Greeks reclaim Athens Airport for growing food

A group of community-minded gardeners have turned a former Athens airport into a blooming vegetable plot, showing how Greece’s eroded soil holds the keys to a revival in farming and a way to buck the jobless trend.

‘If we want to survive on this land we must first help to heal the earth,’ said Nicola Netién, agro-ecologist, teacher and co-creator of the NGO Permaculture Research Institute Hellas. He was talking to a group of some fifty people of all ages who had gathered for two days of workshops on self-sufficiency, how to self-organize, agro-ecology and composting. This small gathering was taking place on a beautifully sunny autumn day at the former Athens airport, Ellinikon.

When the airport moved to another location 10 years ago in preparation for Athens hosting the 2004 Olympic Games, there was the hope and the State’s promise that this now available land would become a park. Then the ‘crisis’ landed and rumors began spreading that the site had been sold to an international developer who would pour yet more concrete on the chaotic sprawl that is Athens. This is when a small group of local residents, bearing seeds and armed with shovels, moved in. Their mission: to create a communal and productive agricultural space that will encourage an exploration into antidotes for the ecological-economic-educational and cultural crisis.

‘Thirty percent of Greece’s arable land has salinized and every year Greece looses 750,000 cubic meters of topsoil as a result of erosion and poor land management,’ Nicola continued as his demonstration compost pile grew. Just a few kilometers west and the political drama of a failing government and national bankruptcy was unfolding. The world watched the theatrics of politicians scrambling for self-preservation, while the contagious and desperate fear of being ejected from the Euro spread and the markets turbulently responded.

Natasha, one of the first to start working this small plot at the Ellinikon, told me that since the beginning of the current crisis, more and more people are visiting this small edible garden. She understands why. A year ago she was anxious that her future and her basic needs were dependent on the State that employs her. She had no survival skills. Now, she says, she feels empowered by being proactive in forming her community and learning how to grow food.

There are other examples of Athenians taking matters into their own hands to reclaim small plots of land so as to create communal green spaces; sometimes quietly and peacefully and other times after long drawn out battles with riot police. An example of the latter is Navarino Park in the centre of Athens. This again involved a broken promise by the State. One of the most densely populated areas of Athens was hoping for a park, so when the plans changed to build a parking lot, the local residents organized and resisted. Despite the violence and threats by police, residents stood their ground and cultivated this small plot that is now a budding potential of urban agriculture.

All these examples are neighborhood initiatives. It would be wrong to suggest this is a single coordinated movement. Often confused by the scale of change that is needed and starved for stories of hope, there is a tendency to inadvertently prescribe meaning to and inflate such examples so as to enthuse optimism in ourselves and in others that we are well on our way to dismantling ‘business as usual’. But this would be doing these small groups of activists a disservice. This is not their story, at least not for now. They are in the process of finding their way.

Life in Greece has gotten harder and people are quite literally going hungry. The cultural and the economic reality on the ground and the systemic rot that is so pervasive demand an exploration into context relevant ways of organizing, empowering, sharing knowledge, and redefining our values and our identities.

Riots in Athens have become common; albeit an expression of discontent, the dynamic that has developed between rioter and State seems to maintain the status quo. As I understand it, these local activists are not interested in head on combat against the ‘business and politics as usual’ that is largely to blame for the erosion of land and values, but rather they undermine the status quo by actively participating and investing in their own communities’ potential.

Within each small neighborhood group there is a collective evolving, sharing knowledge, learning, building and growing together. Perhaps these small groups and their gardens will be catalysts for change-maybe they will become nodes in an emergent network of urban farmers-maybe not. Regardless, this is an account of people proactively engaging the challenges and opportunities they are faced with. When Greece’s dominant narrative, particularly of late, has been of bankruptcy, corruption, nepotism, inefficiency and violence, it is important to recognize that this is not the whole story. With respect for others’ work, as well as our own, and as a defense against the infectious cynicism of such depressing dominant narratives, we must conserve and in fact cultivate the space for hope to articulate itself.

‘We can compost anything that was once living. Soon we will be able to add our Euros to the pile,’ Nicola said with half a smile. For a brief moment the group became uneasy and nervously laughed. This unease though quickly dissipated. ‘A healthy compost pile should never smell bad…’

This blog was taken from The Ecologist website

Resistance is fertile

Food growers and friends; it’s been another amazing year here at Grow Heathrow of eating salads fresh from the greenhouses, roasting yellow, red, and black peppers and tasty tomatoes in the clay oven and seasoning our food with home-grown herbs – and now it’s time to brave the winter winds, get the wellies and wheelbarrows out and prepare for our 3rd food growing season down in Sipson.

This coming year we will be expanding out to the AIRPLOT site in Sipson where we will grow directly into the fertile ground and plan to cultivate the whole lot!

Transition Heathrow hopes to use this new growing site as a opportunity for different groups in the area to be part of the process of learning how to grow fruit and veg for their community, from scratch, with skills sharing and fun – and at the end of it lots of fresh organic produce to cook together and share, enjoy and sustain us!

But we will need help, and now is the time to prepare the ground for the spring. Its a bit later than usual but by the first week of January we plan to have done a cardboard and compost mulch all over the grass field – getting it ready to directly plant into when spring arrives.

We’re reclaiming fields and taking back control of our food production! Come help make the first stage happen and we reckon you’ll be back picking juicy tomatoes with us again this summer!

We have lots of cardboard to lay and 13 tonnes of conditioner top soil to barrow on and rake out – the more people the better and lighter the work! Starting at 9:30am sharp till dark both Thursday 5th and Friday 6th January – Big winter soups and fires in the evenings for those that stay.

Where: We will gather with tools and tea at Grow Heathrow (look HERE for directions) to then walk together to the Airplot site. Call our site phone 07890751568 if you arrive later to be directed to the airplot.

There is space to sleep both nights and longer if you wish at Grow Heathrow site, do bring a good sleeping bag for extra warmth and a tent if you want. Bring warm layers, a hot flask, a pair of gardening gloves if you got them and your lovely faces,

With slightly cold soily fingers but warm glowing cheeks the Grow Heathrow Crew excitedly looks forward to seeing you in the field. Resistance is Fertile!

Harmondsworth Scout Group message of support

Heres a message of support which we especially like from the local Harmondsworth scout group co-ordinator.

Just wanted to drop you a note to say thank you for all of the help that you have given us over the past year.

The allotment has been harvested and we shared our produce with not only the children’s families but also the local community. Your expertise and enthusiasm was a god send. The wildlife pond is thriving and we now have all manner of creatures visiting, the children are so proud of it and they relay the story of it’s construction to any one who is willing to listen!

We are delighted to see that you have been awarded the right to stay for the near future at Grow Heathrow. The difference you have made to the community has been immeasurable and we only wish that there were more people like yourselves willing to protect the land, the vulnerable and the community.

As you know it has been a very difficult year for many of our children as they have had to watch their friends move away and the security blanket that the community threw around it’s children has been pulled away with so many residents, young and old, leaving the area.

There has however, been one friend, a new one, that we have grown to love and respect and it is Grow Heathrow whose volunteers have been able to look these children in the eye and say we won’t leave you. The confidence you have instilled in our children has meant that they can look to the future and they now understand that with the right guidance and commitment the Villages can still be their homes and provide the safe environment that every child is entitled to grow up in.

We all love visiting Grow Heathrow where the children have learnt so many things and we hope that we can build on this with you in the future. Some of our children live in flats with no gardens so the chance to come down to Grow Heathrow and dig in the dirt is like winning 1st prize for them. And then we have our young teenagers… who, in their sulky, difficult way think you are all cool and it is really refreshing to see them responding to your advise. We have all learnt so much from the centre and you guys have given the children so much, we only hope that things will work out and that you will be able to stay at Grow Heathrow and help further develop the Centre and continue to support the community.

Having grown up in Sipson I remember the Nurseries and all of the activity that surrounded them, to see them fall into disrepair and then be used as a personal dump was heart breaking but nobody had the knowledge of how to stop this happening and then you turned up. You showed us all that we can change things and we don’t have to allow the degeneration of the area to succeed.

If human beings are being abused the law will protect them, if animals are being abused the law will protect them, let us hope that the law will also start to protect our land and stop it from being abused.

Residents day @ Grow Heathrow

Come to Grow Heathrow for a fun, friendly lunchtime event that is all about the future of the Heathrow Villages. We’ll be laying on a summer banquet for the community, made using fresh, locally grown ingredients. This is a chance to get together with your neighbours, and catch up with the latest developments at our Sipson site.

But as the saying goes, there’s no such thing as a free lunch. We’re looking for your thoughts and ideas about how Transition Heathrow can move forward in the months and years ahead. If we’re going to build community resilience in the villages, we need to hear as many of your voices as we can. So please come along and help us develop a plan for the future. From Noon on Saturday 16th July.

Six new residents arrive in Sipson

A couple of weeks ago, Grow Heathrow welcomed six new feathered additions to the site. Via Fresh Start For Hens – an organisation of hard-working and dedicated volunteer battery hen rehomers – we were able to take delivery of six newly released hens.

The question that had kept the greatest minds in history puzzled could now be answered – the chickens came first. Although, as they were being unpacked from their travel boxes and introduced to their new home, we discovered that a couple of eggs had been laid en route. Grow Heathrow’s first freshly laid eggs (still warm to the touch) were passed round from hand to hand as if they were trophies or some precious jewel. These hens were obviously eager to get laying – hopefully a trend that will continue.

Making friends with the new arrivals

The hens’ first few days at the site were spent in their new coop, getting used to the strange smells and noises to be found around Heathrow. We had been warned to expect our chickens to be a little confused for the first few days, and that’s pretty much how it turned out, but it didn’t take them long to regain their natural chickeny instincts. Negotiating the ladder up to the roost proved a little tricky for some, but it only took a bit of coaxing before they were tucking themselves in at night, ready for us to shut the trapdoor to keep them safe from any prowling urban foxes.

As fine a residence as the ark-style chicken coop we’d obtained for them was, we knew that a long term solution for happy chickens would involve a proper run to allow our flock to stretch their legs and scratch around in the ground. We set about with some salvaged wood, a few rolls of chicken wire, and a big box of screws, and in a couple of days had constructed a decent enclosure.

The new chicken run

From happy chickens come tasty eggs, and from the looks of things, the Heathrow hens are a happy bunch indeed. Having a regular supply of fresh eggs means that we can enjoy healthy, delicious meals every day without needing to deal with the many ethical dilemmas involved in buying eggs at the supermarket. Most of our leftovers can be added to their feed tray, which reduces our food waste, and the manure they produce can be turned into excellent fertilizer for our plants. Overall it is another step towards our ambitions of truly sustainable living.

Reclaim the fields

A call out to all community food growers, farmers, permaculturalists, land occupiers, seeds savers and swappers, those who want to RECLAIM FIELDS!

Its time to meet and share stories about all the exciting growing projects all over the UK, from those fresh and ready to sprout to projects already rooted in rural and urban communities.

Resistance is Fertile!

Reclaim the Fields is a constellation of people and collective projects willing to go back to the land and reassume the control over food production.

Determined to create alternatives to capitalism through cooperative, collective, autonomous, real needs oriented small scale production and initiatives, putting theory into practice and linking local practical action with global political struggles.

On Saturday 12th March 2011 Reclaim the Fields UK will launch itself into the unknown, beginning what they hope to be a fruitful collaboration of UK projects and people in solidarity over food sovereignty and common access to land. From fields far and wide, cities near and far, where muddy hands and feet are set on the ground, they are calling all those who are working the land for the common good.

Grow Heathrow is the host where everyone will spend the weekend getting to know each other and the various projects from across the country, take part in workshops and discussions (including access to land and land struggles) and share ideas to nurture a vision of what we can create here in the UK and Europe.

FRIDAY EVENING: from 5pm people arrive set up tents, dinner and fire

SAT FULLDAY: morning- presentations from various project. afternoon – discussions / workshops. evening – dinner, film, music, fire, talk

SUN MORNING: morning- optional practical session / more discussion / stay and help prepare the site for the european reclaim the fields assembly.

What to bring:

a tent (email if you need indoor sleeping space, this is available but limited)

Donations for food

seeds for a mass seed swap

Flyers, stories and info about growing projects in the UK.

It is essential that you book your place before the 6th March 2011 so that hey can get an idea of numbers to cater for.

There is no fee but donations will be asked for to cover food.

reclaimthefieldsuk@riseup.net

The reclaim the fields European assembly will begin on the Monday 14th at Grow Heathrow. Those who feel keen to be involved in organising for the RTF camp which will take place this summer are welcome to stay for the week, which will be working-group orientated, focusing largely on logistics for the RTF camp – a chance to get more involved in the reclaim the fields European network.

The following weekend all are welcome to join the P.E.D.A.L. weekend of workshops on storytelling, creative disobedience, legal, consensus decision making and the Occupation of Palestine. The event will be held on the 19th and 20th of March. P.E.D.A.L. starts their 100 day cycle to the West Bank on the 21st of March from Grow Heathrow.

For more information on Reclaim the Fields and the network visit www.reclaimthefields.org, for more information on Grow Heathrow check out the rest of our website and information on P.E.D.A.L can be found at http://sowestand.com/p-e-d-a-l-100-days-to-palestine/

We look forward to meeting you on the land

Grow Heathrow’s first birthday

The first of March marks the year anniversary of Grow Heathrow! On the 27th of February, the Sunday before, we cordially invite you to help us celebrate this achievement and keep the project growing.

From 1pm until 3.30pm there will be site tours, a photography exhibition, film screenings about the project and growing workshops. If you haven’t been to the site yet this is a great opportunity to see what it’s all about.

At 4pm there will be birthday tea, where we will hear from locals and others involved about how we have got this far. This is a chance to look back on the past year and feel inspired about where to go next. A donation meal will be available from 5.30 – 7pm and after this we will enjoy evening entertainment.

Happy Birthday Grow Heathrow!

Golden conkers and champion chutneys

Sunday saw the crowning of Rachel as the Golden Conker Champion, but not without a fiercely fought competition. Whilst the tournament took place in the spectacular conker platform, the sun was shining and pungent smells of delicious apple chutney wafted through the greenhouses.

Thirty people enjoyed a day of chutney and jam making from fruit scrumped from the Heathrow villages a couple of weeks before. An amazing apple press made by Dai and Oscar provided us all with the most scrumptious juice, as we all shared recipes and ideas about storing the fruit for the winter. It was wonderful to see lots of new faces in Grow Heathrow, all getting stuck in and directly taking action on food security by growing food for surrounding communities.

The tension mounted as conkers were selected, knots tied tightly and safety goggles adorned for the start of the Heathrow Villages Conker Championships 2010. Ringmaster Rob got the tournament going and provided endless entertainment with his compering. Conkers were obliterated and some of the games dragged out to sudden death. But as competitors were knocked out, it was down to Juan Stan (aka Joe) and Mexican Day Of The Dead (aka Rachel) in the final. Stampsies was the word of the day, but even so Rachel was the winner and took home the golden conker for the girls.

Overall everyone had a fabulous day of learning, laughing, tasting, playing and sharing. Now is the time to build communities as we are doing in Heathrow; learning about food security and sharing skills for a post-oil future. To see what real community resilience in action looks like, David Cameron should come down to Sipson.

Beyond Tesco! The Hedgerow!

Grey skies and a pretty constant dribble of rain started our Heathrow Villages day of scrumping, but this was not to deter us! A hot vegetable soup was made from pumpkins and potatoes from the Grow Heathrow veg beds ready for our soggy return from the fruit trees and we set off with wellies, nets, bikes and trailers to our first location; Harmondsworth Great Barn Orchard.

Eight beautiful old variety apple trees make a small orchard in Harmondsworth behind the old barn and St Mary’s church, where the creator of the Cox’s Orange Pippin apple is buried. Having been told these laden trees tend not to be picked anymore there was massive excitement and energy from the scrumping crew to arrive and sample both the cooking and eating varieties. Climbing, shaking and picking apples from the trees and ground we had more than we could carry with the trees still looking as full as they had when we arrived!

Long time Heathrow resident Ken had great knowledge of fruit and nut trees in the area and showed us to a walnut tree in the next field. To someone whithout this local knowledge, it could seem there were no walnuts around but pushing aside the carpet of nettles surrounding the tree: treasure appeared! The field was also covered in yarrow, a medicinal white flowering herb great as a tea for the cold season; a bouquet now hangs in the Grow Heathrow community kitchen drying out ready for use. With 2 bags of walnuts and the yarrow we headed back to site to have some hot lunch and drop off the goods.

Revived and ready for more we scrumped three apple trees next to the site in Sipson and then headed down Sipson Lane to harvest a pear tree heavy with fruit on the side of the road. On our walk down to Harlington hawthorn berries, rosehips and damson plums were also collected from the hedgerows. A final pop to the Airplot to collect some apples from a cooking variety and we were ready to go through and sort the fruit of our labour.

A sorting station in the second greenhouse had been set up so we could separate the blemished fruit from the storable before the attack of the fruit flies. Sorting, drying and stacking the good fruit and then peeling the bruised and cut fruit to stew were the afternoon’s activities.

By sharing the local knowledge of what we already have around us we hope our community will come together in pride to defend it from all future threats.

This day focused on the abundance of fruit trees in the Heathrow villages, we hope to get more residents out and collecting in the coming weeks while the branches are still heavy.

Gather a group of friends and neighbours in your communities and go out in your area (or come to grow Heathrow and scrump here), see what you can find.

Let’s look past the supermarket shelves to the hedgerows!

Next installment is preserving and storing all this wonderful fruit for the winter months; Saturday 23^rd October starting 11am come share recipes with us (and a apple press is in the making; Sipson cider!)

More info on urban fruit scrumping:

http://growsheffield.com/pages/groShefAbund.html

www.hackneyharvest.com

Heathrow villages autumn scrumping & conker championship!

Look to the fruit trees of Sipson, Harlington and Harmondsworth! Laden with apples, pears, plums, rosehips, hawthorns and who knows what other goodies lay in the branches.

It’s that time of the year and we are ready for a good old scrumping and preserving session!

Come and join the autumn celebrations and collect these fruits that all too often fall to the floor and rot when they can be enjoyed by everyone in the community.

Sunday 3^rd October 11am- 4pm

Scrumping and collecting

Bring tree locations, boxes, nets, energy!

Saturday 23^rd October 11am-5pm

Preserving and Storing

Bring recipes, jars, ingredients, ideas!

Let’s share our chutney, cider, wine and jam recipes and learn how to store fruit for the winter together.

Sipson Conker Championship 2010

Bring your conkers at midday to find out who will take home the Sipson Golden Conker. 

Both days starting at the Grow Heathrow site in Sipson, Vineries close, UB7 0JG.

Lunch provided, donations welcome.