LETSGROW; LOCAL FOOD FOR LOCAL PEOPLE!

by Graham Burnett

Genetically Modified maize & soya, BSE & E Coli, Organophosphates and Nitrates on our fruit and vegetables and in our water supply...Anybody who keeps even half an eye on the news cannot fail to have noticed that there is unprecedented concern about our national diet and how it is produced. When the Government advises us to peel our carrots to minimise the possibility of pesticide contamination, we have every right to worry. It comes to something when the authorities actually admit that the food we are sold is unfit to eat, even if they are being slightly more disingenuous about Lord Sainsburys� and Monsanto�s potential bio-tech nightmares...
LETSGROW is a local community based initiative aiming to link those who have worries about food quality, and, more importantly, those who want to do something about it. The project is an offshoot of South East Essex Local Exchange Trading System (LETS), a self help organisation in which members are able to trade goods, services and skills with each other using an interest-free local currency called �Piers�. The continuing requests from many LETS members for fresh, affordable organic food grown in the Southend area highlights a need not so much to protest and campaign (a role admirably filled by other local and national groups), but to take some direct responsibility at a regional level for what is, after all, one of the most important aspects of all of our lives.
One aim of LETSGROW is to match up those who have garden space that they can�t (or are not inclined to) look after to those who want space to garden. Participants simply send their �offers� or �wants� to a co-ordinator who compiles a �directory� where these can be matched up for mutual benefit.
For example, the frustrated self- sufficiency enthusiast living in an upstairs flat might find they are but a couple of streets away from somebody who has an overgrown wilderness they would love to see tidied up and utilised if only they had the time. Similarly, instead of being forced to give up a plot they have proudly maintained for many years, an older allotment holder who is beginning to slow down could team up with a younger person to undertake some of the heavier work such as digging in return for a proportion of the produce.
LETSGROW also has an educational role, enabling those who perhaps lack the knowledge or confidence to get started to work alongside somebody more experienced to gain skills and wisdom. As well as running workshops where information is shared, we�ve found one of the best methods of learning is �hands on�, and what better opportunity than coming along to one of our allotment workdays?
In Spring 98 a group of LETS members began cultivating a vacant plot at the Springfield Drive allotment site in Westcliff. A small crop of onions and potatoes were grown, which were harvested and distributed in September. This winter we�ve put in fruit bushes, a mini pond for wildlife and �parcelled� the plot into small manageable beds, as well as developing an equitable structure for dividing the produce.
Volunteers who spend time on the plot are paid a set number of Piers which they are then free to spend on other services within LETS, such as cycle repairs, babysitting, computer tuition or Tai Chi lessons. Furthermore, 50% of any crops grown are shared on a proportional basis between those who�ve put in labour, while the remainder are �given� to the LETS group. Members can then purchase fruit and vegetables in Piers that go back to the �wages� fund. A sustainable cycle is created where local people are given access to good quality food as well as reaping other benefits ranging from social contact to the satisfaction of growing and tending that only a gardener can understand.
LETSGROW is about thinking globally and acting locally. Long term, our aim is to play a part in the development of community food links, working complementary to existing businesses and organisations in promoting such initiatives as seed & cuttings exchanges, Box Systems (wherein fresh vegetables and produce are delivered weekly to subscribers), local �Harvest Share� schemes to distribute �gluts� of produce, horticultural training projects and the reclamation of unused land for community gardens and orchards.

Across the UK there are now over 40 such schemes supporting local councils, wholefood shops, allotment societies, organic farms, food co-ops, and direct marketers. What they share is a commitment to providing direct links between producers and consumers, bringing both a human dimension and trust back into the �business� of food. LETSGROW is not only about the quality of what and how we eat; knock on effects also include creating local employment and safer streets (growing more food locally would reduce the traffic and pollution caused by road haulage) and other social and health benefits.
Have we bitten off more than we can chew? Every apple tree grows from a tiny pip, it�s up to the people of South East Essex to turn ideas into reality and develop sustainable pathways into the next millennium...
If you would like to get involved or volunteer to come along to one of our allotment workdays, or would like more information about LETSGROW, contact Graham, 01702 303259

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