Before the celebratory meal starts | Sept. 10

gayle's photograph

ute, our great chef!

meal flowers

preparing the dinner

syroup

the first people arriving

the colourful meal

noodles, courtesy dante busquets

pasta, courtesy dante busquets

flower cake, courtesy dante busquets

our talk

overview

tasting the food

let's start!

thank you to all the people who join us!

Bean | Phaseolus vulgaris, Fabaceae

Gayle Chong Kwan, Bean, collage, 2011

Beans are one of the longest-cultivated plant and are a very significant source of protein throughout the world as they have significant amounts of fibre andre. This can help lower blood cholesterol. Beans are also high in complex carbohydrates, folate and iron.



We cultivate all kinds of herbs, such as basil, parsley, chives, marjoram and savory, though mainly we plant French
beans. Ilona Gross, Waldland, Bezirksverband der Gartenfreunde Berlin-Treptow e.V.
 
Parsley is used in almost all dishes and for soups, whilst savory is essential for French bean soup. 
Ilona Gross, Waldland, Bezirksverband der Gartenfreunde Berlin-
Treptow e.V.

My father moved from Columbia to Berlin almost 20 years ago and we got the garden just two years after we applied for it. We have a lot of beans over here, plus herbs, carrots and basilicum. I like
to spend my time in the garden studying and playing music with my friends even if we are the only ones of our ages. The
others are mostly older, more of my parents’ age. They know and meet a lot of people here in the colony, though some can be a little bit conservative and a little strange with immigrants and
homosexuals. Some of them are the ones with the German flag waving on their plot, but not all of them. The others are
just proud to be German. 
Anna Paulina Solano Miller, POG, Bezirksverband Charlottenbu
rg der Kleingärtner e.V.
 
The garden opened in 2004 or 2005 but we got our little plot only last year. I had just had my baby and I had a lot of free time, so we decided to start cultivating. We have different kinds of
beans, strawberries, potatoes, beetroot and some herbs… All vegetables are healthy. It is great to have a green oasis
inside the city. I grew up in the suburbs of Berlin where there are a lot of green areas and I missed them. 
Hana Gunkel, Bürgergarten Laskerwiese e.V.
 
Japanese consider it very important to have 30 different kinds of food every day. The government encourages the nation to have lots of different foods, to keep a balance between vitamin C and proteins, carbohydrates and fat. I learnt at school that each food is
categorised into 5 or 6 groups, like fish or meat, or beans or milk, and the government says that having these different types of food everyday is ideal.
Miki Ito, Hand in Hand, Bezirksverband Berlin- Süden der Kleingärtner e.V.
 
When bean stew gets burnt, put the pan, with the lid on, in cold water for about 10 minutes. Then put the food in another pan and season accordingly.
Margrit Kissling, Waldland, Bezirksverband der Gartenfreunde Berlin-Treptow e.V.

If you have a garden, you need to obey the rules of gameplay.

If you have a garden, you need to obey the rules of gameplay. They are comparable with house rules and enacted by the legislator, they comprise the Plant Protection Law, the Neighbour Law, the German Civil Code, noise-protection and protection of the environment. We keep the garden complex in order in a joint effort and everyone takes part in cleaning and maintaining the pathways. We all spend around 10 hours a year helping out.

Peter Ehrenberg, chairman of Landesverband der Gartenfreunde Berlin e. V.

We have made peace with the US, but the memories are still very sad.

Vy Thi Tuan Nguyen in her garden

My childhood was heavily influenced by the war. We didn’t have any electricity, only oil and it was difficult for us to do our homework, since between 1964 and 1975 everyday life was constantly interrupted by the bombs. It had been going on for 11 years. I saw so many dead people. We all had to flee to the south of Vietnam, there was only one street towards the Cambodian border and the border to Laos. We all had to carry all our possession on our back and any of us were injured, but there was not enough medical care. And there were constant bombing raids on that particular street as they tried to kill us. A splinter found its way into my head. Nowadays, of course, we have made peace with the US, but the memories are still very sad, since I lost so many friends during the war. It’s still painful. Whenever I feel unwell because of the memories I go to my garden, it’s like a therapy, it makes me feel better. Also, it’s good to have some company here, you always meet people. You can talk a little and get to know each other a bit, and if you are sad it cheers you up. Sometimes we cook and eat together, it’s a nice community out here.

Vy Thi Tuan Nguyen, Vietnamese, Wuhlegärten

Invisible Twinning tree at Hand in Hand

inside the garden house, too much rain outside

rita and thomas busse, the nicest gardeners ever!

gayle installing her apple tree

writing memories on food

paprika

creating an ideal garden

the outcome

giulia giannola, Kochzeiten (Cooking Times), video installation

Kochzeiten (Cooking Times), video installation, Parzelle 3, Hand in Hand

enjoying the installation tree

a german must: kohlrabi!

gayle explaining Invisible Twinning project

Invisible Twinning tree, Parzelle 3, Hand in Hand

If I knew that the wall wouldn’t be there one day, I would probably never have left Poland

Irena Roman's garden

I come from Upper Silesia that is now a province of Poland. When I was 15, during a school trip to Vienna, I left my classmates and escaped. Then it was so extreme to be in the regime, that I found the heart to leave my family. I must say that if I knew that the wall wouldn’t be there one day, I would probably never have left Poland. So now in my garden I have a beautiful cherry tree, it is the only one tree in the colony and I inherited it from the man who had my garden before I got it, after he died. He had three children and he planted a tree for each child: an apple, a cherry and a plum tree, so the trees on my plot of land have a specific meaning, a family meaning, not of my family but of a family.

Irena Roman, Poland, Hand in Hand, Bezirksverband Berlin-Süden der Kleingärtner e.V.

The development of allotment gardens actually began as long ago as 1901

In Berlin, the development of allotment gardens actually began as long ago as 1901, when the farmers associations and the ‘gardens of the poor‘ joined together and formed an alliance. However, the concept of allotments has existed much longer than that. The first German allotment was created in Kappeln an der Schlei in Schleswig-Holstein around 170 years ago. Nowadays, an important aspect of allotments is mostly their strong social dimension since members can participate actively in the life of the association. They can relax and enjoy the beauty of the gardens, hence the low fences so that everyone can really see the flower fields of the others. Also the factor of helping those people with little money, since there are some who have to live on Harz IV or who live at the poverty level, still partially remains. And finally, the health aspect plays an important role, since the obligation to look after the garden has a positive effect on body and soul.

Peter Ehrenberg, German, chairman of Landesverband der Gartenfreunde Berlin e. V.

Once I tried to cook a soup for my husband using ground elder...

Once I tried to cook a soup for my husband using ground elder. It is a very invasive plant but if you like you can eat it like spinach or put it in the tea to clean your body. However I did it when the leaves were too big and it was awful... my poor husband!

 

 

stephanie keck's plot

I think that I would not like to have a plot in another garden, because elsewhere the fences are very narrow, everybody can look at each others, everything has to be very very clean... our garden is looser. I prefer it like this.

children area

My parents got this garden when I was 4, now I am 37. We have two wonderful cherry trees some tomatoes and herbs but mainly lots of flowers. We mostly use the garden for our free time and our children love it and also we live quite near... When I was a child my mum made a lot of marmalades, now I do myself and bake apple cakes in the autumn. Besides cultivating I like to do the hard work in the garden and I prefer to do it by myself without the help of my husband as I work in social work in Neukölln and gardending for me is a way of relaxing.

POG map

In the past we had a lot of alcoholics. When I was 20 or something like that, there was an article on the “Die Spiegel” interviewing two men of the garden and in the picture they were sitting in a children’s pool drinking beer, it was very funny! Now we do not have them anymore. Many people have changed in the colony. Now we have few Turkish, some Arabs, and some homosexuals...

Stephanie Keck, German, POG, Bezirksverband Charlottenburg der Kleingärtner e.V.

http://www.wir-bleiben.de/

Austrian records

austrian frittatensuppe

Giulia: Where are you from?
Susanne: From Austria

G: Why did you come to Berlin?
S: Because in Berlin there are things that there aren't in Austria, yes, personal freedom.

G: Which food (also vegetables, fruit, herbs) from your country do you miss?
S: There is everything here, well mostly soups, this "frittaten"(omelette) soup, but there are Austrian restaurants here.

G: What is your favourite recipe from your country?
S: Frittaten soup, it's a soup, the dough is a little bit like crêpes,than you cut it, very easy, you make it like Palatschinke, it is also Austrian, well Palatschinke means in german Pancake I think, and then this is very easily sliced, but the soup is just delicious, and bevor the soup, the broth is prepared, it lasts quite long.

G: Did you grow any fruit vegetables or herbs in your country?
S: In Vienna there is a farmyard where you could rent a piece,
it costed something but not much, yes, I grew something there.
It was already set, and that was everything, all the vegetables, peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, everything that I make here.

G: Do you grow fruits, vegetables, or herbs in Berlin?

S: Yes, cucumbers, all possible herbs, and I try tomatoes.

G: What food, herbs or vegetables is used in your country for medicinal purposes?
S: I can think only to camomille.

G: What do you like to eat to feel better/happy when you are ill?
S: Citrus fruits, oranges, lemons with a lot of vitamin C.

Thank you!

 

Susanne Eybl, Österreich, Ton Steine Gaeten

A tipical recipe from Nigeria

What I love most from my country is ekpan-nkukwo, it is a sort of pudding made of cocoyam, fish, meat or whatever cooked for a long time... when I am home sick I always have it!

And when I have a cold or simply the weather is cold, I take a pepe soup. Black pepper leaves are very aromatic and healthy and make you warmer, we use simple methods.

Vegetagles, vegetable, vegetables!!!

Susann, Nigerian, Rosenduft Garden

The women of the Rosenduft Gaerten

going to rosenduft gaerten

the new season

small steams

the women

I arrived as a refugee in Berlin from Bosnia in 1995, because of the war. In my country I had a very big garden where I cultivated a lot of vegetables, I am fond of them! Indeed I really love Sataras, that is mixed vegetables, just vegetables. Moreover we use many of them for medicinal purposes: peppermint for istance and also roots, many different ones. Also parseley is used, it’s very good, dried to drink, it’s also good for bladder. However when I am ill what feel me better it is just börek! We eat a lot but many different sorts, here it’s known just with cheese and meat, but we have it also with potatoes, pumpkin, with all possible.

Almira-Ada, Bosnian 

cultivating

the new plants

the women

great efforts!

I had to leave my country when I was 16 because of the war. There I helped my parents in the garden and we had almost everything: cucumbers, peppers, tomatoes, parsley, carrots... here in berlin I have my own garden and I do not miss any ingredient because, coming from an European country, on gardenplants, ist almost the same as in Germany.

Seka, Bosnian

planting seeds

rosenduft gaerten

 

I come from the very southest part of Nigeria and arrived in Germany five years ago, actually when I met my husband. He is from Berlin. And since when I arrived here I missed nature, because here we are so far from it! In my country instead - even if I grew up in a big city - nature was much closer  (even the moon, that was so bright) and when I came back to my village, every family used to have its own farm or fish. In our garden we cultivated a lot of vegetables, they are very common in the South and we ate a lot! The most popular we had a sort of "fluted pumpkin" but it is very different from yours and very healthy and nutritious. The Igbos call it ugu but we (the Efiks) call it ikong, I do not know the botanical name... Unfortunately I can find it just in one or two shops here in Berlin, but it is too expensive and too dried. So I have tried to bring some seeds from my town and I planted here. They grew up, but they were not so good because of the weather. In fact, also in Nigeria it grows just in the South because it needs humid soil.

Susann, Nigerian

http://www.stiftung-interkultur.de/berlin/berlin-kreuzberg-rosenduft

http://www.suedost-ev.de/interkultureller_garten/interkultureller_garten.php

Klaus Trappmann | POG

"We are like in a sort of a fairytale"

we go to have a chat with Klaus

POG surrondings

In Berlin every colony has his own history and each one is different. This one has a very ancient history, as it was created during the wartime by several railway workers. In 1964 there were already 34 plots and they became part of the Berlin Railway Gardeners Organization - BLW - even if up to then this was a wild colony! Now we are still part of the BLW and we have 65 gardens. We have arrived at the third or forth generation and some people have their gardens from their granfathers. This year few people has changed because few olders have died and we have people of different professions, not only railway workers. I am retired but I was a teacher for literature and art, for instance, some people are intellectuals, artists, foreigners... sometimes omosexual and the olders cannot understand... they do not say bad words, though. They just say "we need more kids!" and I know what they are referring to... This is my four year being president at this colony. Sometimes it is difficult to intermediate between peopl, to let others people know about the colony and to make old owners interact with the new ones.
Up to last year the whole colony ran the risk of being closed because the municipality was planning to build sport yards and the colony would have been destroyed. However few months ago the municipality decided to build the courts at Tempelhof where there is a lot of space. Lucky us!
Moreover, all the empty areas you see around here, once belonged to the Railway Company that has recenly became a big investor - so there was the risk that these areas - really close to Postdamerplatz - could become gainful places to build new apartments. The City of Berlin happly managed to buy all the plots and decided to create green areas and parks instead of the apartments. The first park ( on the east side of the bahn) is almost finished and I think it will be ready for the springtime.

POG entrance

Fences between gardens. Bushes have to be same high.

Gayle: Do you have to follow some rules? 

Yes, we do. Every colony does. There are many specific rules that govern colonies, however here it is a little bit different because this was a proletarian colony, so private property is understimated compared to other colonies - not only for my influence, because I come from '68 movement, it was already like this. Moreover this colony grew up in a desolated area beyond Postdamer Platz and very few people knew about it, so it has always been a bit isolated and different from the others. When people come here they notice the difference. We are like in a sort of a fairytale. When I became president, many people here thought that the only way to survive as a colony was to slavishly follow the rules, however I believed that it would have been better to mantain our peculiar characteristcs because people do not mind if you cut the grass six centimeters more or less.

Gayle, Giulia and Klaus talking. Me, documenting.

Our autonomy is our peculiarity

Gayle: What do people cultivate most?

It dipends, there are some intercultural gardens that use their plots mostly as freetime places to stay together. They cultivate something - such as fruits for marmelades - but cultivating is not the most important thing for them. Here instead, we are obliged to cultivate one third of the plot, otherwise we fall in another category and we have to pay an higher rent.

Herbs plot

Francesca Mila: Who is the supervisor? Is he inside or ourside the colony?

The first supervisor is the President. During the year, we have several meetings with all the other presidents of the colonies  - that are 80 for the city of Berlin and we are the number 40 - where we have to report what is going on. It is quite funny because in the last years you can find also women!
Besides this, sometimes there are small groups that come to check the colony and to write down what you have to change and few weeks later they come again to verify that everything has be done. If not, troubles occur and you loose protection.
To be honest, we do not have them here very often... maybe we would need a bit more. However, our autonomy is our peculiarity.
We partecipate to Magistrale Festival (http://magistrale2010.wordpress.com/) and we have art performances on the third thursday of the month, the curator called it "Stay Hungry" (http://stay-hungry.net/). We try to differentiate our colony in many ways and try to let other people know us. We put our news on the blog and on Facebook, but sometimes old people, who maybe do not even have internet, cannot understand this kind of communication. It is difficult to explain them that even if they do not see anything here, we are present on internet.
We also started to do public gardening projects and we are planning to do many others, working with schools, old peoples... We did one with young people who took drougs. They needed to find a new path and a new work and - why not - this could be gardening. It can be really healthy.They worked with social workes and architects and they chose to plant herbs in a spot and flowers and bushes in another. We had to support them and to offer them toilets during that periond and some of them had a punk look so few olders could not understand this initiative. But then everybody had to recognise that they did really beautiful works since the summer up to the autumn.

we go to see the flowers spot the young people created last summer

"We started to do public gardening projects and we are planning to do many others, working with schools, old peoples..."

Giulia: Makes the difference? To have a park bordering your colony?

When we luckly discovered that our colony would not have been destroyed but integrated, we started to discuss with the architects that won the contract. We meet every three weeks and we speak about the changings that we have to do to be included in the park. For instance architects like ortogonal and very wide paths, they request us to have 3 meters wide paths but it is really to much for us and the gardeners do not agree... so we meet and we try to find out compromises. It is a long process.

Fence between the colony and the park

Fence in the background bounds the colony

 

Gardeners cannot anymore park their car in front of their plot and they are very sad about this. One says to me "I need to carry wood", the other "My leg is broken", the other again "I have a party tonite"... It is difficult and we have to get used to the new situation, that we are in a park and that maybe many people will come to visit us as there is no border between the colony and the park. No fences. We can mantain them between gardens but not between the park and the colony.
Things are going to change very quickly.

Thank you and goodbye Klaus

 http://www.wir-bleiben.de/