Gardening Hamlets
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GARDENING HAMLETS Building a Gardening Community in Lincoln, NE Residential Yards
Transcript of Gardening Hamlets
GARDENING HAMLETS
Building a Gardening Community in Lincoln, NE Residential Yards
HAMLET‘Hamlet’ is an early 14th-century word, from Old French “hamelet” —
diminutive of “hamel” (village), itself a diminutive of “ham” (village)
from Frankish “haim.”
Specifically, a hamlet is a cluster of dwellings too small to have a
church, shops or formal government.
GARDENING HAMLETSUrban gardening “communities” that are created by surrounding
neighbors with the purpose of food growth and consumption.
WHAT IS A ‘HAMLET’?
Getting out in the garden connects us with the natural environment
and gives us a personal appreciation of how the food we daily eat
gets on our plate. But urban gardening does even more.
It enables those of us who live in the city to start pulling our weight
in the food system by growing some of our own food. More than
simply being ‘consumers,’ we can be producers.
The urban environment, in fact, is better positioned than anywhere
to produce the ‘perishable items’ (the fresh fruits and vegetables)
that are the hardest to keep on the grocery store shelf. And because
these items are grown and harvested right where we live, they’re
fresher and more nutritious.
WHY GARDENING?
In an urban environment, food ‘self-sufficiency’ will never be a
viable option. There simply isn’t enough ground available to grow
the calorie crops (wheat, corn, beans) necessary for our diet. But
even at the city block level, city dwellers can be growing fresh
greens year-round, preserving our garden harvest, and keeping bees
and a couple of chickens for eggs.
WHY GARDENING?
Urban gardening grows more than just food… It grows community.
Getting out in your yard to garden is a surefire way to get to know
your neighbors. Food (even just the growing of it) has an uncanny
ability to break down barriers and bring people together. And
when people know their neighbors, we’re building healthier, safer
neighborhoods.
One can hardly minimize the virtues of neighborhood gardening:
it’s making more efficient and responsible use of our available
natural resources… it’s a great way to get plenty of exercise… and it’s
giving ourselves and our community a daily reminder of where our
food comes from.
WHY DOES IT MATTER?
The practice of gardening where we live is nothing new. It’s been
around for thousands of years, spanning hundreds of generations in
virtually every culture in the world.
In our modern urban culture, however, the tradition of growing food
right outside our door has been pretty much lost — replaced by
inedible lawns and landscapes. Just one third of American households
have any size garden at all, and the modern ‘community garden’
oftentimes requires participants to travel beyond their neighborhood
to get our hands in the soil.
IS THIS A NEW IDEA?
By contrast, ‘gardening hamlets’ are located right in the block where
people live. They’re reviving that noble and time-honored practice
of growing food on our own residential properties — in backyards, in
front yards, in public right-of-ways… in spaces that used to be nothing
but lawn.
The “Hawley Hamlet” is an example of how a group of Lincoln,
Nebraska neighbors are growing both food and community on an
urban farm just twelve blocks from the Capital City’s downtown.
IS THIS A NEW IDEA?
THE HAWLEY HAMLET
“ The hamlet concept can be imitated in any urban setting by
neighbors building bonds with one another, collaboratively growing
food in neighborhood gardens, making optimal use of their local
resources, and lightening their footprint on our overstrained
ecosystem. In my 30 years of political organizing, I’ve never seen
anything break down barriers and foster dialogue like growing food
does. Our hamlet is a self-initiated, self-supported urban homestead
that we’d love to see replicated all over the country.”
~ Tim Rinne, co-founder of the Hawley Hamlet
THE HAMLET
VISION
There’s no such thing as a hamlet of one. The idea behind hamlets is
that neighbors should start gardening together. We need ‘hamlets’ of
every size and description... suitable for every neighborhood. There’s
no one size fits all.
THE HAMLET
VISION
In the fall of 2014, a College of Journalism and Mass Communication class at the University of
Nebraska–Lincoln engaged in creating a comprehensive awareness campaign for this concept
of gardening hamlets. It was suggested to them to use the name “Homestead Hamlets.” The name
of this program is not as important as the ideas of how to implement it in local neighborhoods.
Next are their collected ideas.*
* Each student group had a different look/feel for their proposals
1- AWARENESS2- EDUCATION3- ADOPTION4- SUCCESS STORIES
HOW DO WE DO IT?
AWARENESS
B R O C H U R E
B R O C H U R EBROCHURE
STUNTNEIGHBORHOOD “GROWER’S MARKET”
Create an event similar to a garage sale in
select neighborhoods to let people know what
the Hamlets are and how to start their own
backyard hamlet. 2-sq.ft. boxes with top soil
and/or seedling jars could be giveaways.
PROMOTIONAL
POSTERS/CARDSBUSINESS CARD
HAMLET SIGNAGE
AMBIENT
Add permanent signage in
front of each hamlet. Format,
material and size could be
standardized, but neighbors
can still paint/decorate it to
reflect their particular hamlet.
MOBILE VEGGIE EXCHANGE NEIGHBORHOOD POTLUCK
Event
Produce Truck
& Event
Go around existing Hamlets exchanging foods that have been grown.
Gather neighbors for a party with food prepared from Hamlet crops.
EDUCATION
HAMLET EDUCATORSchedule dates when a gardener can drive around with a
truck bed full of crops and/or tools and make scheduled stops educating neighborhoods on how to start/maintain a garden.
STARTER KITS
S TA R T E R K I T
Distribute or sell starter kits at Farmer’s markets. Kits contain seeds, seedlings, trowel, gloves.
ADOPTION
DIGITAL/WEB/MOBILE
Build a digital community of different hamlets. Users can join their particular hamlets by searching their location and finding fellow gardeners. Users can share pictures, videos, and tips with one another. We could offer tutorial videos/articles on a variety of topics as well.
M O B I L E
M O B I L E
PHOTOS VIDEOS SEARCH
M O B I L E
PHOTOS VIDEOS SEARCH
Sign In
CREATE NEW USER
FORGOT YOUR PASSWORD?
Username
Password
SearchSearch by Zip Code
SHARELOCATE
CHAT
PLANNER MY HAMLET
PROFILE
APRIL 2015
Tuesday April 21, 2015
Wednesday April 22, 2015plant potatoes
help Andersons till front lawn
buy supplies for grape trellis
Thursday April 23, 2015
Friday April 24, 2015
Establish New
NEBRASKA
LINCOLN, NE
SOUTH LINCOLN
NEAR SOUTH
SOUTH ST. HAMLET
Add New Reminder
Post New
Lisa.Jo04.11.15
B.Anderson04.07.15
First tomato plants are ready to go in the ground!
TOMATO PLANTS
HELP! TILLING!
SUCCESS STORIES
DOCUMENT PEOPLE’S STORIESCreate one video or series of interviews with multiple members
of Hamlets sharing their story and successes (or failures) on getting a Hamlet started.
HOW CAN YOU HELP US SPREAD THE ‘HAMLET’ IDEA?
