This spring my neighbourhood small grant workshop was to teach neighbourhood folks how to grow their own potatoes in a sack in their own spaces, either on balconies, by their community garden plots, in their yards if they have one or at the side of their building.
I made an easy to follow step-by-step guide and got all the potatoes, sacks and soil ready to distribute to the participants so they were able take it all back home into their spaces and get started.
The first workshop I did was at the Pandora Park Community Market organized by Kiwassa Neighbourhood House. I had a space to set up with a table in one of the booths at the market where mostly on a person to person basis, I explained to each participant how to build their own potato sack garden. I gave them the info sheet to take home along with all the materials. They could also contact me via email after the workshop in case they had any questions or needed help with anything. About 10 people took materials home.
The second workshop I did was in collaboration with the outreach worker from Kiwassa Neighbourhood House for the BC Housing buildings on Wall Street. We put up posters all around the buildings and also the neighbourhood and indicated that we would be set up on the grassy hill in between the two BC Housing buildings on a sunny afternoon.
About 20 people came to learn how to make their own potato sack gardens and bring their materials back home into their own spaces! I was even invited into one neighbour’s home to help set up her potato sack garden on her balcony. It is a very simple process but some people need a little bit of a nudge in order to feel confident and need a hands-on approach to ensure their success.
I have heard back from some of the participants that they got their first small crop of potatoes! I think that empowering folks to grow their own food on their own terms in their own spaces is a great way to address food and nutrition insecurity and to give people the tools to take their own issues into their own hands. This is what food justice means in a small way in our community.
Here is the link to the full album of photos and the step-by-step document https://1drv.ms/f/s!AqcAIJGcTj25gk7k4RSzgGV1Al_q
