Month: January 2012

Orto Errante is the vegetable garden of Occupy Rome. Like other Occupy sites (New York, Toronto, Barcelona) people involved decided to create a vegetable garden because it is a symbol of self determination, of economical independence and a way to reconnect with our biological and cultural roots. The garden is a mobile one, since the Occupy will move in other places in the future. The first was made in november 2011 in S. Croce in Gerusalemme. Then followed Occupy in the new site near the Fao building.

 

El Xino it is a very low income neighborhood, located in the inner center of Barcelona, in the harbour area. A gentrification is gooing on and many old houses are pull down. Since the economical crisis there is no project of rebuilding. Huerto el Xino, was born in 2009 where a squatted house was destroyed and a social carpentery was in action for a while.  It’s a private land, but nobody is reclaiming it. And the Ayuntamento, the municipality, is only worried for a risk of fire. A group of people living in the Rambla decided firt of all to clean the area which was full of garbage. Then they decided to cultivate lang and create a vegetable garden.  Now they are open every saturday a sunday, many people (and many children) are going there, since there is no green area in the neighborhood. They organize parties, workshops, sharing of seeds, and since is also a touristic area, many visitors are coming.

Falbala is a courtyard of around 70 square meters inside a social houses building, in a very popular neighborhoods. It was a garden, but nobody went there before: they were afraid of a small group of drug sellers.  A group of women living there decided to open a community garden in 2007, reclaiming the common ground. And all changed: people went downstep, the drug sellers became less violent, and the garden is now a place where everybody can meet other people, share, grow vegetables.  They have also a room where they can meet and organize workshops.