This workshop series gives you the opportunity to rethink your relationship with nature, food, and consumption. You will be able to connect with different people in an exchange of skills, knowledge, and thoughts.
What is this workshop about?
The Harvesting Resilience workshop series is part of a long-term research project focusing on the food-land-culture relationship to examine the impact of our food production and consumption habits on the environment, land degradation, and forms of exploitation. Curated by Zeren Oruc, the project looks at how we eat our land, our cultural and emotional connection to food based on where it’s grown, and less extractivist practices such as the disappearing knowledge of foraging, food banks, gardens, and more.
By using foraging and guerilla gardening in “community gardens” as one of the artistic and curatorial methodologies, the workshops intend to decolonize and reclaim urban landscapes and ecological narratives through the lens of BIPOC and people with migration backgrounds. While tackling mainstream Western environmentalism that dismisses indigenous and migrant knowledge, we want to relearn and share our knowledge in relation to the plant world and form new connections where we feel safe in nature. To facilitate the generation of this intergenerational and intercultural knowledge, we invite participants to join us, along with their elders*, in remapping Berlin’s foraging paths and sharing their experiences.
The workshops will be guided by curator Zeren Oruc, who is revisiting her place in gardening and foraging after relocating to Berlin, and horticulturist, forager, herbalist, and kochende Gärtnerin Lea Nassim Tajbakhsh. On the first day of the workshop, we will go on a guided foraging tour where we get to know each other and share our knowledge. On the second day, we will meet at Oyoun’s community garden for an intimate discussion about food and belonging in nature, and revisit the idea of community gardens through guerilla gardening principles.
*The term “elders” here refers to older individuals who possess wisdom and knowledge to share and are not limited to family. You are welcome to join us with a neighbour or someone you might want to learn from. If you don’t know such a person, join us anyway, maybe you will connect with someone.
Dates:
Saturday, 7th October: 13:00 – 15:00 h (Treptower Park)
Sunday, 8th October: 11:00 h – 14:00 h (Oyoun Garden)
Language: English
Ticket: FREE ADMISSION!
The workshops are open to those who self-identify as BIPOC, and are limited to 10 people. For any questions or inquiries, please contact the curator at zerenoruc(at)gmail.com
Please come prepared for any type of weather conditions with warm/water-resistant shoes and raincoats.
Programme:
DAY 1: Harvesting Resilience: Waving stories through foraging
A guided workshop about the fundamental principles of foraging, local plants, their use, and sharing knowledge and stories. We will meet at Oyoun’s garden for a warm-up conversation and have a foraging walk.
Please come prepared for any type of weather conditions with warm/water-resistant shoes and raincoats. If you would like to collect plants and herbs on the go, we recommend bringing a pair of scissors and a canvas bag or a small container.
DAY 2: Harvesting Resilience: About the gardener
A discussion-based gardening workshop about our rights to green spaces, gardening communities, food, and more. We will meet at Oyoun and use a portion of the garden. Please come prepared for any type of weather conditions with warm/water-resistant shoes and raincoats.
