SHORT DESCRIPTION: the Westgarten in Dortmund is a community garden run by an open group with the support of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety since 2017. The management is carried out by a group of people and a non-profit association (urbanists) with the aim to improve the coexistence of the local people and create new perspectives for urban living spaces. Interaction with many people and making the city greener and more livable is the common denominator of the participants. Every Saturday there is the weekly meeting: in summer the community works in the garden while in winter there are different workshops. The main purpose is to raise the awareness of the residents for independent food production and to insure a long-term sustainability.
KEY ACTIVITIES: the Westgarden in Dortmund is a public space which serves as interface between existing forms of culture, growing structures and the individual ideas of the people. The aim is to build and operate a community garden with educational programs in order to achieve a long-term and independent food production while raising the awareness of the people to the ability of independent and sustainable food production. The Westgarden creates a platform for green, healthy and untreated local food. At the garden there are occasionally events and workshop regarding gardening (old plant varieties, ecological pest control, composting), aquaponics and urban livestock.
RELEVANT DIMENSION: CSA (community supported agriculture), sustainable agriculture, co-working, climate protection.
BUSINESS MODEL: non-profit organization, funded by the Federal Republic of Germany.
