Common Ground Community Garden
|
|
 |
Resistance is fertile!
Female
86 years old
Reading, London and South East
United Kingdom
Last Login: 3/4/2008
|
Mood:
mischievous
|
|
View My:
Pics
| Videos
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
Common Ground Community Garden's Interests
|
| General | Digging, weeding and direct-action. Lawn-cutting, relaxing and direct-democracy. Community and the environment. A society driven by social and ecological needs, not profits and economic growth. Meeting the neighbours over a beer in our community garden. | | Books | We Are Everywhere: The Irresistable Rise of Anti-capitalism" available from www.weareeverywhere.org
"Do It Yourself: A Handbook for Changing Our World" available from www.handbookforchange.org | | Heroes | The community gardens of New York City. See the article in "We Are Everywhere" or visit www.indypendent.org/?p=651
The communities of Rossport in Ireland resisting attacks by Shell Oil, the communities of East London resisting the evictions and gentrification brought by the Olympics, the communities in West London resisting the evictions and pollution brought by the expansion of Heathrow, the people fighting the closure of Ryeish Green School and the Kennet Valley development, the postal workers in struggle, the Wembley Park Occupation, the Zapatistas rebel communities of Mexico, the MST occupied lands in Brazil and all communities and workers organising themselves collectively and democratically, taking direct-action to improve their lives.
Solidarity and best wishes to you all. |
|
|
Common Ground Community Garden's Details
|
| Status: | Swinger | | Here for: | Networking, Serious Relationships, Friends | | Orientation: | Not Sure | | Hometown: | Reading | | Religion: | Agnostic | | Zodiac Sign: | Capricorn | | Smoke / Drink: | Yes / Yes | | Children: | Someday | | Education: | In college | | Occupation: | Yep, its an occupation all right! | | Income: | Less than $30,000 |
|
|
![]() |
Common Ground Community Garden shut
view more
|
|
Common Ground Community Garden's Latest Blog Entry
[Subscribe to this Blog]
|
| [View All Blog Entries] |
|
Common Ground Community Garden's Blurbs |
About me:
Common Ground is a community garden, on occupied (squatted) land at the bottom of Silver Street in Katesgrove, Reading. The entrance is through the alleyway to the left of the ex-Womens Information Centre.
For five years Reading Burough Council left the land to rot, covered in trash and needles. They hope the buildings will fall down, so they can justify flogging the site to the highest bidder.
In January 07' local squatters, residents and activists occupied the land, cleared it, worked it and made it bloom. We recycled and re-used, our friends, family and neighbours chipped in, and through direct-action and self-organisation we created a community garden in our neighbourhood in Katesgrove and reclaimed a public space of sanctuary. The land is ours? Well, not exactly. Common Ground belongs to nobody, because it belongs to everybody. The land is (y)ours.
Thanks to the participation and support of residents of Katesgrove, people from around Reading and activists and musicians from elsewhere, Common Ground Community Garden has defied two council injunctions and two eviction attempts. The garden was opened to the public on 19th May and has been open all day, every day, for all to enjoy.
Anybody is welcome to work in the garden at anytime, but every Sunday we hold work days, which involve a couple of hours working on the garden from 1pm and a weekly decision-making meeting from 3pm. Idealy, Common Ground should be under the control of the whole community, not just us, and so anybody is welcome to participate in decision-making meetings. To ensure things stay this way, we have agreed five fundamental principles which are:
1. We stand for local democracy & community control. We mean that decisions about what happens in a neighbourhood should be made democratically by the community itself, with everbody concerned being free to participate, make proposals, debate options and vote on decisions. This is in opposition to a minority having this power, such as a business or government body.
2. We stand for the resources of an area (land, housing, services, workplaces etc) being used for the common good i.e. to benefit everybody.
3. To this end we argue that these resources should be collectively owned and controlled by the whole community, to prevent private owners (minority bodies like the Council included) using them in their own interests, to the detriment of others.
4. We oppose developments imposed from outside and above, which would take that control away from the community, including the current plan of gentrification throughout Reading.
5. We will make decisions in line with these principles. All present at meetings are free to voice their opinions and be listened to respectfully, make proposals and debate options. Decisions will be made by consensus or majority vote if necessary.
Please feel free to contact us by email at katesgrovegarden@yahoo.co.uk, by using the noticeboard in the Common Ground alleyway or by dropping in on Sundays after 1pm.
Cheers, hope to see you in the garden!
|
Who I'd like to meet:
Local residents of Katesgrove and wider-Reading.
People who use Common Ground or work in Common Ground.
Anybody who sympathises with our project.
Any other communities, workers or groups in the UK or around the world who are struggling in similar ways for real democracy and for social and environmental needs being prioritised over profit.
Anyone with inside information....! Haha.
|
|
| Common Ground Community Garden's Friend Space (Top 8) |
|
Common Ground Community Garden has 24 friends.
|
|
|
|
|
![]()
|
