04/2014
Luan Balili started his activity in April 2014. He worked as building administrator, earned a small salary and was the only active person in his family. The building where he was employed had a large space in front of it, which was used as parking by inhabitants. Luan had a new business idea: transforming a part of this space into a green area for growing fruits and vegetables.
Contact details
E-mail : evadashi@ubt.edu.al
Tirana, Albania
Stakeholders
∙ Building inhabitants (green area and fresh food)
∙ Luan Balili’s family (fresh food and increased revenue)
∙ Neighbourhood (green area and some fresh food)
∙ Municipality (green area without any related investment or expenditure and self-service by the community)
Objectives
∙ Developing a green area in the urban context ∙ Producing fresh food for inhabitants
∙ Generating more income for the family
Legal framework & Budget
Luan proposed to the inhabitants to transform 800 m2 of their parking area into a green garden and to grow vegetables. He is self-employed. All the funding comes from his sales.Activities
Luan Balili continues to work as building administrator. In parallel, he grows vegetables on the 800 m2 plot of land. The garden is surrounded by fruit trees and strawberries. Luan’s main clients are inhabitants of the building. The rest is sold at a grocery shop in the neighbourhood.>Innovation & Outcomes
This initiative is innovative because Luan uses public space to grow fruits and vegetables and increase his income. It has a positive impact on the community as it provides a new green area in the neighbourhood. All building inhabitants can also benefit from fresh products at a preferential price and know how they were produced. Besides, eating local products means eating seasonally, supporting the local economy and reducing the environmental footprint of food supply.800
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Main obstacles & Next steps
The main obstacle that Luan had to face was the initial opposition of inhabitants, who considered the initiative illegal and didn’t see the benefits for them. Now, the business has good chances to be sustainable because no further urbanisation is planned in the area and Luan is now familiar with this work.More on :
