While the Secours populaire association is well known for its food aid, clothing aid and its fight against exclusion, its garden is much less well known. Explanations.
Nestled in the heart of the northern industrial zone of Limoges, on rue Henri-Giffard, the garden of cultures is open to visitors, behind the buildings of the Secours populaire.
Here, on 1,500 m2, in bins or on mounds, vegetables, fruits and other herbs wait to ripen before being picked. There are peas, celery, leeks, lettuce, tomatoes, cabbages, Jerusalem artichokes, onions, artichokes, zucchini, strawberries, kiwis… and even amaranth. “It’s a Congolese plant, it’s a bit like the spinach here. It was one of the volunteers, Idrissa, who suggested the idea of growing this plant just like taro,” recalls Martine, one of the volunteers in the garden of cultures.
Shared vegetables
Idrissa arrived from Mali in November 2019 and he had “never gardened” just like Robert, the Congolese. But no matter, they still wanted to try things out, to plant “specialties” from home to better share them with others. “We don’t eat amaranth in seeds, but in leaves,” smiles Robert.
As extraordinary as it may be, this garden is still much more than that?! It is a pretext for exchanges. It is “a crossroads of practices, cultures, meetings, solidarity, in short of all the values that the Secours populaire carries, summarizes José, one of the volunteers in charge of the garden of cultures. We try, we innovate, we learn from each other.”
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It is also an inclusive garden, respectful of nature and resource management. “The project matured during the Covid crisis,” remembers José, “and we wanted the most virtuous approach possible.”
In fact, all the infrastructure useful for the garden was created from recycled materials. The bioclimatic greenhouse was built with old college windows. The shed is in a container, while the compost bin is made of logs and the pergola is made of iron. Even the labels are recycled. The names of the varieties planted are written on the old porcelain cups.
“We plan to green these spaces,” assures José. A wisteria and a clematis will cover the compost while kiwis climb the pergola. »
Autonomy
And to water all that? Water resource management has been planned, of course. “We collect rainwater from the roofs which is then reused in the garden using a pump. Under the ground, it’s like a spider’s web of pipes that bring water,” explains José.
“We also have a chicken coop in which eleven hens and a rooster live. The garden waste goes to the hens and they provide us with manure. We also have a beehive. Finally, nesting boxes are installed everywhere. Our idea is to link plant and animal life,” adds this enthusiast.
With the help of experienced gardeners like Martine and Marc, these amateur gardeners even made their own seedlings, their plants. “But we welcome donations of plants, seeds and all help is welcome,” laughs José. If you like the earth and human contact, this is for you?!
“Our production will go to food distribution, but it will obviously be insufficient and above all that is not the goal. The goal is EXCHANGE. From the garden, we talk about seasonality and the discovery of new vegetables, cultural traditions…” No need to know anything about it, young and old, everyone can come to the garden of cultures.
Stéphanie Barrat
