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

A nice walk in Bürgergarten Laskerwiese e.V.

Hana Gunkel and Andreas Pfenning working of their parcel

view of the supermarket

We have almost twenty parcels in the garden. Some of them are cultivated by just one or two people, then we have a big one that is cultivated by a house community of 8 people. We are like 30 members, I think, very different in ages but not in provenances. Even if this is supposed to be an intercultural garden, we have just one person from Turkey and another one from Argentina. Every second saturday in the good season we have community gardening as we have many community areas that are cultivated by all the people together and we do also have connections with other urban gardenings in the city. So I could learn a lot about cultivating as when we got the plot we knew almost nothing, but the neighbours gave us suggestions. I think this would not happened in a kleingaerten where everybody has its private and fenced parcel. They are really "private" places.

their proud baby

other parcels

Andreas and his baby

behind ostkreuz

There is a dogs area around here, so often it happens that dogs come in and shit everywhere. We had to plants some aromatic plants that dogs do not like to keep them away but besides this, sometimes it happens that also few young guys come in and destroy some areas as this still remain a public space and everybody can come in.

many people live around the area

the water is collected from the roof of the supermarket

The garden openend in 2004 or 2005 but we got our little plot just last year. I had just got my little baby and I had a lot of free time so we decided to start cultivating. We have different kinds of beans, strawberries, potatoes, , beetroots and some herbs... all vegetables are healthy. It is great to have a green oasi inside the city. I grew in the suburbs of Berlin where there are a lot of green areas and I missed them.

the family

cauliflowers

the pond is a community area

A neighbour of ours did not have so much time to look after his plot, so when he came again after weeks he found it completely invaded by calendula and he has a little child so when he saw his plot he just sayd: "Oh, we have calendula!". And he used it everywhere, for tea, oil, oinment... giving it to his child.

a place to play

Hana Gunkel, German, Bürgergarten Laskerwiese

http://laskerwiese.blogspot.com/

Une blanquette de veau

a recipe by fredji powell

Where are you from?

I come from France, my father is american and my mother is french.

Why did you come to Berlin?

I lived in Barcelona before for long time and i learned german there, after the spanish language, and somewhen I wanted to speak the leanguage, to go there where german is spoken, and Berlin because it sounded romantic.

Which food can you not find in Berlin from your country ?

Well, I didn't really have the impression that there is or there isn't a particular food,

I never really made myself this question. I cook myself very much.At home we have always eaten very mixed, american mixed with french, a lot of chinese... When I miss something for example a good quiche or something like that then I cook it myself and the ingredients for it are easy to find.

What is your favourite recipe form your country?

Th quiche, you can throw everything inside it, and it's always delicious with crème fraiche, with eggs and with emmental cheese. The classic quiche is also with diced bacon, then you make a "Pâte brisée", it' like a dough, and then it can be with vegetables or meat, you can eat it cold, warm, it is always delicious.

Did you cultivate fruit, vegetables, herbs in your country?

Well I am really grown up in the countryside until 17 years old.

There we always planted carrots, salads, and vegetables, but since when I am travelling around I didn't really had the opportunity, this is the first 
garden where I think I will become member and make something.

Do you cultivate fruits, vegetables, herbs  in Berlin?

I would like to grow fruit trees, for example I would like Cherry trees.

What food, herbs or vegetables is used in your country for medicinal purposes?

Well that I know, that there is here as well like sage for throat infection, also for the stomac I think or for digestion, thyme in any case and lavande, from which there is quite a lot in south France and I know that it should be good for calming , for children for example.

Fredji Powell, France, Pyramiden Garten

 

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

Today we cook turkish Poça!

Invisible Twinning @ 48 Stunden Neukölln - 18/19 Juni 2011