Non-profit organization SPOKOJNOSŤ – centre of social services, has been working through a community centre and a low-threshold social service for children and families for 12 years in a residential community on the outskirts of the city of Prievidza. The target group is the marginalized Roma community and the socially excluded group of city residents.
In addition to long-term and intensive work with the client, the employees of the organization thought about how to change the client’s position, because many of them do not work and have no work skills, that is, they are long-term unemployed. For this reason, we decided to use their work potential. To expand abilities and competences with a new type of skills and thereby improve work habits. To support their sustainability through working with the soil. Considering the location and space that the housing estate on Ciglianská road provides us, we decided to build raised flower beds. Gradually, we began to educate the active in the field of self-supply and permaculture. What is the meaning and use of the activity for the client himself, as well as for the entire community. In the current era of economic scarcity, the possibility of growing crops is ideal and meaningful for every person.
In January 2021, we held a meeting with the municipality, where we presented the project and agreed on close cooperation. Since February, we started planting seeds with volunteers in greenhouses that were placed inside the community centre and we secured volunteers from the community who took care of the transplants. In April, we started building raised garden beds in the exterior of the housing estate near the community centre. From April to September, a professional lecturer for volunteers held professional discussions on the topic of self-supply. We taught residents the natural way of growing plants and the principles of permaculture. We started planting vegetables and transplants from May. The clients provided morning watering, weeding, loosening of the soil and weeding. In July, August, September, as the vegetables gradually ripened, we collected the fruits, which we then used in the community centre for further work. The reward was a rich harvest of tomatoes, zucchini, pumpkin, kohlrabi, radishes, carrots, and parsley. From herbs, chives, honeydew and mint. We also determined a fair way of dividing the harvest among the volunteers who helped in the implementation of the project. In the autumn months, we still planted garlic and flower bulbs. We then fertilized the raised beds, winterized them and prepared them for the next year.
The goal of the project was for the Roma community to learn to work, e.g. in agriculture. To show young adults how important it is to know nature, ecology, learn to plant and grow something yourself and thus achieve self-sufficiency and grow your own crops, even if they live in a housing estate where they do not have their own gardens. Those present filled their free time with manual work and were motivated to learn something new. The implemented activity combines several educational aspects, such as environmental education, work education, support of manual skills, occupational therapy, education in the field of permaculture, motivation in the field of support of work habits, rehabilitation activity, support in finding a suitable job position in gardening and agriculture.
The situation in the segregated housing estate improved after the implementation of the pilot project. The residents had their free time filled. Thanks to the content of informal education they learned the principles of permaculture, to understand the processes of development and cycle in nature and the ripening of crops. From the point of view of long-term development, we mainly perceive that the raised flowerbeds are already built and durable. The residents of the housing estate themselves showed interest and came with a request, whether they could be in charge and patronage of 4-5 flower beds in a year, which only they would take care of. Of course, we agreed to this request. The positive results of the project also came from the regular work of an educational worker, who attended to clients without age restrictions and talked with them. He dedicated himself to addressing children and young adults so that they do not damage or destroy the plants during the evening hours and during the weekend. At the same time, he explained to them the value of vegetables grown in this way, which have enough vitamins. He guided them to know when the fruits are already ripe and when it is necessary to pluck the vegetables. At the same time, he motivated everyone present on how to properly work and utilize the grown vegetables. Active involvement of residents in public events, their mutual cooperation, to increase awareness of environmental protection. The use of therapeutic action – working with the soil and removing unpleasant emotions. The whole activity strengthened the local civil society. It helped to improve the position of vulnerable groups who are exposed to social isolation and various forms of discrimination in our society. Their access to information, to the labor market, to education and culture, and also to participation in decision-making is insufficient. The “Soil Therapy” project was a new opportunity for residents living in a segregated housing estate to help them create a pleasant home that would benefit them, and some of them gained in agriculture.
TOP MOMENT
We are at the end of the growing season on September 2. In 2021, they organized a festive day called “Who is not lazy, who is green”, to which representatives of the local government were invited. It was a celebration of the harvest, which was planted in raised beds. City officials and invited guests positively evaluated our work and the successful work of the community in caring for the raised beds. At the end of the project, we prepared a brochure entitled Growing plants in a natural way “How to grow for our joy”. We will need this publication for next year. We have decided that from the beginning of next year we will implement theoretical educational activities focused on the field of permaculture and self-sufficiency. The brochure will also help us educate ourselves in this area so that we are more informed about all the principles that we can apply when caring for plants in a community garden.
