quatre quarts

About quatre quarts

Quatre Quarts SC is a cooperative founded in 2015 by Valérie Ridelle, Pauline Gérard, and Laurence Fonsny. Based in the former Court-Saint-Etienne railway station building, it has grown from an initial set of four activities into a broader community project built around a shared place, democratic governance, and social purpose.

The cooperative positions itself as a convivial and solidarity-driven third place for local residents, associations, entrepreneurs, teleworkers, and other community actors. Its stated mission is to create and animate a welcoming space for meetings, exchanges, awareness-raising, culture, and learning, with people and social usefulness placed ahead of profit.

Core Values

• Sustainability: Quatre Quarts says it develops the site in line with a sustainable way of life, taking present needs into account while respecting future generations across food, animation, and space design.
• Proximity: The cooperative emphasizes both geographic and human proximity, aiming to be accessible to everyone and to host many local activities in one place.
• Culture: It seeks to be a place for artistic creation and cultural dissemination, with room for workshops, performances, and other cultural formats.
• Shared governance: The organization uses sociocracy rather than a pyramidal hierarchy, with responsibilities distributed among cooperative members and volunteers.
• Conviviality: The project prioritizes a friendly, welcoming atmosphere and the creation of a space where people can meet, share, and feel at ease.
• Solidarity and social purpose: Quatre Quarts frames its mission around social usefulness, mutual support, and exchanges that strengthen community ties.

Unique Aspects

• Former railway-station setting: The cooperative is located in the old Court-Saint-Etienne station building, which gives it a distinctive, accessible setting and supports its role as a local hub.
• Social-purpose cooperative with regional recognition: It states that it has a social purpose and holds social approval from the Walloon Region, reinforcing its non-profit-centered positioning.
• Citizen-led governance model: Members, volunteers, working groups, a cooperative assembly, a board, and a general assembly all play roles in decision-making and oversight.
• Dedicated citizen support structure: Quatre Quarts Citoyens, an ASBL, manages annex rooms and related animation with a policy of low prices and supports social and cultural activities.
• Partnership-based local initiatives: The third-place program includes named initiatives such as Talapatat, a repair space developed with Rawète, and cultural programming expanded through the rural third-place grant from the Walloon Region.