Njaa? Nenda tu kwenye bustani. Msitu mpya wa chakula wa Seattle unalenga kuwa nyika inayoliwa. (Picha: Picha za Buena Vista/Picha za Getty)
Maono ya Seattle ya oasis ya chakula ya mijini yanaendelea mbele. Kiwanja cha ekari saba katika kitongoji cha Beacon Hill cha jiji kitapandwa na mamia ya aina tofauti za vyakula vinavyoliwa: walnut na miti ya chestnut; misitu ya blueberry na raspberry; miti ya matunda , ikiwa ni pamoja na apples na pears; kigeni kama vile mananasi, yuzu machungwa, mapera, persimmons, honeyberries, na lingonberries; mimea; na zaidi. Yote yatapatikana kwa kung'olewa hadharani kwa mtu yeyote anayezurura kwenye msitu wa kwanza wa chakula jijini.
"Hii ni ubunifu kabisa, na haijawahi kufanywa hapo awali katika bustani ya umma," Margarett Harrison, mbunifu mkuu wa mandhari kwa mradi wa Msitu wa Chakula wa Beacon, anaiambia TakePart . Harrison anafanyia kazi michoro ya ujenzi na kibali sasa na anatarajia kuanza msimu huu wa kiangazi.
Dhana ya msitu wa chakula hakika inasukuma bahasha kwenye kilimo cha mijini na imejikita katika dhana ya kilimo cha kudumu , ambayo inamaanisha itakuwa ya kudumu na inayojitegemea, kama msitu ulivyo porini. Sio tu kwamba msitu huu wa Seattle ni mradi mkubwa wa kwanza wa kilimo cha kudumu, lakini pia unaaminika kuwa wa kwanza wa aina yake katika taifa.
"Wazo hilo linamaanisha kwamba tunazingatia udongo, mimea shirikishi, wadudu, mende-kila kitu kitakuwa na manufaa kwa kila mmoja," anasema Harrison.
Kwamba mpango ulikuja pamoja wakati wote ni ajabu peke yake. Kilichoanza kama mradi wa kikundi kwa kozi ya usanifu wa kilimo cha kudumu kiliishia kama mfano wa kiada wa ufikiaji wa jamii ulikwenda sawa.
" Marafiki wa Msitu wa Chakula walifanya jitihada za kishujaa ili kupata usaidizi wa jirani. Timu ilituma postikadi zaidi ya 6,000 katika lugha tano tofauti, zilizowekwa kwenye matukio na maonyesho, na kutuma vipeperushi," anaandika Robert Mellinger kwa Crosscut .
Maoni ya ujirani yalithaminiwa sana na waandaaji, hata walitumia watafsiri kusaidia wakaazi wa China kuwa na sauti katika kupanga.
Kwa hivyo ni nani tu anayepata kuvuna matunda hayo yote ya chini wakati unakuja?
"Mtu yeyote na kila mtu," anasema Harrison. "Kulikuwa na mjadala mkubwa kuhusu hilo. Watu walikuwa na wasiwasi, 'Itakuwaje mtu akija na kuchukua matunda ya blueberries?' Hilo linaweza kutokea vizuri, lakini labda mtu alihitaji matunda hayo ya blueberries.
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How many acres? How many people?
If one or a few people pick all of the blueberries one season, or someone else sells some apples they picked, why not plant more acres and more acres and more acres?
Until people bought and barricaded all the land every forest was a food forest...and if you know a forest you can get into, it is still a food forest. Pine, cedar, willow, nuts, and all sorts of forest plants are deliciously edible and sustained humankind for thousands of years. Seattle has a nice urban idea but certainly NOT America's first food forest. Creator gave us that! We have in New England all kinds of orchards with berries, pears, apples, peaches, nuts, honey bees, etc, (not many exotics); a kind of fruit forest - though not usually free. Perhaps it should be called America's first Free Fruit Forest.
This is a fascinating trend. I applaud the visionaries behind this movement. Harold, Lead Pastor @ Life Center, Pasadena, CA
I suspect that is a real possibility Rosemary, but by far better to build this and know that the right people will enjoy. I would love to see this manifest everywhere, no one would need to then try to sell because FREE is available. What a wonderful world this will be!
I read somewhere... can't remember which state... doesn't allow the planting of fruit trees on public property ( schools etc ) because (they say ) it will bring pests. I don't like it when people act stupid.... fruit trees feed people. Rock on permiculture!
This is fascinating and I applaud the people of Seattle, who are once again leading the way :) I do, however, have a question, and this comes from the potential conflicts between 'scarcity' and 'abundance' models. How have they tackled the question of what to do if someone, for example, thinks they can take advantage of this 'abundance' by picking lots of apples and then selling them at a market? I am working with a colleague on an issue of a journal that will focus on 'open source thinking' and this question - is there a dark side to the concept - is one we have been reflecting on, along with thinking about its advantages. In other words, how does one sustain 'orderly' use of the fruit forest without imposing 'control'? Is there an equivalent to the creative commons approach that could apply to such abundance-oriented models and activities?
I think the world was like this.........but we have made it as it is now....it is great that we are trying to swing it back to it glories past...well done good job....all nations, institutions etc can replicate this to their own capacity....