We’re getting ready to cook. Kitchens needed in October. Please contact us if you can help ccbandstandbeds@gmail.com
Clapham Common Bandstand Beds – communal feasting!
At the growing project on Clapham Common we spent April and May swapping pumpkin and French bean seedlings as part of our Squash and Bean swap project to link up growers and foodies in Clapham. Now we’re looking forward to a big harvest – we believe we have the largest pumpkin patch in London on the Common!
Building on the success of communal cooking projects such as the Brixton People’s Kitchen we’re aiming to bring together people from the Old Town and Clapham Common wards to chop and cook together. Fiorella Fronzi, who has relevant qualifications and experience from working with community cooking projects at Myatt’s Fields Park, will lead the workshops.
The aim is to bring residents together and spark discussions about food, about growing together and starting a Clapham Forum, along the lines of others that Lambeth Council supports across the borough. It’s hoped that growing awareness and enthusiasm for growing will spark community link ups. Our experience at the beds with compost giveaways, growing and now our essential watering rota shows that these activities cut across all demographics with pure enthusiasm.
We’re aiming to have three venues to work with the different demographics in Clapham – a school, a local restaurant and a community kitchen. Please get in touch if you think you can help. Already we have a number of great recipes on our website,and will be using these and more in the sessions. We’ll also be producing a recipe book with graphics by Camilla Regorda who’s done such great work for the project already. Any pumpkin and bean recipes warmly welcomed.
Why Squash and Beans? Robust seedlings for swapping, big seeds for easy sowing, crops that can be stored without electricity to see us through the winter.
Other links: we supported other Parks and allotment based projects around the borough as part of our Incredible Edible Lambeth remit – Myatts Field Park, Ruskin Park Community Garden, Streatham Common Community Garden, Growing Rosendale, Loughborough Farm all had swap events and are growing Squash and Beans, and the Edible Bus Stop in Clapham North has some of our seedlings growing well.