Orto diffuso
by martibux
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This work has been commented by 3 curator(s). Read the comments
Title
Orto diffuso
Headline
Community gardens
Concept author(s)
Mariella Bussolati
Concept author year(s) of birth
1957
Concept author(s) contribution
I am the only author of Orto diffuso.
Concept author(s) Country
Italy
Friendly Competition
Competition category
Visual communication practice
Competition subcategory
moving
Competition field
nonacademic
Competition subfield
activist
Subfield description
orto diffuso is gardening activism with a blog http://ortodiffuso.noblogs.org, a wiki map on gardening in Milano http://ortodiffuso.noblogs.org/lamappa, a book Orto diffuso, dai balconi ai community garden come cambiare la città coltivandola, and many video on gardening https://vimeo.com/50711460, https://vimeo.com/34045760, https://vimeo.com/29949983, https://vimeo.com/22020838 A Facebook page (Orto diffuso) and a Twitter acount (Ortodiffuso
Check out the Food Democracy 2013 outlines of Memefest Friendly competition.
Description of idea
Describe your idea and concept of your work in relation to the festival outlines:
Food democracy means first of all autodetermination and a comprehension of our possibility t make the change. The gardens and especially the community gardens, let people to test their own knolege, skills, ability to share with others. The garden re connect the people with their own roots, the community gardens connect and link all the people which do gardening and also all the neighborhood inhabiants, even transforming the city, make an evolution possible, forget the 50 years model of urbanization which brought isolation and a silly push to consumption.
What kind of communication approach do you use?
I have a blog, Twitter and Facebook, a channel on Vimeo and I wrote a book. I am an activist in the gardens, I make a lot of speech on community gardening all over Italy.
What are in your opinion concrete benefits to the society because of your communication?
Maps and communication let people know that they are not alone, they can connect with other people to do what they are interested in. Facebook and Twitter are great to suggest ideas and propose meeting.
Communication reinforce activism but is also useful to free poetry and new ideas.
What did you personally learn from creating your submitted work?
I learned that is important that you do you work because you believe in it, and that your work can change thanks to the suggestion and the collaboration you create with others. My work became a way to create a net which is going further than me.
Why is your work, GOOD communication WORK?
The maps are a great vehicle of information, even if many people do not actually use them. They are awesome, and are very useful to propose other ideas.
But the most important thing in my work was the connection between all the platform. Writing a book and have a video on the same issue was very important. And also people who read the book stayed in connenction with Facebook and Twitter and the map.
Where and how do you intent do implement your work?
A new implement was the wiki map, which lets everybody to modify the data. I'will wide the issue on urban agriculture, and I'd like to improve the use of the garden as an economical strategy against the crisis. I'd llike to propose the creation of commoning food communities, and then not only food but all we need as sustainable NON consumers.
Did your intervention had an effect on other Media. If yes, describe the effect? (Has other media reported on it- how? Were you able to change other media with your work- how?)
Many media reported my work as you can see on http://ortodiffuso.noblogs.org/rassegna-stampa/
And my map is expected to be used by a web site of the Municipality of Milan and another group on gardening.
Thanks to Orto diffuso in Facebook, many gardens opened Facebook pages.
Curators Comments
Tony Credland
I found this video and interactive map a positive and useful tool for spreading the ideas of locally grown food and community spirit. The way the story builds from one country to another is inspiring and good to see it all collated in one video.
There is still more to do to link up the maps and create a useful network that helps us see that each project is not isolated but part of a wider issue and wider set of initiatives. Using the latest in interactive mapping available to all and where others can add their own projects means it will grow organically as people hear about the resource.
My criticism would be of the background music to the video, although some was nice, it started to annoy me after a while, rather than helping me follow the narrative, and it could have been edited down a bit to keep a clear message.
Scott Townsend
This is significant work as activism- and I think that the submission evidences the necessity and need to communicate through multiple venues successfully. I think that this 'submission' really gets away from the idea of an artifact to submit as evidence of good communication, and really gets to the heart of engaged practices over time and through various networks within communities.
The evidence for good communication comes from the video, but also in the use of Internet, publishing, verbal communication, and the engagement and connection to and across various communities. So while I think this work is deserving of being 'curated' into the Memefest theme, it really is about the successful network of activists that this represents.
Shoaib Nabi
Dear Mariella, not a unconventional method and not that has never been done before but the need for community gardens and sharing information through this informal even 'fun' activity is more needed than ever before in our growing urban communities. "Collaboration you create with others" will give results. I believe the hardest task is to find a platform to bring like-minded people your responses on facebook and successful communal gardens have all the headway you need to take this further.
Sharing information is vital and it will be natural when people work in communal gardens topics such as sustainability, eco friendly and genetically modified foods will be subjects that people will find in common.
The following statement of yours sums it for me. "The garden re connect the people with their own roots, the community gardens connect and link all the people which do gardening and also all the neighborhood inhabitants, even transforming the city, make an evolution possible".
Good luck in your continued promotion.
10 years, 10 months ago