Community gardening was the focus of the Alte Jakobstraße refugee accommodation centre, a project that explored the idea of shared responsibility.
This initiative took on particular significance as many residents from Ukraine knew their own gardens as a source of self-sufficiency and recreation. Community gardening became a kind of emotional refuge and a bridge to their familiar neighbourhood.
Our work began with the introduction of a mobile raised bed and vermicompost bin in Alte Jakobstraße. The aim was to look after the vegetables and the worms together. Residents also planted their own seeds and seedlings and were inspired by this initiative to create vegetable gardens near their house.
Discussions with the residents led to the idea of creating more green spaces and living areas on the site to promote a stronger sense of emotional security and neighbourhood bonding. Over the course of time, we worked with the residents to design a field according to the principles of permaculture, based on their own experience. However, we also encountered challenges such as dry, hard soil in the accommodation, a particularly hot summer and a large rat population on the site.
To overcome these obstacles, we added lots of soil and mulched it with straw. Old plastic cups found a new use as shields for the seedlings to protect them from the rats. Some children and adults made sure that the plants were watered regularly and grew healthily. Eventually, the residents were able to harvest crops such as lettuce, herbs, beans, tomatoes and courgettes.
As well as gardening together, we also focused on urban gardening and visited community gardens such as FriedaSüd near the accommodation centre and the Prinzessinnengarten in Neukölln. Here we discussed how such places offer a variety of opportunities to get actively involved in the neighbourhood and experience the city ecologically. We also discussed how contact with soil and plants can help reduce stress and provide inner support. This journey was shaped by family stories and memories of home, where the smells, colours and sounds of a (vegetable) garden are essential components of self-confidence and identity.
