Founded in 1999, the Paysages Humains association's main mission is to rebuild and re-establish social and cultural ties among communities affected by conflict. Its work began in the Balkans and Albania, where it organized an opera for Kosovo refugees that was performed at the Tirana Opera House, and launched humanitarian aid convoys and a traveling circus in Kosovo between 1999 and 2000.

After a period of inactivity, the association was reactivated in 2014 by Sandrine and Olivier Despretz Maricot, who decided to personally fund projects across the globe during their travels, without limiting themselves to specific areas or genres.

Initiatives include:
* Rural development by improving irrigation and access to water, introducing new farming techniques and building housing in inhospitable regions.
* Promoting education and equal opportunities by supporting schools in disadvantaged areas, disseminating culture, promoting literacy among women and defending gender equality.
* Patronage of the arts through the organization of festivals, artistic residencies and the creation of meeting and creative spaces.
* Collaboration with the Quynh gallery to commission works of art.

Starting in 2017, Paysages Humains diversified its projects by organizing Mon 1er Long, a French-language film festival in Turkey and supporting Ohlala! another independent film festival in Spain, as well as Nananère, a modern clown and magic show in France, and A beginning #16161D, a musical and choreographic show in Barcelona.

In 2021, under the direction of Sandrine Maricot Despretz, the association is launching Hémisphère son, an online music magazine dedicated to promoting innovative music. This platform is run by journalists and musicologists, and aims to support the creation of original works while serving as a guide to discover festivals, ensembles, labels, webradios and international networks.

Sandrine Maricot Despretz is a producer specializing in contemporary music and arts, new technologies and innovative projects. From 1994 to 2004, she founded and directed the Namaste agency, producing and co-producing numerous artistic projects (dance, music, opera, musical theater, etc.) in France and abroad. She also programmed the Court Toujours festival in Poitiers with Jean Boillot.
In 2004, she moved to Istanbul.
In 2021, she created the online music magazine Hémisphère son.

Olivier Despretz has worked as a journalist and documentary film producer. It was in this context that, in 1999, he created Paysages Humains to bring culture to refugee camps and conflict zones. In 2000, he created a contemporary opera in Tirana (Albania) and took part in humanitarian and cultural aid convoys in the Balkans. In 2004, he moved to Istanbul, where he hosted a cultural program and culinary encounters across Anatolia for the Turkish documentary channel IZ TV until 2017. In 2021, he launches a writing and poetic research project.

Since 2018, they have been based in Barcelona.