West Ealing Abundance Project
July 27 2009
West Ealing is regenerating, from the bottom up. A group of local residents have formed an 'intentional community' with ambitions to help West Ealing reclaim its civic pride, community spirit and identity (at 33,000 population it's still treated as a subset of Ealing Broadway instead of as one of the Ealing 'cluster' of towns), They're called West Ealing Neighbours (and, no they don't live in a hippie commune but their aspirations to make change are radical).
One of this organisation's offpsring is the West Ealing Abundance Project. This has so far had two community gatherings and a sale (at which it made £130). Born in 2008, the West Ealing Abundance Project is a loose collection of interested local people, who want not only to reclaim some of the area's history as a huge orchard, but also applaud its 'present' as a thriving Broadway full of ethnic food shops. They decided that West Ealing and Food go together very well, but people need to know more about this, and become part of this earthy regeneration. Earlier in 2009, the Project organised a baking day for 33 'locals' including many kids which was a huge success.
But, last year, they started cropping local fruit trees whose harvest was going to waste; from this a community 'gang' spent a weekend preparing apples, pears, blackberries and frozen rhubarb and produced 80 or so jars of jams and preserves which they sold at an Arts and Crafts Fair at the 'village hall' (St James's Church Hall in the town centre).
In 2009, the group needs more pickers, more fruit, and more helpers - because every single one of those jars was sold and we could have sold a fair few more. Shoppers liked the idea of buying locally sourced, locally made produce and they liked the ethos that West Ealing has a visible heart and that it was based on putting good things in its stomach! If anyone has cooking apples to spare, the group can help pick and give back some crop either fresh or as preserves. If you want to get involved, in any capacity, please see our contact details on the susu organic directory or email dianegill@aol.com and gillealing@googlemail.com ; for recipes, pictures, videos, information, go to Diane's blog
GillA/ West Ealing Abundance
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