September 8, 2013

Food in the Streets

foto: Inge de Boer

Inge de Boer blogt over 'Food in the Streets' en schreef een blogpost over de Tuinfabriek:

It was the best time of the year to do it. Harvest is ready to be picked while outside temperatures are still pleasant. I took some days off, bought all-day train tickets and traveled through the Dutch Randstad to see some of the many urban farming projects realized. Here a report, on facebook the photos.

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Next stop was at Utrecht Central Station, or more specifically the Hoog Catharijne shopping centre which connects the station with the old city center. A weird place and nominated several times as the most ugly place in the country. Also the owner has realized this and decided to initiate a summer full of cultural events. These days cultural events in the Netherlands can’t succeed without some innovative food projects. In this case an urban farm on top of the mall. Not just an urban farm. No, one created by an artist and maintained by the inhabitants from neighboring apartment buildings. Now they both profit; the artist has her caretakers, while the inhabitants can look to and live on a beautiful designed and green (!!) rooftop.

Besides tomatoes, pumpkins, potatoes, zucchini and the like, this garden also left room for The Chickenclub (yes, some two legged ladies walking around in their cage here) and to composing machines. With this making it a more realistic copy of an average daily diet, traditionally composed out of vegetables, grains or potatoes and fish or meat.

During my visit, the garden work had just finished and the neighbors enjoyed a drink, some snacks and a barbecue. It is interesting to see that, while people one floor below hurry to catch trains or get their children from daycare, on this rooftop people relax, enjoy the late summer evenings and where able to create something beautiful out of a space which was ignored for years. Well, done!

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