Initiatives / Experiments / Visions
On the chaise longue - Growing Communities
Project description
The initiative relies on participatory processes to enhance an existing community garden ecosystem located on a 3-hectar plot of land in a neighborhood lacking cultural and recreational infrastructure. An open space becomes a place for the aggregation and empowerment of an environmentally conscious community, which will seek to improve their living conditions in a congested city. Efforts to restore biodiversity become an opportunity for community activities and pedagogical exchanges. Along with the old and newly cultivated gardens, the project generated a space for experimentation and continuous learning in gardening and building with local resources. An exhibition space for events imagined by different organizations and civic groups, for creative residences, with social impact, a place for dialogue between people of different ages and interests. The participatory workshops started in June 2019 (planting of an edible forest, construction with local soil, wickerwork, etc.) and the common infrastructure build with local resources, with special attention to saving, recycling and recirculation (gardens for permaculture, cobbled alleys, meeting and storage place , watering system, wicker culture for interventions with woven twigs, greenhouse, pond for recreation and rainwater collection) were supported by the Timişoara Community Foundation and partners through the Timişoara Donor Circle and the Funding Program Growing up Grădinescu, coordinated by the Romanian Permaculture Research Institute and sponsored by Kaufland Romania. The long-term vision involves creating brands from local products, whether grown naturally or culturally once, to generate a circular economy and sustain biodiversity through small-scale agriculture. The interest in the project and the desire to own a garden plot increased during the crisis generated by the pandemic, the open space allowing people to continue their small activities and relax in a blocked city. The fluidity and openness of the participatory processes that we encourage in the project are a challenge and an experiment for the members of the implementation team, each new participant or organization that joins us, opens a new horizon for community involvement.
Author's presentation text
Timișoara Community Foundation (TMCF) was established in 2016 and is part of a national network of 19 community foundations. It supports local initiatives and creates links within the community in order to develop it in the long term and increase its capacity to support itself. The foundation's mission is to make a substantial contribution to mobilizing local financial resources for the benefit of the community. FCTM raises funds from the philanthropic interests of donors, which it directs to communities in the form of grants and scholarships. In this way FCTM provides financial support to non-profit organizations, initiative groups and individuals for projects in various fields.
