Discovering Barcelona’s community gardens
Spending time in green spaces or bringing nature into your everyday life can benefit both your mental and physical wellbeing. Something I was seeking out when I moved from Bangkok to Barcelona last November. Initially I thought I wanted to get an allotment for myself, but realised especially after Covid 19 that I needed the social factor as well, connecting with people who understand the meaning of living with nature in the city.
Barcelona’s community gardens tend to be found in the quiet corners and marginal spaces of the city. You find them at the edge of a public square, on a disused piece of land where a building has been demolished or on the very outskirts of town.
No two gardens are the same, but all are run by a community group of one sort or another. Some are ‘occupied’ and others are officially approved. I was introduced to an officially approved community garden by my friend Juan, whom I had met when moving to Barcelona last November.
Decision making is participatory, often through the ‘assemblies’ that came to prominence in 2011 as the economic crisis hit and popular unrest saw people take over squares across the Spanish state. It’s not clear exactly how many community gardens there are in the city these days, but people involved estimate that the number is probably around 15, not counting the growing number of allotments that local authorities have made available in recent years.
Learning and ‘Little Grains of Sand’
The scope for Barcelona’s community gardens to make a real impact in terms of supplying local food is, of course, limited. The gardens themselves can be quite low profile, hidden away in quiet corners and associated with particular groups or political ideas. As one local community garden activist put it, ‘This is not Todermorden!’.
What the gardens do seem to be doing though, is raising awareness of ecological and social issues by providing a physical space where people can explore new ideas and ‘get their hands’ dirty, learning experientially alongside others. Issues like traditional local foods, seasonal foods, food sovereignty and environmental awareness can be made real for people who may have spent all their lives in a densely populated urban setting with no access to the land.
And once people start learning through a garden project, it can be the start of a journey of learning and action.
My desire to live more in sync with nature started in the city of Bangkok over 4 years ago and with the focus of reducing my waste, live with less and lowering my overall carbon footprint. It wasn’t so easy, in a city with over 14 million inhabitants and a thirst for development. I started with growing food on my balconies, along with composting, while traveling to visit permaculture farms especially in the north and northeast of Thailand.
This was truly an eye-opening experience and led me to do my permaculture course in Thailand, learning more about the local challenges of soil and seed quality, the increase of chemical fertilisers used on the fields, etc.
One of the reasons why I wanted to get more involved with urban gardens now that I live in Barcelona is because gardens are places to learn, connect with others and connect with the earth. You do, touch, see, learn how plants grow, find out about political ideas like food sovereignty, how space is used, the importance of defending traditional growing practices and local varieties from Catalonia. The gardens are spaces of transformation — people change, and one thing leads to another.
I was part of another community project in another part of town and the experience was priceless. I learned all about gardening on the balcony and was supplied with a farm table made of upcycled wood, soil, seeds and a very active whats up group. However the location was very difficult to reach, so I considered getting my own allotment outside of Barcelona, which came to a halt with the COVID Lockdown.
What I really love about this group is the consensus in sitting together and finding out what works and what doesn’t, how to improve it, share our knowledge and connecting with the neighbours. Through our Telegram group, we stay in touch in terms of who is watering, fixing, repairing things on site, what needs to be done, etc. I love the harmony of this group, the compassion of how communication flows.
I am in the team of learning more about medicinal plants and herbs and will present our findings next week. I have found a special space where I can add “my little grain of sand”, while taking steps that are a personal contribution towards the kind of city and world I want to be part of.
Please share whether you are part of a community garden and the impact it has had on you! If you don’t have access to a garden, how can you get involved to make it happen?
