We’d go foraging in the Red Zone to add value to the produce we found there, and to give it a second life; we had our little shop (a wooden stand which we’d haul out to the path by the river), which was open for two days a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and we’d sell produce and preserves to the community.
These days, with less and less to be found [in the Zone], we source our produce from people who have a surplus, using whatever we can. Currently we are looking for people who might have Purple Peach trees for our Riverlution Café’s fresh fruit ice cream!
Where did the idea for a preserve contest come from?
How the Preserve Contest itself came about was the result of a brainstorming session held at the time that the Richmond Community Gala was incorporated into the garden. We wanted to find ways that we could highlight the space and celebrate all the good stuff we were doing here, and after tossing around various ideas (including a harvest festival), we decided on the preserve contest.
Not only did we see it as an appropriate and fun way to celebrate, but it was a way to support our commitment to the restoration of mahinga kai; of restoring the waterways, wetlands and flight paths in this area, to encourage biodiversity and to bring back food to our green spaces. And in this instance, helping people make the connection between place and food, to get them thinking about where their food comes from, and to hopefully inspire them to start preserving for themselves.
Getting the contest underway was relatively easy as we knew we had lots of like minds around, so we invited all the local community gardens to join us, got an enthusiastic team of judges together, and went for it.
Now as the contest gains momentum each year, what really appeals to me is how the art of preserving expands to include kimchi, sauerkraut and other ferments. It’s an exciting prospect, and whichever jars or bottles come out as a winner on the day, it’s all just a matter of taste!!
As told by Hayley Guglietta, who’s been there, sitting on the steps of Avebury House, drinking cups of tea in the sunshine since the very beginning.