Greenspace for Organics

On Friday, we explored the use of space in Denmark for growing organic food. We started at a small garden space collectively run by nine individuals of different nationalities. These people have turned a space typically used much like a Kolonihaven, and have transformed it into a usable space for producing food. I found it particularly interesting when they described the way they share the space and how they resolve conflicts that sometimes arise from their different backgrounds and ways of approaching a garden. It is amazing that these nine have been able to overcome their differences and have worked together to create a beautiful and productive garden, and it was inspiration to see how much love they put into it and how much joy it gives them. I was also inspired by the way they used foraged foods to make us a delicious snack. One woman made us delicious pesto made from weeds from around the garden, including stinging nettle, which is normally too painful to even touch let alone consume. She told me that the method of boiling the toxic weed makes it edible and delicious! For the rest of the day I noticed these weeds she had pointed out to me, and thought of them not as pesky nuisances but as potential food sources. This visit to the garden allowed me to see that getting food from the land is far more accessible than I thought, especially when you have a team of people working together. I am excited to go home to try out some of these things for myself, and maybe even expand my own garden to include more vegetables and get more people involved in helping me do so. 

The second space we visited was a much larger organic operation, a commercial farm called Aarstiderne. It operates by growing vegetables, mostly out in their other location in Jutland, Denmark, and then delivering orders directly to customers throughout the small country. On the site we visited, they grow some food, but the space mostly serves as an example for their practices, an educational center, and a strategically placed headquarters closer to their primary customer base. This is an excellent business model, as they can utilize the better land that is further out in the country side, while still remaining connected to their suburban community, and the greater Copenhagen area, as well as being nearby the other companies that service them. I found it particularly amazing that they have a partnership with the local school system where every child takes a hands on class in the garden. Children in the third grade are given the chance to develop a love of natural processes, an appreciation for good healthy food, and a chance to see where their food comes from. They are each given a small plot of land in the garden, and plant their own seeds. Once the seeds are planted, they do a "rain dance" around their land to make a particular type of bug come out, and are then taught the important lesson that land is already inhabited and that all people cam really do is borrow it temporarily. They return a few times a month to maintain the garden, and then get a chance to use an outdoor kitchen to cook the food on a rustic wood burning stove. This shows them that they can use their natural environment in fun and productive ways, and gives them the skills to cultivate and prepare their own food if they want to. It is also strategic for the farm to do this, because it teaches the community from a young age the importance of good, healthy, organic foods.