Episode 2: The jardin du ver têtu, a shared garden of the Régie de Quartier in the 19th arrondissement!
The Régie de Quartier in the 19th arrondissement of Paris, and the neighbourhood itself, are fortunate enough to have a garden set between the buildings: the jardin du ver têtu. It is a place for events and encounters, where meetings, workshops and outdoor shows are held several times a year.
I would like to take this opportunity to introduce this shared garden. On a Saturday afternoon, I met Hélène and Bernard, who have been involved in the project for several years and have memories of their experience of the garden and its links with the neighbourhood, including its successes and difficulties. In their own words, they told of their experiences over many years.
The first residents moved into the area in 1968/69. The garden’s area of influence includes 1,790 homes and 980 in a nearby housing estate, many of which are social housing.
THE LAUNCH OF THE INITIATIVE.
2013 was a milestone in the creation of the shared garden. The site was initially intended for training people who had left the workforce and were looking to get back into work. But at the time, there was no funding. The idea for the shared garden grew out of a voluntary approach to community work and social networking.
The volunteers now meet on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday afternoons. On Saturdays, the afternoon starts with a snack (coffee, tea, pastries). 15 local people are involved. The facilitator of the Régie de Quartier takes part, to talk about what needs to be done in the garden.
Originally, a landscape gardener had designed the area to be a formal garden, planted with decorative cherry trees and bulbs: peonies, irises and daylilies. The volunteers in the shared garden wanted a garden combining these flowers with vegetables.
A VIBRANT PLACE, BUT WITH BOUNDARIES.
They have now reached a certain cruising speed. But life in the shared garden is not all smooth sailing. The garden was initially locked away, but has now become a public garden, as the volunteer gardeners wished, allowing locals access to this green and peaceful space. A preschool and crèche overlook the garden. Over time, the garden has become a place for socialising and meeting people. From spring onwards, people working in the area come here for their lunch break and in summer, families who can’t go on holiday come down for a picnic or a snack.
The food harvested is available to the gardeners, although sometimes other people come along to help themselves. But the idea is that those who have put in the work reap the fruits and results of their labour.
A pergola and tables were installed in collaboration with youth workcamps. This means that birthdays can be celebrated on Saturdays and Sundays, and the Régie de Quartier of the 19th arrondissement organises shared meals during the summer. There was a garden shed, which was later removed because it was used as a drug dealing point.
This friendly space is also a point of contact with neighbourhood associations.
AND THE FUTURE.
- Initially, membership of the garden was limited to only part of the neighbourhood. Today, it is more open.
- In the relationship with the Régie de Quartier, there is a rapid turnover of garden coordinators, whereas the volunteers are fairly stable.
- Relations with young people in the neighbourhood are positive and respectful.
- This is a major commitment, and we have become something of a “seniors’ club”. It is difficult to attract younger people or even parents on a long-term basis.
- That said, it is an essential place for people to meet and learn from each other. In the past, there were allotments. But these were also used to feed families. We are more interested in the beauty of the concept.
- The idea of creating a social link is one of the guiding principles of the shared garden.
A film has been made about the garden.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnNIo4MBqR8
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES.
After meeting with people in the garden and with the team at the Régie de Quartier, I wanted to see if there were any online resources on shared gardens.
Firstly, the Mairie de Paris has published a guide for shared gardens. It is interesting to see the large number of these initiatives. https://www.paris.fr/pages/les-jardins-partages-203/
Then I discovered that there is a national network. The list of shared gardens is far from exhaustive, but this is undoubtedly an initiative worth following: http://partageonslesjardins.fr/reseau-national/
Finally, I found an article in issue 625 of the magazine Jardins de France. The article, written by Éric Pradine, focuses on the historical aspect and on new initiatives to create new social, friendly and vibrant spaces. These gardens are located not only in urban areas but throughout the country: https://www.jardinsdefrance.org/les-jardins-partages/
The European dimension is not absent from these new forms of civic life. There are initiatives throughout Europe and elsewhere in the world. I found a project under the Horizon 2020 programme that ran from 2018 to 2023: https://progireg.eu/
The site demonstrates the interest of major cities in encouraging more socially responsible use of natural areas within the urban fabric.
David Lopez, EPALE expert.
Le 1er épisode " Régie de quartier du 19ème à Paris : insertion par l'économique et lien social " est disponible ici
[Translation : NSS EPALE France]
