‘Rira bien qui rira le dernier’ – that’s the French equivalent, I have recently discovered, of the saying he who laughs last laughs longest. Neither phrase exactly flows from the tip of the tongue, it has to be said – but both versions seem to encapsulate the experience of the larger-than-life French farmer Raymond Capoulade – Capou to his friends. He was such a poor pupil back in his school days that his teachers would regularly hurl out the insults big-time. He would amount to nothing more in life than un âne – a donkey. It must have been the only thing he listened to in class – for having left school to pursue a career in agriculture the colourful Capou promptly renamed his new home La Ferme de L’Ane Heureux – the Farm of the Happy Donkey! And in a move demonstrating that, contrary to popular mythology, a donkey can be both content and clever – old Capou has now opened up his farm gate to busy executives anxious to ‘get back to nature’ and experience the country life – even for the briefest of interludes.

Situated just a few miles from the Aveyron village of Laguiole, and a stone’s throw from the picturesque Aubrac plateau, Capou’s remote granite farmhouse represents the heart and sole of la France profonde. And yet the Aveyron, for all its natural beauty, is one France’s department’s reeling from the impact of rural depopulation, as the locals head off inexorably towards the big cities and bright lights. In fact there are now more Aveyronnais in Paris than back home. Enter Capou, the Happy Donkey, to the rescue..

"I’ll be honest with you. My farm was too small for me to make a living from it on agriculture alone. I love this part of France and was determined not to go down without a fight. I realised that city folk know next to nothing about country life – so I thought that I would let people discover what life on a farm is really like. For a fee, biensûr. I also happened to have a couple of trump cards up my sleeve."

"And what might those trump cards be?" I enquire.

"My cows".

"Your cows?"

"That’s right. My cows."

"When people come to the farm", Capou relates, I speak about my job, nature, the trees – and what we do with wood, which is a particular interest of mine. But we also see the farm animals - and without any doubt the most appreciated activity is the milking of the cows which takes place every morning and night."

Capou’s cows have been a big hit. And nowhere more so than with the stress-out executives and cadres, as they say in France. But why so?

Didier Maka runs Network Mapping Facilities, a software design and application company based in Montpellier – about three hours drive away. With both his cholesterol and blood pressure levels dangerously high, he was advised by his doctor to review his life-style, before his life-style reviewed him.

"To begin with I thought my GP was stark, raving mad", Maka admits. "Milking cows in the countryside was not exactly my idea of a good day out. But almost immediately upon arriving in the Aveyron I could feel the pressure easing up on me. And as for milking the cows – both helping on the machines and pulling on their udders by hand – well – it was absolutely terrific. The whole atmosphere was magical and I came away feeling wonderfully refreshed. I will never look at a glass of milk the same way again!"

There’s also happens to be far more to Capou than his cows, delightful though they be. He is so passionate about both his region and rural way of life that he is prepared to tailor-make short breaks to fit in with his customer’s needs.

"Of course the busy executive can’t spend all of his day milking the cows – pleasurable though that be. He or she would simply follow me around the farm. I don’t mean that in an insulting way. Its just to say that whatever I am doing – depending on the time of the year, of course – then the person would do with me."

Which, in practical terms, might mean leading the cows off into the fields to graze, rolling up hay-stacks, being out on the tractor, turning over the earth, planting, harvesting – and so on. Chestnuts are collected, cider is made – its all a far cry from what the Parisians refer to as métro, boulot, dodo – tube, work and kip.

With three gites ruraux based on his farm, everything is in place for a back-to-nature break – where you might well be invited to join the equally delightful Madame Capoulade for an evening meal. And although the couple no longer offer tables d’hôte, you can be sure that when you do sit down together, you will dine not as farm-working guest but as friends. One inscription in Capou’s visitors’ book caught my eye – because it seemed to encapsulate the spirit of the Farm of the Happy Donkey. "Congratulations to the farmer who", it said, "through his passion has become a gifted teacher to us stressed out city folk."

For those more serious about their grub, however, Valérie Veyre has also opened up the door not to her farmhouse but her kitchen, in the nearby hamlet of La Capelle. Together with her husband Lucien she was anxious to stop what the French refer to as the l’éxode rurale (rural exodus) – and after the village school was forced to close last year the couple decided to act. They now offer not just rather stylish gite accommodation, but personalised courses in French gastronomy – in a remote area of France where tranquillity and serenity are the watchwords.

"I am not the world’s greatest student of English", Madame Veyre told me, "but I would be only too delighted to demonstrate to busy business people our country way of life. We have chickens, rabbits, ducks and so on. And what you see is what you eat. For those brave enough to follow the whole process through – its out to the chicken sheds, the animal is selected and killed, plucked – and the following day – I demonstrate how to prepare my poule farcie which I do with a mixture of herbs, ham, parsley, eggs and so on." And husband Lucien can hardly restrain himself from putting in a good word for his wife’s marinated rabbit – which is also on the teaching list for those open or honest enough to follow the whole process through.

"Our food is far tastier than the food you buy in the supermarkets", Madame Veyre affirms. "I’ve met some city folk who don’t even know that milk comes cows – and it’s the same thing with the taste of real butter – which has largely been lost. Ours is a return to traditional, wholesome country cuisine where taste is high and artificial hormones low."

The message, thus, is clear. It is possible to narrow the gulf between country and town folk – albeit temporarily. Its back-to-nature before going back-to-work – but refreshed and revitalised. There are farms in this little known part of France where it is possible to learn how to milk cows, clean out their sheds, make hay and practise local recipes – surely ideal for the weary tycoon.

And now look at the rest of old Capou’s address. In it you will see the word Soulage. How’s your French? Might you happen to know that in English this happens means relax!

• Raymonde Capoulade

La Ferme de l’Ane Heureux

La Crestillie, Soulages-Bonneval 12210

(4 kms from Laguiole)

Tel: + 33 (0)5 65 44 31 63

• Valérie and Lucien Veyre

La Capelle, 12140, Florentin

Tel/Fax: + 33 (0)5 65 44 46 39