Local resident using the allotments at our Fleet Street Hill site
Space is a premium in cities and although they are centres of development and innovation they are also places where experiences of isolation and alienation are frequent.
Higher cost of living can impact negatively on quality of life for many. Our communities, those vital support networks, can be marginalised. Due to austerity measures and funding cuts community centres are closing down. There are no more ‘third spaces’ that people can interact in.
By opening spaces that become community gardens we are enabling local residents to re-establish their communities, to learn new skills, discover new interests and new purposes.
There is a truly universal language in growing food. It is cross-cultural, pan-religious activity done by all ages and genders. But anyone that’s tried to get an allotment will know there’s no hope of it unless they are willing (and able) to wait years. We build raised vegetable planters that are movable, by mounting them on plastic pallets that local residents can use as allotments. We construct them on site or move them into place from another site using a forklift and flatbed truck.
We ‘raise’ the beds not only to make them portable, but to also eliminate any risk of contamination with the ground. This means that practically any outdoor space can be used for a garden, or just about anywhere (with enough access to sunlight!).
And when it is time to move we do just that!
http://nomadicgardens.weebly.com/