Can Pinyol Community Gardens


Can Pinyol Community Gardens are a community-based and participatory project of social gardens in Sant Boi de Llobregat, a peri-urban town of 83,000 inhabitants. They were initiated in the framework of the European SIDIG-MED project, coordinated by the Barcelona Metropolitan Area. The community component is present in the definition of the different components that make up the project.

Contact details

Function / Organisation : Project Manager, Barcelona Metropolitan Area , Can Pinyol Community Gardens

E-mail : argelich@amb.cat
Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/Horts-comunitaris-Can-Pinyol-Sant-Boi-de-Llobre-gat-1796807300555214
Ctra. Sant Climent 58
08830, Sant Boi de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain

Stakeholders

∙Barcelona Metropolitan Area – BMA, which initiated
the project
∙ Municipality of Sant Boi de Llobregat, which
owns the land
∙ Marianao Foundation, which manages the
community gardens
∙ Sant Boi de Llobregat families and social services
beneficiaries
∙ Social institutions and initiatives: COS School,
Aramis, Germanes Hospitalàries, Llar Sant Josep
Residence, Tots Som Santboians, Equilibri Asociation,
Ariadne Project, Endavant Jove, Taller
prelaboral de serigrafia, Marianao neighbours
association

Objectives

∙ Strengthen community ties and social cohesion
in the municipality and provide a space
for socialisation and personal promotion to the
community
∙ Recover the traditional culture of gardening
based on organic and sustainable crops
∙ Respond to the social and therapeutic needs
of vulnerable people through participation in the
community gardens
∙ Boost the educational and recreational nature
of orchards

Legal framework & Budget

An agreement between BMA and the Municipality of Sant Boi de Llobregat was signed for the cession of a plot of land. The BMA committed to implement the necessary works and investments to prepare the land and infrastructure. The Municipality committed to engage a NGO for the management of the garden during at least 7 years.

Activities

The Can Pinyol Community Gardens are composed of 36 social allotments intended for people in disadvantaged situations such as unemployment, psychical disabilities, mental disorders, etc. Collective gardening is used as an instrument of community building and self-confidence improvement. All plots of land are cultivated using organic agricultural techniques. The project has 5 main components: community participation, training and technical advice, accompaniment of social services’ beneficiaries, awareness raising on agroecology and dissemination

>Innovation & Outcomes

The project consists in a series of training actions on organic agricultural techniques, both theoretical and practical, and in the implementation of technical advice in situ, provided by a coaching team. It receives the active support of the Training Committee, which offers agricultural advice to people who need it and assesses training contents and modules to prioritise.

SQM Cultivated
700
Project budget
27 800

Main obstacles & Next steps

The main obstacles were the degrading equipment and infrastructure of the plot: the existing pump was old and not operating any more, the water quality was good but the water flow was insufficient. To solve this issue, a deeper well had to be dug and built. As a next step, Can Pinyol General Assembly will create new spaces of leisure in the garden facilities to strengthen the community building dimension of the project.

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Project co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund