Sowing spuds on Saint Patrick’s Day

5 years ago, the community gardeners of Dublin were celebrating SAINT PADDYS DAY in the tradional way: Planting spuds (potatoes in local Irish speak)

Paddys day spud planting in Dolphins Barn community garden

ECO ECO ECO – Viva San Xibeco

You have to love the pure madness and wildness of it all. La Prosperitat, the edge city barrio (neighbourhood) in Barcelona is where, starting from midnight on friday, you will hear lots of roaring in the streets: ECO ECO ECO – VIVA SAN XIBECO. This is the opening night of the local festival this weekend, but for this night you will find the presence of a saint, San Xibeco, but he is no ordinary saint.

Take the yellow line metro up to Via Julia this friday and find out why…

San Xibeco es un santo creado por los vecinos de La Prosperitat, en Barcelona. Cada noviembre, un grupo de jóvenes organiza de forma voluntaria esta fiesta que pretende unir al barrio y crear red social.

San Xibeco is a saint created by the community of La Prosperitiat, in Barcelona. Every november, a goup of young people organise voluntarily this festival which tries to unite the neighbourhood and create a social network.

Patcha Mama smiles again in Gracia

The Gracia Community Garden Radio Documentary (28 mins)

Els espais buits no fan Gràcia : The empty spaces are not funny

So read the new banner that now hangs on the end wall of the new Hort Comunitari, or community garden in Catalan, that was opened in Gracia on Saturday morning. From just being another quite and dry street, theres now a hive of activity in Caller Banyoles; people, laughter, color, sounds, music, dancing, kids playing. Being there one knows that Patcha Mama smiles again in Gracia.

Well over a hundred people entered a site that had been left derelict for the last 5 years. The concrete ground was smashed apart and the soil underneath was broken open with pics, forks, spades and hoes. People arrived in with recycled large construction bags with soil inside, once inside these bags had young plants put into them and were watered.  that was lovely and brown and full of nutrientsdue to having horse manure mixed into it. Other soil was added to the freshly broken red earth and new plants were inserted here too. a large heap of soil at the end wall gave endless hours of healthy mucky enjoyment to kids who dug tunnells and rolled around, laughing and shrieking with delight as they did so.