Paris, October & November 2024
The October session at la Semeuse was a warm afternoon spent weaving structures in willow for the climbing plants and creating robust fences to hold the raised beds, necessary for protecting the planting beds from the polluted industrial soil below. Playing with a quickly constructed camera obscura allowed the structures to be viewed differently, the glowing autumn light filtering the image onto tracing paper.
People who accompanied us from le CEDRE were happy to reconnect with Stéphanie Buttier who led the workshop, having met her last year at the garden. It reminded us that the community links we are building are gentle but long term, as is the relationship with the garden. More frequently we find that people who we have introduced to the space from le CEDRE are now able to access the garden and community group it hosts on the weeks we are not there.
In our last garden session for the year in November, the chilly days meant the lighting of the bread oven was much appreciated. Some new volunteers tested out the oven for the first time, welcoming advice from the experienced bakers familiar with the garden and oven. They delighted in the first “fourneé”, and we all tasted the fruits of their afternoon’s labour in the chilly afternoon air. As the night sky darkened we finished our work in weeding the bed for the wheat, and sowed grains of different varieties collected from this year’s harvest.
We are delighted to have our funding for this much valued work renewed for next year by Fondation de France. As part of our participation in the project Art Exist, we will continue our monthly presence at la Semeuse. It is much valued by both those who come with us from le CEDRE, but also by the community members who use the space more regularly. Staff from Les Laboratoires d’Aubervilliers have recognised that when we are present it enables other links to emerge. People are able to engage in conversations around wellbeing and connections that have been significant for them in their relationship to both garden and its community.
Words by Kate France, Pascale Marie & Naomi Press.
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