Activities to gain skills for growing and cooking food! Find out where our food comes from, grow your own, share recipes and eat food for health and pleasure! at The Braunstone Skills Centre, Fullhurst Ave, LE3 1BJ For more information and TO BOOK, please contact: Claire Plumb on 0116 223 2272 or lmlg@leicestermasayalink.org.uk Keith Yates on 0116 289 5454 or 07894540109 kyates@environmentalstudies.biz A partnership project between the Leicester Masaya Link Group and Environmental Studies Ltd, funded by the Big Lottery and the Leicestershire and Rutland Community Foundation
Who was involved? Cultivating Communities was a partnership project between the Leicester Masaya Link Group (LMLG) and Environmental Studies Ltd. The sessions were led by Keith Yates (Environmental Studies), Claire Plumb (LMLG Development Worker), Cathryn Gathercole (LMLG facilitator) and Michael O Hora (LMLG volunteer). Our Cultivating Communities group welcomed people of all ages and involved 42 participants overall. What did the project involve and who funded it? This was a year-long programme of 18 sessions to promote growing and cooking skills and raise understanding of where our food comes from and what it represents in our society. The project was funded by the Leicestershire and Rutland Community Foundation (Big Lottery) When & where did it take place? The project began in October 2013 with a series of Taster Sessions in two areas of the city - Westcoats and Braunstone and Rowley Fields. The learning programme ran from March to September 2014 and was based in the Braunstone Skills Centre and on the allotment (alongside Fullhurst Community College) created by students working with Environmental Studies.
Our Growing Journey from seed to pot The programme took place on Saturdays and offered 7 practical skills-building sessions for growing and cooking food and 6 sessions to explore social and environmental aspects of food, culminating in a harvest festival. Each session included practical activities and a chance to share information and experiences. 8 March 2014 At our first session, 25 people came to find out what the programme was about. We used a range of interactive games to get to know each other, and we looked at the contents of a shopping bag as a way of thinking about what foods we could grow locally. We were introduced to the allotment to choose a growing plot and we ended the session with a bowl of warming soup made using some of the ingredients we had talked about in the morning.
22 March 2014 Daily food at home and around the world We looked at where our staple foods come from and we discussed the difference between wants and needs. We shared memories of our favourite foods and we tasted samples of foods that are made in Leicester. For lunch, we used maize flour to make Latin American tortillas. 5 April 2014 Preparing the Plot and Sewing Seeds We talked about the processes of sowing and harvesting our own produce from seed to plant. We started planning how we wanted to use the allotment. The first task was to dig over the soil and choose the seeds. We planted the seeds in the polytunnels and in the raised beds. These included tomatoes, radishes, carrots, courgettes, broad and runner beans, parsnips, pumpkins, leeks, celery, lettuces, broccoli and aubergines all nicely labelled!
12 April 2014 Food for Special Occasions We explored how food is used in celebrations across cultures. We tried foods from different countries including Russian cake, chick pea stew and jerk chicken. 10 May 2014 Planting Potatoes More digging to prepare the soil for the potatoes and onions which went in the ground in early May. We learnt about a clever system for harvesting rain water as there was no mains tap on the land. 17 May 2014 Food for Healthy People and Planet We looked at ways in which food feeds our bodies and our minds. Discovering who is involved in our food chain, from plant to product we found out how the things we eat can have an impact on the producers and our environment. Fresh fruit smoothies were a winner!
14 June 2014 Composting Tips Nothing goes to waste. Learning how to make our own compost involved using a mixture of green (plants and veg scraps) and brown (cardboard and twigs) but definitely no weeds that are going to seed! 28 June 2014 Braunstone Carnival and Open Day We had a stall at the Carnival and invited people to come and see what were doing on the plot, offering children s activities and a chance to harvest some produce. 12 July 2014 Potting on, Planting out and Weeding Once the seedlings in the poly tunnels sprouted, they needed potting on. Some were ready for planting out and the weeds in the raised beds were a continual challenge!
An Abundance of Produce The radishes and the broad beans were the first crops to be harvested, with great pride. Throughout the summer we set up a watering rota to ensure the crops thrived. Soon we were harvesting huge quantities of produce. 26 July 2014 Ready, Steady, Cook A special workshop run by Zena Zelter, from Transition Leicester, helped us find out more about the carbon footprint of the food we eat. Fresh produce from the plot was used to make lunch that day.
30 Aug and 13 Sep 2014 Our last two sessions were dedicated to picking the crops, planning and preparing for our celebration event
27 September 2014 Harvest Celebration At the end of September 2014 we held an open day for friends, family and the general public. The Harvest Festival was a great celebration of all that has been achieved in the last year and the table groaning with produce was proof of how successful our growing project has been. There was an opportunity to taste and take away a whole array of delicious foods that participants had made using the produce, including tomato chutney, piccalilli, pickled beetroot, pasata and jams, marrow brownies, blackberry and apple crumble and beetroot and chocolate cupcakes. It was a real feast! Visitors of all ages were very enthusiastic about harvesting the veg and taking part in the activities on offer pond-dipping was a favourite with the young ones. All in all, it was a warm and happy day and our congratulations and a big thank you to everyone who has been involved in the project.