L’usine d’ocre Mathieu à travers le temps
The Ochre Ecomuseum occupies a former ochre processing site, the Camille Mathieu factory.
Abandoned in the 1960s, it has been restored to become a place of history and discovery.
ôkhra 30 years
ôkhra celebrates its 30th anniversary

Centenary place
Centenary siteThe site celebrates 100 years since the factory was founded in 1921.

New identity
ôkhra adopts a new name for the former Mathieu ochre factory in Roussillon, Provence. Previously named Conservatoire des ocres et de la couleur, you can now call it Écomusée de l’ocre.

Opening to the public
Following a call for tenders in 1995, the Ôkhra association was selected. It signed a 12-year leasing contract with the municipality. At the end of this period, a new call for tenders led to the SCIC’s renewal until 2022. The cooperative’s objective is “to contribute to the safeguarding and promotion of knowledge and know-how linked to the production of ochre and the use of coloring materials in various fields: construction, painting, paper, art and crafts”.

Birth of the cooperative
The SCIC cooperative was created in 1994 as a partnership between the Commune of Roussillon in the Vaucluse and the founders of the project, led by Mathieu Barrois. The SCIC ôkhra is responsible for developing the Usine Mathieu and the Conservatoire des ocres et de la couleur.
Its main objective is to contribute to the preservation and promotion of knowledge and know-how linked to the production of ochre and the use of coloring materials in various fields: building, painting, paper, art and crafts.

The Camille Mathieu factory
The Mathieu factory is a former ochre production plant that produced around 1,000 tonnes of ochre per year between 1921 and 1963. Abandoned for several years as an industrial wasteland, it has been open to visitors since 1994. The washing systems, kiln and mills have been restored to show the various stages in ore processing, from extraction to shipping. This technical history of ochre is placed in its local and international economic and cultural context, so that everyone can grasp the past, present and future challenges of this material, which remains an inalterable natural pigment with centuries-old uses.
To learn more about the history of the place, okhra, ocher and the region, do not hesitate to visit us or to book online here