Incredible Edible – if you eat you in (reminds me of the New Optimists Food futures here in Birmingham

I missed the beginning so here are some lighter notes.

• This is not community development – it’s the will to live life differently.
• We don’t need strategy documents we create propaganda gardens – not guerilla gardens, too aggressive.
• Do people a favour – don’t ask permission. After we started a garden the council later mowed the lawn and put a bench in.
• People gradually change the way they work.  Kids would pick cabbages and herbs – they started to sue the gardens first.   They found that people made food from the veg picked from someone’s garden and came back to give them the finished food – a bowl of soup or whatever.
• Don’t tell us to eat five a day – instead surround every public building with edible plants.
• Gradually changes behaviour.
• Scouts created incredible edible badge.
• Policing – vandalism down because people don’t vandalise food – community relationships improved because a police officer with veg is disarming.
• If people help themselves to entire bed of potatoes they only do it because they need it – plant more potatoes.
• The only thing we asked of the job centre could we plug our drill into your electricity – they said no.
• 57% of local residents are now growing food.
• We have created vegetable tourism.
• People can make a better world of the people in power get out of the way.  We set up a farm (without planning permission!).  and http://incredibleaquagarden.co.uk/
• Stop being a victim and find a simple way to communicate.
• People building initiative which used food as a universal langiage.
• To gte involved go here.  http://incredibleediblenetwork.org.uk/
• Believe in the power of small actions.