Invite | This Allotment: Stories of Growing, Eating and Nurturing | Sarah Rigby, Olia Hercules, JC Niala | Chelsea Heritage Quarter | 27 September at 6PM
Dear Ajesh,
I hope this message finds you well.
I am reaching out to warmly invite you to a discussion of allotment life with gardeners, food writers, horticulturalists and historians in the Chelsa Physic Garden on Friday 27 September. The event will take place in context of the 6th edition of the Chelsea History Festival as well as the launch of the Chelsea Heritage Quarter.
Allotments are more than just plots of land – they are a microcosm of society. Fiercely guarded patches where people claim their space, yet also places of community, shared harvests, and recipes from around the world. They are filled with blowsy dahlias, buzzing bees, cups of tea in tumbledown sheds, and the wisdom of weeds and seeds.
Three of the book’s contributors – Sarah Rigby, JC Niala and Olia Hercules – will explore growing, eating, and nurturing in these special places, and what allotments reveal about ourselves and society.
Location:
Chelsea Physic Garden (Gallery)
Date & time:
Friday 27 Sep 2024, 6.00pm
Could this be of interest to you?
Please let me know if you have any questions.
I am looking forward to hearing from you.
Best wishes,
Lisa
About the speakers
Sarah Rigby is an editor, publisher and book coach. Originally from Yorkshire, Sarah lives in London and came up with the idea for this collection of stories after growing an allotment herself and volunteering at the organic food growing co-op, Organic Lea, in Epping Forest.
Olia Hercules is a British-Ukrainian chef, cookbook author, and activist. She has published four cookbooks, including the award-winning ‘Mamushka’, translated into eleven languages, and ‘Summer Kitchens’, which explores Ukrainian regional cuisine and preservation traditions. As a co-founder of Cook For Ukraine, she has helped raise over £2 million for those impacted by the war in Ukraine.
JC Niala is an allotment historian and writer who explores the connections between nature, culture and community through allotments. Her doctoral research defined allotments as ‘banal utopias’ – everyday sanctuaries where people collaboratively create paradise with nature. In 2022, she won the Social History Society Public History Prize for recreating a 1918-style allotment. And in 2023, she collaborated with Greenpeace to highlight allotment waiting lists and urge councils to recognise their potential for urban sustainability.
Further information:
This Allotment: Stories of Growing, Eating and Nurturing - Chelsea Heritage Quarter