Communitary Permacultural Garden

One of the community processes that generates the strongest sense of connection and belonging is the garden. This is due both to the processes required to bring it into being, and therefore the cooperation among those responsible, and to the very essence of a garden: a process of gestating life. This is one of the main reasons, beyond the more “material” one, namely, having organic produce to increase food self-sufficiency, that led Kalart to create a garden.

One of Kalart’s essential characteristics is its deep connection to nature and its immediate surroundings. We are located at the foothills of the Montseny Natural Park, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. We are surrounded by cultivated fields. Kalart was founded in a casa de pagès, a traditional farmhouse, typical of rural Catalonia. One of our rooms, now adapted as a multipurpose space for workshops and events, was once a stable where cows used to eat.

In this sense, Kalart’s vision of the land continues to recognize it as the source from which life is sustained. And, naturally, we created a community garden. The garden is an important project for the community, which meets weekly in a garden committee to coordinate all matters related to it.

The committee decided to combine conventional cultivation with permaculture practices, in order to respect the nature of the process, namely, sustainable and organic production. We are learning about permaculture theory and practices across different areas: from compost creation and terrace design to the cultivation of aromatic plants.

The garden is open to people outside of Kalart, to members of the surrounding community who wish to collaborate selflessly in order to exchange practices and knowledge. Gardening has also led some community members to visit neighboring projects to learn about other forms of cultivation, such as biodynamic farming in Salicrú, organic producers in Llinars or Cardedeu, artisanal honey production in the Montseny valley, or to follow, from a distance, practices such as those of Josep Pàmies in Lleida.

The community garden is undoubtedly a synergistic meeting point for the members of Kalart, and for this reason we will continue to nurture this deeply nourishing process in every sense.