A community group is hoping to bring a taste of Africa to Paisley by growing exotic fruit and veg in their own community garden.
Pachedu held the ground breaking ceremony on its community garden in the grounds of Sherwood Greenlaw Church in Paisley.
Johannes Gonani, founder of the organisation, which supports diverse minorities living in Renfrewshire and across the west of Scotland to be more visible and proactive in shaping their communities, said demand for growing vegetables has lead to them creating their own garden.
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He explained: “Most of the people have been gardening all their lives and are looking for an opportunity to grow some vegetables that they don’t normally get here.
“We managed to get four raised beds as part of the West End Growing Grounds but they’ve been oversubscribed, there’s not enough space there, so we started to look for more space.
“One of our forum volunteers talked to Sherwood Greenlaw Church about the space. We got £9,000 funding from Engage Renfrewshire and the whole project is now taking shape.
The garden – which is called Pachedu Greenlaw Growing Grounds – will eventually have 13 growing beds, a polytunnel and a greenhouse which Johannes said should be enough for everyone who’s interested.
“It’s about experimenting with the vegetables people grow in Africa. Things like okra which can be hard to get here.
“The digger has started and we’re hoping to have it all ready in the next three months.
“We’ll see what we can grow over winter.”
Johannes said everyone involved was excited about the next stage of the project.
“It’s an opportunity for us to practice integration rather than just talk about it,” he said. “Members of the church will have access and be able to grow as well.
“Our focus is health and wellbeing. Minority ethnic communities are more prone to things like diabetes and hypertension so we hope having more fresh vegetables will help people with those kinds of things. It will also help with people's mental health, being outside and meeting more people.
“A lot of people who are keen to grow things live in flats and don’t have outdoor space.
“It’s an issue of hope. For more people with mental health issues, just growing something and seeing it turn into something can help. It’s a useful tool in tackling mental health issues.”
Funding for the garden came via Engage Renfrewshire’s Community Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund.
Alice McBride, from Engage Renfrewshire said: “The national fund was announced last year by Scottish Government and aims to support community based approaches to mental health supports by funding local activities, projects, and grassroots initiatives that propose early intervention and preventative measures to support people before they reach a crisis point.
“We didn’t envisage that grassroots aim as a literal one but we’re delighted to support this gardening project.
“The garden development will be a means of reconnecting with nature and work as a channel for discussing and exploring members’ mental health, while also creating a peaceful space the group can use and share for a long time.”
The Community Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund is a two year fund with the second year about to launch.
Activities funded range from physical sports activities, to creative workshops, development of spaces and organisation capacity, and much more.
If any local community groups would like more information, email info@engagerenfrewshire.com
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