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Green gangster, Ron Finley
He calls himself a gardener-gangster. His weapon is a simple shovel. He helps the poor and fights successfully with the local administration. But he's not a superhero from the comics. He is Ron Finley, a resident of the city of Angels.
To feed a city, the containers with food travel distances of hundreds and even thousands of kilometers. For the sake of it burned millions of tons of fuel, and manufacturers go to great lengths to increase the shelf life of products. "What if the products could be grown right inside the city?" thought American Ron Finley... he Thought and began to act! In 2010, he in front of his house created a garden to grow healthy food, which previously was not available to him.
Soon, this initiative attracted the attention of the city Council of Los Angeles, who saw it as a violation of the law. In the aftermath of the conflict and the ensuing public campaign against the city, Ron Finley became famous as a renegade gardener in southern California. So he initiated a large project to create gardens for growing healthy food right in the city alleys and boulevards. Today Ron Finley answered our questions.
– Ron, tell me how it all began – why did You decide to grow food?
I live in an area that is completely devoid of healthy food and suffers from a lot of problems related to diet – high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, asthma, cancer. Once the governors have decided to change the name South Central to something more presentable, and changed it to South Los Angeles, but the situation in the city is not affected. If you look, you'll see here, first of all liquor stores, fast food and vacant lots. It is the birthplace of "food without leaving the car" and "shooting machine". You will be surprised but in the car kills more people than fire. For example, the obesity rate in my neighborhood is five times higher than in Beverly hills, which is only 12-16 miles. Wheelchairs are bought and sold here like used cars.
My roots are in South Central. Here I was parented and raised their sons. But I refused to be part of an environment that is created for me by some other, unfamiliar ones. I began to create the conditions. You know how it is when you no access to healthy food? I got tired of driving 45 minutes to find an Apple that wasn't impregnated with pesticides. I'm tired of this situation. I realized that the problem is the solution. Food is a problem, but food is the solution. And then I planted a garden in front of his house on a piece of land that separates the sidewalk from the road. 45 meters by 3 meters. The idea was to not only to grow food but also to decorate your area to show others that they can grow their own food on site, which the city uses almost no.
– That is gardening for You is not just for sustenance?
I am an artist, and gardening is my graffiti. As an artist, graffiti decorates the walls, I decorate the lawns. I use ground as the cloth, and the plants and the trees as the pattern for that cloth. For me, aesthetics are important, different colors, different smells and textures. I don't plant anything in rows, because in nature nothing is linear.
When people see any of my gardens, they are addicted to them. They say that in their neighborhood do not see any hummingbirds or butterflies. I try to explain that if you build an ecosystem for them, they will come. For them, this place will become a reserve.
You will be surprised by the effect of the earth, which is used creatively. My garden has become a tool for learning, a tool for the transformation of my neighborhood. Gardening is the most therapeutic and defiant act you can do, especially for the city. And, you can, for example, eat strawberries.
As Your initiative did other people react?
I and a few people got together and started to break up the beds, planted fruit trees, vegetables on the street near our homes. We help to create gardens for all who dare to take their health into their own hands. The team works on a voluntary basis and is composed of gardeners from all over the city, working for free.
I remember one evening mother and daughter were in my yard. I went to him, and it was very awkward. I was sad that they had to do it. But I said that is all on the street. I was so ashamed – I saw people who lived in the neighborhood and starving, and this only reinforced my intentions.
I was asked: "Ron, aren't you afraid that someone will steal your food?" I answered: "No! That's why it's on the street. That's the point. I want people take my crops, and regaining their health. I can't eat all the food that is grown. That's impossible."
One of the gardens I had at the rooming house for the homeless. They put the beds together with someone's mom or grandmother, and I was pleased to see how it affected them, and they acknowledged change for the better.
– How did You come into conflict with the mayor's office?
Suddenly, the city administration gave me a citation to remove my garden, based on the old law by which to grow in the alleys can only be trees and lawn. By law, the land belongs to the city, but must maintain it residents. But why, if I have to maintain the land, you can't do it the way I like, can't plant a garden?
Luckily, stood up for us media about the us made a film, we prepared a petition in defense of the garden, which collected a lot of signatures in our support. Thanks to them we managed to defend the right to garden. We were allowed to divide the gardens, provided that they satisfy certain requirements of public safety, access for emergency vehicles, lack of barriers to opening doors of cars, etc.
– Did You expect at the beginning that the garden in front of Your house will grow into such a large project?
Yes, I initially had the intention to instill in society the idea of turning the city from a food desert (food desert) in the food forest (forest food), and now have the desire to spread it in other parts of the world.
– What do You mean by "food desert"?
Food desert is an area devoid of any kind of organic, healthy and nutritious food. Here you will find the restaurant where you can sit and eat a healthy, well-cooked food. You can walk for miles and find nothing that could be safely and fun to eat. It even looks like a food prison, because you are hostage to the established food system. Healthy food is impossible to find, and the food which is slowly killing the truest sense of the word.
– What is the main motivation of the project participants?
In my opinion, sufficient motivation is not to be in the future, a wheelchair and a lifetime of medications. That's what you're finished, if you continue to eat anything. We can't save them all, but there are people who want to preserve their health and to live without those drugs prescribed by the doctors. I grew up eating junk foods, which are cooked on who knows what. And so know whereof I speak.
In General, people grew food, I give them this: growing one plant will give you 1,000, 10,000 seeds; one dollar invested in seeds of beans, will give you a harvest price of $ 75. Growing your own food is like printing your own money. Los Angeles is a leader among other cities in the number of free land. She is 67 square kilometers, and enough space to plant 725 million tomato plants. But people need to understand that they need to spend some time to get the result. In addition to food, there are other benefits from such activities.
– What is the first question from those who want to follow in your footsteps?
Ask: "where do I start?", and I answer: "From the beginning". They say: "where is it?". I: "the Start is where you start."
– How does Your work affect the children?
To change society, you need to change the composition of the soil. We are the soil, like our children. Children who grow Kale, eat Kale. If they grow tomatoes, they eat tomatoes. But when these are not available when they are not shown how food affects the mind and body, they will blindly eat whatever they offer.
I look at young guys and see the desire to work. But we are hostages of a situation when the future of children, especially not from white families that have been predefined for them, and that road leads nowhere. In gardening, I see an opportunity to show children how they can reclaim their communities, to have a sustainable life. And when we do this... who knows, maybe we might produce the next George Washington?
One day along the street past my garden was a teenage boy. He was wearing headphones and listening to music. Catching up with my garden, his attention was drawn to the sunflower. He stopped and asked: "What is it? Is this real? Cool!".
Remember! Nature always wins. Always. Ask the dinosaurs, if you don't believe me.
– What are your future plans?
I want to fill the whole block with gardens to create a local food supply. Now I'm working on a cafe project, which will be combined with the garden and training centre. It will be a cafe where people can not only eat healthy food, but also to learn how to grow food, renting a garden plot and prepare them. This gardening oasis will create many jobs for local residents and will be self-sufficient ecosystem. We are not talking about free stuff, because free is not sustainable. The point of sustainable life that you have to sustain it. People need to take the work and get the kids off the street and show the joy and dignity that you experience growing your own food, opening farmer's markets. This is the place where we teach kids how to think, not what to think. We want to show people how to grow their own food, to take their health into their own hands. Of course, there are some difficulties, because many industries don't want us to be independent because they will not be able to benefit, if we are going to grow their own food.
I want to add some spark. Want us to become rebellious eco-revolution, Gangstas, gangsta gardeners. We must change the meaning of the word "gangster". If you're not a gardener, you ain't gangster. Get gangsta with your shovel and let that be your weapon! So if you want to meet me, do not call me to sit with you in comfortable chairs, discussing in their meetings, how you'll plant horseradish. If you want to meet me, come to the garden with your shovel and get planting this stuff! published
P. S. And remember, just changing your mind — together we change the world! ©
Source: erazvitie.org/article/Green-gangster
To feed a city, the containers with food travel distances of hundreds and even thousands of kilometers. For the sake of it burned millions of tons of fuel, and manufacturers go to great lengths to increase the shelf life of products. "What if the products could be grown right inside the city?" thought American Ron Finley... he Thought and began to act! In 2010, he in front of his house created a garden to grow healthy food, which previously was not available to him.
Soon, this initiative attracted the attention of the city Council of Los Angeles, who saw it as a violation of the law. In the aftermath of the conflict and the ensuing public campaign against the city, Ron Finley became famous as a renegade gardener in southern California. So he initiated a large project to create gardens for growing healthy food right in the city alleys and boulevards. Today Ron Finley answered our questions.
– Ron, tell me how it all began – why did You decide to grow food?
I live in an area that is completely devoid of healthy food and suffers from a lot of problems related to diet – high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, asthma, cancer. Once the governors have decided to change the name South Central to something more presentable, and changed it to South Los Angeles, but the situation in the city is not affected. If you look, you'll see here, first of all liquor stores, fast food and vacant lots. It is the birthplace of "food without leaving the car" and "shooting machine". You will be surprised but in the car kills more people than fire. For example, the obesity rate in my neighborhood is five times higher than in Beverly hills, which is only 12-16 miles. Wheelchairs are bought and sold here like used cars.
My roots are in South Central. Here I was parented and raised their sons. But I refused to be part of an environment that is created for me by some other, unfamiliar ones. I began to create the conditions. You know how it is when you no access to healthy food? I got tired of driving 45 minutes to find an Apple that wasn't impregnated with pesticides. I'm tired of this situation. I realized that the problem is the solution. Food is a problem, but food is the solution. And then I planted a garden in front of his house on a piece of land that separates the sidewalk from the road. 45 meters by 3 meters. The idea was to not only to grow food but also to decorate your area to show others that they can grow their own food on site, which the city uses almost no.
– That is gardening for You is not just for sustenance?
I am an artist, and gardening is my graffiti. As an artist, graffiti decorates the walls, I decorate the lawns. I use ground as the cloth, and the plants and the trees as the pattern for that cloth. For me, aesthetics are important, different colors, different smells and textures. I don't plant anything in rows, because in nature nothing is linear.
When people see any of my gardens, they are addicted to them. They say that in their neighborhood do not see any hummingbirds or butterflies. I try to explain that if you build an ecosystem for them, they will come. For them, this place will become a reserve.
You will be surprised by the effect of the earth, which is used creatively. My garden has become a tool for learning, a tool for the transformation of my neighborhood. Gardening is the most therapeutic and defiant act you can do, especially for the city. And, you can, for example, eat strawberries.
As Your initiative did other people react?
I and a few people got together and started to break up the beds, planted fruit trees, vegetables on the street near our homes. We help to create gardens for all who dare to take their health into their own hands. The team works on a voluntary basis and is composed of gardeners from all over the city, working for free.
I remember one evening mother and daughter were in my yard. I went to him, and it was very awkward. I was sad that they had to do it. But I said that is all on the street. I was so ashamed – I saw people who lived in the neighborhood and starving, and this only reinforced my intentions.
I was asked: "Ron, aren't you afraid that someone will steal your food?" I answered: "No! That's why it's on the street. That's the point. I want people take my crops, and regaining their health. I can't eat all the food that is grown. That's impossible."
One of the gardens I had at the rooming house for the homeless. They put the beds together with someone's mom or grandmother, and I was pleased to see how it affected them, and they acknowledged change for the better.
– How did You come into conflict with the mayor's office?
Suddenly, the city administration gave me a citation to remove my garden, based on the old law by which to grow in the alleys can only be trees and lawn. By law, the land belongs to the city, but must maintain it residents. But why, if I have to maintain the land, you can't do it the way I like, can't plant a garden?
Luckily, stood up for us media about the us made a film, we prepared a petition in defense of the garden, which collected a lot of signatures in our support. Thanks to them we managed to defend the right to garden. We were allowed to divide the gardens, provided that they satisfy certain requirements of public safety, access for emergency vehicles, lack of barriers to opening doors of cars, etc.
– Did You expect at the beginning that the garden in front of Your house will grow into such a large project?
Yes, I initially had the intention to instill in society the idea of turning the city from a food desert (food desert) in the food forest (forest food), and now have the desire to spread it in other parts of the world.
– What do You mean by "food desert"?
Food desert is an area devoid of any kind of organic, healthy and nutritious food. Here you will find the restaurant where you can sit and eat a healthy, well-cooked food. You can walk for miles and find nothing that could be safely and fun to eat. It even looks like a food prison, because you are hostage to the established food system. Healthy food is impossible to find, and the food which is slowly killing the truest sense of the word.
– What is the main motivation of the project participants?
In my opinion, sufficient motivation is not to be in the future, a wheelchair and a lifetime of medications. That's what you're finished, if you continue to eat anything. We can't save them all, but there are people who want to preserve their health and to live without those drugs prescribed by the doctors. I grew up eating junk foods, which are cooked on who knows what. And so know whereof I speak.
In General, people grew food, I give them this: growing one plant will give you 1,000, 10,000 seeds; one dollar invested in seeds of beans, will give you a harvest price of $ 75. Growing your own food is like printing your own money. Los Angeles is a leader among other cities in the number of free land. She is 67 square kilometers, and enough space to plant 725 million tomato plants. But people need to understand that they need to spend some time to get the result. In addition to food, there are other benefits from such activities.
– What is the first question from those who want to follow in your footsteps?
Ask: "where do I start?", and I answer: "From the beginning". They say: "where is it?". I: "the Start is where you start."
– How does Your work affect the children?
To change society, you need to change the composition of the soil. We are the soil, like our children. Children who grow Kale, eat Kale. If they grow tomatoes, they eat tomatoes. But when these are not available when they are not shown how food affects the mind and body, they will blindly eat whatever they offer.
I look at young guys and see the desire to work. But we are hostages of a situation when the future of children, especially not from white families that have been predefined for them, and that road leads nowhere. In gardening, I see an opportunity to show children how they can reclaim their communities, to have a sustainable life. And when we do this... who knows, maybe we might produce the next George Washington?
One day along the street past my garden was a teenage boy. He was wearing headphones and listening to music. Catching up with my garden, his attention was drawn to the sunflower. He stopped and asked: "What is it? Is this real? Cool!".
Remember! Nature always wins. Always. Ask the dinosaurs, if you don't believe me.
– What are your future plans?
I want to fill the whole block with gardens to create a local food supply. Now I'm working on a cafe project, which will be combined with the garden and training centre. It will be a cafe where people can not only eat healthy food, but also to learn how to grow food, renting a garden plot and prepare them. This gardening oasis will create many jobs for local residents and will be self-sufficient ecosystem. We are not talking about free stuff, because free is not sustainable. The point of sustainable life that you have to sustain it. People need to take the work and get the kids off the street and show the joy and dignity that you experience growing your own food, opening farmer's markets. This is the place where we teach kids how to think, not what to think. We want to show people how to grow their own food, to take their health into their own hands. Of course, there are some difficulties, because many industries don't want us to be independent because they will not be able to benefit, if we are going to grow their own food.
I want to add some spark. Want us to become rebellious eco-revolution, Gangstas, gangsta gardeners. We must change the meaning of the word "gangster". If you're not a gardener, you ain't gangster. Get gangsta with your shovel and let that be your weapon! So if you want to meet me, do not call me to sit with you in comfortable chairs, discussing in their meetings, how you'll plant horseradish. If you want to meet me, come to the garden with your shovel and get planting this stuff! published
P. S. And remember, just changing your mind — together we change the world! ©
Source: erazvitie.org/article/Green-gangster
