Urban Growing Project with the FARM:shop

The last few months have seen the development of an exciting collaborative partnership between the Centre for Better Health’s social enterprise, PRA Plastics and Developments and FARM: shop - a cafe, events and work space based nearby at 20 Dalston Lane growing as much food as they can in a shop in London and bringing farming to the city www.farmlondon.weebly.com

A pilot project, due to start later this month, is looking at the feasibility of urban farming at   Stean Street. A third of the top floor of Stean Street will be transformed into an indoor growing space, with a hydroponic system set up to grow basil and lettuce. Hydroponics is a method of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions, in water and without soil.

FARM: shop will be providing the training and set-up expertise and be on hand to support the project. A group of CBH volunteers will tend to the plants on a daily basis, monitoring the system and the growth and  recording this via methods such as a photo blog.

The aim of the project is twofold; firstly it is looking at the feasibility of growing food for local consumption in this way (the salad and basil pesto will be served in the FARM: shop café from mid-March when the first crops are ready), weighing up the cost of production and comparing it to the yield. The other is to explore what benefits this project could deliver for the volunteers at Stean Street.

It is anticipated that, along with gaining technical growing skills, volunteers will also develop basic skills such as numeracy and ICT, through the recording and charting of the crops.  Development of these skills will be complemented by courses run at Stean Street. Developing skills, building confidence and self-esteem, aims to support volunteers in moving closer to the labour market. In addition, it is the start of PRA Plastics and Developments expanding its network of partners and be part of the movement that calls for local food production that will become increasingly important as global resources run out.

To view the growing progress at Stea Street visit our facebook page