community center ijburg

I have realized, the visualizations of the ideas reach to people easier and faster than talking them through it. It shows the intention. In connection with the ideas around Transition Ijburg with Permaculture, I have extended the Community Center idea in further detail to provide in depth information. My aim is to create a new type of center. A center people are willing and liking to go and be, a center that people feel ownership of it, a center, which is productive, a center which will multiply in many locations to help people, connect people, stop racism, create a better future for people. 

The original idea is to Transform Ijburg to a productive place. To transform it to an environmentally friendly place with aware people. This can happen only with a "Permanent Location". It cannot happen with temporary places. In Ijburg, as far as I know, all public gardening initiatives are in temporary contracts because the empty parcels are spared to build housing. Either owned by the governments or private companies. We must find a solution to create Productive Community Centers. I can imagine these parcels can be very profitable for the building companies or the banks but hey, where is the place for these people to get together? Aren't we forgetting something? How can Governments and these parcel owners can come to an agreement for these Permanent Community solutions, I really do not know but I know that we need this kind of productive and community building places.

These Permanent places can support local people's needs with sustainable solutions. It connects them to each other, it provides productivity, learning possibilties, local economies. I believe we need these solutions now. I see the destruction behind our consumer based lifes styles. I see the Economical slowdown as a given chance of transformation possibility, a chance that people step out of their habits and regular cycles of life and they do their outmost efforts to change things towards more sustainable and ecologically peaceful places. I believe that a sustainable and productive Community Garden can be very valuable for the local people. 

This is an investment. For our Future. For ourselves and our children.

My ideas of the Community Center, how it should look like, is shown in below design. And the details of each activity is also listed under the design.

COMPONENTS:

1. The Community Building: 

EDUCATION ROOM: This a place in the Community Center to provide Learning possibilties. My interest is in gardening and connection with nature but there are many other interests, like art, drawing, music, you name it. We need this place(at least) for these activities. The room can be booked in an agenda for free of charge or small amount of charge to the people who would like to provide information. 

ECO-SHOP(Bio-Winkel): In our cities ecological food distribution is taking a leap and it is being accepted by the people in growing extend. I believe this is not enough and the image of "Organic Food is Expensive Food" must be transformed. I aim to make this happen in the Community Centers. As the place will be owned by the community of that area, in this example Ijburg, there will be a rental place for the shop but it will be provided in condition with cheaper food prices to the business people. For example, no more than 10% interest rate to the products after the shop costs. The owner must hire local people, either paying the wages with money or food. If this idea reaches to the people with the right conditions, then we can turn the wheel on the direction which supports local economy, supports local organically food producing farmers and catch fast cycle of these products. This way, we help local, economy, local people with providing healthy, local organically grown food and also create part time jobs for local people to support their families. 

TEXTILE EXCHANGE: We have much more than we need in our houses. Some clothes are waiting in the shelves used only ones after buying it. Or the fashion changes all the time makes them outdated. Many people can benefit from them. What is the reason we keep them. Let's bring it to these Exchange places for free and exchange them.

ECO-CAFE: With the similar principles of Eco-Shop, creating an Eco-Cafeteria in the same location provides people a meeting space. In this Cafe, organically grown products are served with cheaper prices. People can come with their children and enjoy their Community Center with pleasure. Next to the cafeteria I have placed a Pierebadje(small pool) for the children to enjoy outdoor activity in sunny days. In this shop, instead of serving fast food, we serve fresh squezed juices from organic fruits, serve allergy free and healthy food and drink products which are not loaded with sugar. Chidren play in a protected environment in the Community Garden, surrounded with trees, gardens, and Berry bushes. Does it sound like a pradise? What is keeping us investing on this kind of projects? Our perceptions? Our given options? habits? Have we ever requested this kind of place so far as a Community? Is it time? What do you think?

COMPOSTING CENTER: The idea in my mind is to create many local solutions for Composting. I believe many recycling solutions can be done with it. We are wasting too much. We are not separating enough our wastes. We have the possibilties of waste separation; Plastic, Paper, Glass, Textile. I would like to add to that Kitchen Scrabs, which I mentioned on Compost Centrum Ijburg. I also would like to encourage this waste separation with the help of the Governments. I'm suggesting to provide people Free Tram tickets when they bring in X amount of nicely separated wastes. There are already waste separation information evenings, organized by Cocasa in Ijburg. This can be continued and supported by the Governments to inform and encourage people. I also suggest, if people bring their Kitchen Scrabs, they get in return a bag of free compost for their balconies and gardens. Are these ideas doable? Are these ideas value add to our environments? What are we waiting for?

GARDENS and GREEN HOUSES(Polly Tunnels): Why do we need to grow our own food? While all sorts of food is available in the supermarket why the heck we are spending time and energy to grow a lettuce, no?

Lettuce is the easiest plant to grow. Put the seed in the earth, give water, Ta-Taa, you got it. It is the most used salad ingredient on our tables, right? If too much on our plate, we just swipe it to the bin. Or, if the salad leaf is lucky, it finds its way to a compost bin, which is not the case in most Ijburg. People dump 83% of their wastes in the general bins and only 17% is separated into plastic, paper, textile or glass. People dump their garden wastes on the street that the governments take it away. In my view it is their Bio-Capital they are sending away. 

We are wondering why people do not separate their wastes properly. It is one of the area where highly educated people live. 

Let me tell you my opinion...kindly  ;o)

The connection is missing between the lettuce left over on our plate and where it comes from, how it is grown, how did it look like when it was a small seedling, how many slugs attacked it and survived.... No connection. That's why we are throwing away without thinking, because that lettuce leaf has no value in our minds except the price we paid, because we have never grown one before in our life. 

If a person has; 
a little bit of awareness, 
a little bit space to plant one single lettuce plant and grows it, and that person eats only one leaf from that lettuce plant, 
I guarantee you, that person can hardly throw anymore salad leaf to the bin. That is that.

It is time we ask for these community places. It is time we invest in these places. It is time we transform our living places.

It is Not about growing a lettuce plant. There is a whole meaning behind it. A whole path where we come from. A connection to our source. 

That is why I put those Gardens and Polly Tunnels there. For you to Claim it. My dear Ijburgers...

Thanks for reading,
Tayfun Yalcin, September 2014