The story is simple enough, I watched a video on TED by Pam Warhurst which completely transformed my thought process. It struck me that here is a bunch of people who are not lamenting about the situation that has become but have taken it upon themselves to be the change they wish to see. And it worked and theirs is a success story that has been replicated in many countries across Europe.
Pam puts it so simplistically... "None of this is rocket science. It certainly is not clever, and it's not original. But it is joined up, and it is inclusive. This is not a movement for those people that are going to sort themselves out anyway. This is a movement for everyone. We have a motto: If you eat, you're in. Across age, across income, across culture."
Ultimately we all know we live on borrowed time space - this rock we call home no matter how much we divide it will continue to exist long after we have departed. What we can hope to leave behind is a lasting legacy for generations to come, as Pam says "... create edible landscapes so that our children start to walk past their food day in, day out, on our high streets, in our parks, wherever that might be. Inspire local planners to put the food sites at the heart of the town and the city plan, not relegate them to the edges of the settlements that nobody can see. Encourage all our schools to take this seriously. This isn't a second class exercise. If we want to inspire the farmers of tomorrow,then please let us say to every school, create a sense of purpose around the importance to the environment, local food and soils. Put that at the heart of your school culture, and you will create a different generation."
Ultimately we all know we live on borrowed time space - this rock we call home no matter how much we divide it will continue to exist long after we have departed. What we can hope to leave behind is a lasting legacy for generations to come, as Pam says "... create edible landscapes so that our children start to walk past their food day in, day out, on our high streets, in our parks, wherever that might be. Inspire local planners to put the food sites at the heart of the town and the city plan, not relegate them to the edges of the settlements that nobody can see. Encourage all our schools to take this seriously. This isn't a second class exercise. If we want to inspire the farmers of tomorrow,then please let us say to every school, create a sense of purpose around the importance to the environment, local food and soils. Put that at the heart of your school culture, and you will create a different generation."
I have just returned to India, I spent a better of, but a year short of, a decade living in the middle east, in a country that relies heavily on food imports. Food has been on my mind for a very long time, what we eat, what goes into it, food security, ownership, policies, and how the market shapes our choices, the films I have worked on have dealt with many of these issues. No matter what my films have said, I had often felt that I am preaching to the choir. The people I met during filming were all inspirational, people who taught me that no matter who you are or what you do your voice matters. Simple, ordinary folks who choose lone battles to change systems, and they succeed. They succeed because of conviction. They believe so intensely that you cannot merely exist instead you must engage in life around you.
When I first met Nitya... I had no idea who she is... that she is one of the founders of a citizen led movement slowly gaining ground in Bangalore East called Whitefield Rising. An exemplary leader, and community gardener along with her friend Vallari Shah, she took Eat Your Street under her wings, and simply told me "You dream, and we will make it happen". And that is how things began to take shape. Next I met a singularly the most fascinating and passionate woman that I have met in a fairly long time. How can I sum up what Lavanya is all about? I will not, she will do that herself in our upcoming posts. Lavanya brings into our fledgling team josh... a keen desire coupled with drive to see our streets cleared of litter and growing food instead! That is our vision! And finally I introduce you to Dhanya - who is my neighbour, a former teacher, and biotech grad who now volunteers in a local govt. school as a science teacher. I look forward to more people matching our passion and dreaming our dream, I know it is not a lonely battle I have had many, many friends joining us, asking us questions, and engaging with us in the past few weeks. This is just the start!
Next post will be about what we have been doing the past weeks at , and our agenda in the weeks to come. you can write to us at eatyourstreet (at) gmail (dot) com.
Happy sowing!
Rajani
When I first met Nitya... I had no idea who she is... that she is one of the founders of a citizen led movement slowly gaining ground in Bangalore East called Whitefield Rising. An exemplary leader, and community gardener along with her friend Vallari Shah, she took Eat Your Street under her wings, and simply told me "You dream, and we will make it happen". And that is how things began to take shape. Next I met a singularly the most fascinating and passionate woman that I have met in a fairly long time. How can I sum up what Lavanya is all about? I will not, she will do that herself in our upcoming posts. Lavanya brings into our fledgling team josh... a keen desire coupled with drive to see our streets cleared of litter and growing food instead! That is our vision! And finally I introduce you to Dhanya - who is my neighbour, a former teacher, and biotech grad who now volunteers in a local govt. school as a science teacher. I look forward to more people matching our passion and dreaming our dream, I know it is not a lonely battle I have had many, many friends joining us, asking us questions, and engaging with us in the past few weeks. This is just the start!
Next post will be about what we have been doing the past weeks at , and our agenda in the weeks to come. you can write to us at eatyourstreet (at) gmail (dot) com.
Happy sowing!
Rajani
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