A green space in the heart of the neighbourhood
In the neighbourhood of Las Calcinas, in Santa Cruz de La Palma, a participatory community garden project has been carried out to enhance social cohesion and create a meeting point for neighbours. The project has been developed in collaboration with the Santa Cruz de La Palma Town Council, the Calcinas Neighbourhood Association and Cáritas.
During one week, planning, cleaning and preparation of the land and insertion of new infrastructures for protection and support of future activities were carried out. With the active participation of the neighbourhood, an entrance was built with a footbridge that bridges the unevenness of the terrain, a storage module and furniture for resting. All these pieces were completed in time for the inauguration of the new space, which welcomed a large number of neighbours and where we shared local recipes and conversations about the neighbourhood.
This green space is thus forged as a meeting place, fostering collaboration and teamwork and improving coexistence and social cohesion in the neighbourhood. The presence of different entities during the project fostered new links and closer ties between the inhabitants. This initiative allowed the neighbours, in such a short period of time, to unite and work together to create a green and sustainable space in their neighbourhood, constituting not only a place to grow food, but also a space for social activism and continuous learning.
We hope that this project will inspire other communities to partner together to design new spaces that meet their needs and always help to enrich the city.
