalized scheduled farm tours are offered, and weather /or time permitting, guests may help with basic farm chores, such as gathering eggs from our flocks of chickens, feeding critters and, when in season, harvesting fruits and vegetables.
Our lovely hundred year-old Main House and Cedar Studio are spaces for anyone looking for a place to breathe; to slow down; to connect with nature. The main house at Bonne Terre was built in New Iberia, Louisiana around 1914 and still carries in it the quiet of that earlier time. Pine and cypress throughout, with eleven foot ceilings, it made the slow, thirty-two mile journey from New Iberia to Poche Bridge in 1998 when it was just over 90 years old. Set back near the woods, our Studio, built as a musician’s studio, has its own space, yard, firepit and now, its own kitchen and bathroom. There is a wrap-around deck and shaded outdoor sitting areas for bird-watching and enjoying the outdoors, along with a comfortable swing near studio for morning or afternoon coffee or just daydreaming.
Come discover, create or just be with us!