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| At work on the terracce Il profumo del Mediterraneo |
It is about two weeks ago that I told you about the project Food in the Streets is working on. Together with Noemi Satta from ZUP we invited the inhabitants of Via Cenni to participate to our ZUPlab. After not even two hours of work this resulted in four inspiring recipes that formed the basis of the second meeting.
On a sunny
Sunday I sat behind my computer and took the – sometimes even poetic - recipes
written by the inhabitants of Via Cenni and translated them in colorful floor
plans of their terraces. As you might know, I am educated as an architect (see
more on my CV here) and now and then make some simple
designs as part of the projects I work on as Food in the Streets.
Not even a
week later, these floor plans were the starting point of an educative morning
in which Umberto Puppini from Orti d’Azienda gave the participants an enormous bulk
of useful information. He talked about
the types of soil most appropriate for cultivating veggies and spices,
explained what plants go together well
and what not and learned when and how to water the plants. Fortunately everyone
was loaded with coffee and sweets so we ‘survived’ the 1,5 hour lecture easily.
Being close
to midday we had to hurry outside to make sure that some work could be done
before it was time for lunch break. Armed with tools, potting soil and – off
course – plants we headed to the balcony which from now on has the name Il profumo del Mediterraneo (the aromas
of the Mediterranean).
The plans guided the inhabitants during their planting.
With the help of pictures the inhabitants could see what their garden would
look like when their plants are fully grown and have their fruits. The enthusiasm
of the little kids confirmed that gardening is fun for every age.
Unfortunately
after an hour of work, the visible results were not very convincing. The huge vases in which we put the plants were
still relatively empty. But this is a matter of patience. With enough sunshine
and regular light rains the garden will be green within a few weeks. I’ve seen
it myself and I can promise you that it is a beautiful thing to see the dark
dirt turning into a green oasis.
