Thriving too

What and Who She's Wearing!

Fashion isn't trivia you know... especially when it's Mrs O we are talking about.  Very charmed by this site, mrs-o.org, in amongst the belt talk (above: silver Givenchy) are some insights into the White House Garden which is of great interest around here.

There is a fascinating article with Daniel Bowman Simon and Casey Gustowarow on The Who Farm Project:

Mrs. O has said the kitchen garden was high on her list of priorities as First Lady. Supporting the effort, alongside other influential voices, was The Who Farm Project. The project was a cross-country non-partisan campaign for a White House organic farm, led by Daniel Bowman Simon and Casey Gustowarow. The two young men had previously lived on the same island (Bohol) during their Peace Corps assignment in the Philippines. Now that the garden has come to fruition, the guys have even launched a Thank You Michelle Obama effort. We wanted to understand more about their project and mission, which we're delighted to share below....

Full Blog post can be read here.

Future of Urban Farming

Interesting visualisation of Urban Farming by squit/opera.

New York's High Line Park Opens

Eagerly anticipated, the High Line Park opened last week. So exciting! More on the history in our earlier post.

Pics Via:  Inhabit  and Friends of Highline

Community Shopping

A friend of mine volunteers in the West Meon Community Shop in the Meon Valley, Hampshire, which has become a thriving community facility despite its Post Office being reduced to an 8 hours a week Outreach service in April 2008. The evolution into this facility actually took place following two separate phases: firstly, a campaign to save and refurbish the shop which began in 2006; secondly, a bid to develop the facility in 2008 by renovating an unconverted store at the rear of the premises to provide an internet café, drop in meeting point and Tourist Information Source. It is managed by the village.

Arthur Potts Dawson is a chef turned social entrepreneur, who believes the big supermarket chains have had their day and the demand for a more ethical social model could and should come sooner than we think. In an article in the Independent, he talks about his hopes to start a People's Supermarket, and describes in more detail what that would mean.

Food co-operatives depend on collaboration among communities, but Potts Dawson argues that if, in addition, people grew one tenth of their own food, it would provide a real educational legacy.

"If people grow things themselves, their children understand, then schools in the area know that this community's generating something with its own energy, to consume. And what it does do is highlight that wherever you live, in an urban setting, or a country setting, food is important and don't disregard it."

Wouldn't that be great!!

Fallen Fruit

"Public Fruit" is the concept behind the Fallen Fruit, an activist art project which started as a mapping of all the public fruit in our neighborhood. We ask all of you to contribute your maps so they expand to cover the United States and then the world. We encourage everyone to harvest, plant and sample public fruit, which is what we call all fruit on or overhanging public spaces such as sidewalks, streets or parking lots. 

We believe fruit is a resource that should be commonly shared, like shells from the beach or mushrooms from the forest. Fallen Fruit has moved from mapping to planning fruit parks in under-utilized areas. Our goal is to get people thinking about the life and vitality of our neighborhoods and to consider how we can change the dynamic of our cities and common values."

If you find Public Fruit interesting it is worth watching this 10 minute interview with the organisers because they talk about the reactions of the local councils initially. It has a lot to tell us about participation and how to get people involved .... I find it ridiculously exciting stuff!

Protecting India's Biodiversity

Navdanya aims to protect India's biodiversity in more ways than one.

"1984 was the year of the Punjab Violence and the Bhopal tragedy. This violence demanded a paradigm shift in the practice of agriculture. Navdanya was born of this search for nonviolent farming, which protects biodiversity, the Earth and our small farmers.

Navdanya means nine crops that represent India's collective source of food security. The main aim of the Navdanya biodiversity conservation programme is to support local farmers, rescue and conserve crops and plants that are being pushed to extinction and make them available through direct marketing.

Navdanya is actively involved in the rejuvenation of indigenous knowledge and culture. It has created awareness on the hazards of genetic negineering, defended people's knowledge from biopiracy and food rights in the face of globalisation.

It has its own seed bank and organic farm spread over an ares of 20 acres in Uttranchal, north India."

"Diverse Women for Diversity is a programme of Navdanya. It seeks to herald a global campaign of women on biodiversity, cultural diversity and food security.  It seeks to strengthen women's grassroots movements and provide women with a common international platform to air their views.

Over the years, Diverse Women for Diversity has evolved a non-violent resistance and opposition to globalisation, emergency of genetic engineering and patents on life forms. Women of the world join hands under Diverse Women for Diversity."

The Friends of High Line

The High Line is a disused elevated railway 1.45 miles long which runs through New York, spanning 22 blocks. Thanks to the community spirited work of The Friends of the High Line this waste of space is being transformed into a park, instead of being demolished as planned. I hardly need to say it, but another amazing example of people working together to create something beautiful. 

You can see the full slideshow.

Something similar was done in Paris

If I needed an excuse to visit New York this would probably be it. It is expected to open in Spring 2009... soon!

Living in the 70s.... again

For those of us who remember the 70s it felt a lot like 2009.  Between the looming recession and global warming there are rather a lot of 70s things which feel very current.  The charming Good Life series for example. 

Then there is Delia Smith's reprinting of Frugal Food, just a couple of months ago...

So we are back in the era of growing our own vegetables and also hopefully enjoying the benefits of a new and, it feels like, a refreshing and fun return to appreciating what doesn't come pre-packed.  In more ways than just vegetables.  

One difference is that when you want help with growing vegetables you send out questions on Twitter.  Like today.  Thank you Laura  and Tracey !  

Capital Growth

"Launched at the beginning of November 2008, the Capital Growth campaign is aiming to create 2,012 new food growing spaces in London by 2012. Capital Growth is already working with the first five growing spaces, and is receiving enquiries from landowners and communities across London about many more possible sites." 

Grow Local

"Community Crops was started by Andy Witkowski with one community garden in 2003, and then grown through the efforts of Andy and Kim Matthews to become a successful program. In 2007, CROPS has eleven community garden sites, a training farm, a successful Community Supported Agriculture program, a regular stand at the new Old Cheney Road Farmers' Market, and more."

Interrogating Public Space

Cool title? James David sent me this interview with Fritz Haeg, which talks, among other things, about his Edible Estates project. For each “estate”, Haeg and his team of volunteers create an elaborate vegetable garden in a front lawn. These public displays disrupt the monotony of suburban landscaping and confound categories of public and private.

With the Edible Estates regional prototype gardens I am removing unused, toxic, polluting, water-guzzling no-mans-land spaces and replacing them with productive edible gardens. People are back on the streets reconnected to their local ecology, food and neighbors. I'm interested in what happens when a garden is placed in a location where it becomes a threat to the industrial/commercial system that we are embedded in. For some neighborhoods, it is a very provocative gesture that is upsetting. I think that a society that cannot grow it's own food or that is threatened by a garden is in deep trouble.

Victory Gardens

Victory Gardens is a pilot project funded by the City of San
Francisco to support the transition of backyard, front yard, window boxes, rooftops, and unused land into organic food production areas.

Interesting, but not as exciting in my opinion as the dott07 Urban Farming Project that my friend David Barrie was involved in designing.

Outstanding in the Field

Following the links from Laura's post on Jim Denevan's sand art below, I discovered another project that he works on Outstanding in the Field. Open Dinners are arranged and held mostly in the open air, bringing together local farmers and food artisans, chefs and winemakers, they explore the connection between the earth and the food on your plate.

Looks beautiful, and very helpful in raising awareness about food production and location.

Gardening anyone?

Richard Reynolds, founder of Guerrilla Gardening has a new book out tomorrow.

James David Morgan has written a great review of the Richard's story about his London based movement on the Groundswell Collective.

The Coffee Fairy

Martina Gruppo has recently started a wonderful community based business called The Coffee Fairy. Martina has worked to create small coffee growing collaboratives, buying the coffee direct and giving a percentage of all profits to the community to educate their children. Wow. I think this is just great.

A perfect example of a Social Business as described by Muhammad Yunus in his recently published book Creating a World Without Poverty.

Urban Farming Project on the Thriving website!!!

I am beside myself with happiness. My favourite community project is now a Case Study on the main Thriving website.

The Urban Farming Project in Middlesbrough won the Creative Community Award in October at the Dott 07 Festival and is a wonderfl example of a creative, inclusive community project which has captured everyone's imagination. That is David Barrie in the pic on the right, who led the creation of the project. :)

The project is now just spreading..... how fantastic!!

School gardens are flourishing

Another story of a great school garden, this time in E. Rivers Elementary School in Buckhead in Atlanta. With so many obvious benefits, fun and community, the environment, plus good health, you have to wonder why every school doesn't have one.

Click Here for more details on the Atlanta school garden