Welcome by Sergio Bargelli & Gabrielle Violini – general presentation of the community garden project/cooperative:
//Partners : the Happy Garden association, the City, The Health services, a Bank Foundation, Slow Food…
//Infrastructure : the City alocated an abandoned factory and territory along the river Tevere to the responsibles of the project. The old buildings were destroyed.
A wide greenhouse was then built next to a warehouse. All around, they created a large vegetable and flower garden with a transplanting and planting area. They added a nice small building to welcome workshops, meetings, courses… facilities. They also equiped the space with a children’s playground, a cats’ hotel (managed by volunteers)
//Objectives:
Collaboration between gardeners, social workers, health workers and mental special needs learners
Slow food = short circuit of supplying the local community with vegetables and other products from the garden
Research and maintenance of old seeds, plants, vegetables…
Education : the SN workers become coaches for primary pupils who come to learn how to manage a garden, protect the environment, become aware of the importance to develop a slow food system that provide the community with fresh and healthy products.
Production of saffron – up to now the learners collected 11 grams of pistils… 1 gr = 25€
Participation to the local market with the learners
Every 6 months they share an assessment/evaluation of the project with the partners
//Outcomes:
The association has now an electric large cycle with one pedalling driver and 4 possible other people to ride around the countryside and distribute the products.
The space is now the departure of walking pads or trails along the river or throughout the rural areas.
The association or partners organise community events, barbecues, conferences… with the families, learners, inhabitants, other associations…
They could create visual arts’ workshops to colour the buildings with artists of every age production… ?
An olive tree is offered to each baby born in the community. The family is invited to send every year a picture with the tree and the child.
National Awards for inclusion.