AN EMPTY GUNNY BAG CANNOT STAND
In one Glasgow neighbourhood during lockdown, 120 coloured hessian sacks, hand cut and stitched, were distributed down the length of one street.
300 potatoes were planted in 2 tons of soil, growing together in isolation, till one day the produce was harvested and cooked at a pop-up chip shop for all to enjoy!
An Empty Gunny Bag Cannot Stand had its origins in the first plans to redevelop a derelict sharksfin of land in Glasgow, by SWG3, in consultation with Propagate, who work with people to make new growing spaces and nearby residents. It has now been transformed into the SWG3 Garden. Early in 2020, ground clearance began, but the advent of the Coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdowns put plans on hold.
Our project was reimagined, moving to the streets around Angus’ home in Kelvindale. Residents were invited to participate, growing potatoes in the hessian bags on their front doorsteps, with 90% of the street of Ashburton Road agreeing to take part.
Sourcing materials, soil and potatoes during the strict lockdown was no mean feat, but with the support of Patch, a farm business from Newry, material suppliers, Discover Direct, theatrical costume maker Fe Houston, working with Sue Green and Eloise Morgan who stitched 150 bags – and the support of the street - production got underway and potatoes, bags and soil were distributed to everyone who wanted to have a grow.
Everyone got to keep some of the crop for themselves and the rest were donated to a harvest event that took place later that year. The Chip Shop fed 500 with live music and was the only event of its kind taking place in the one week SWG3 was able to open throughout lockdown.
This modest growing initiative released a little bit of magic, the possibility of something positive during such a huge and overwhelming crisis. With lots of people now walking the streets for their daily exercise, the visual impact of the coloured sacks sitting high on doorsteps attracted attention.
The knock-on effect in the street was noticeable with neighbours connecting in ways they hadn’t previously, sparked by the act of collective growing. The Harvest came on a surprisingly sunny day with participants from one to ninety-six years old. Everyone was surprised at how well the tatties had grown.
The culmination of the project was a community socially distanced deconstructed chip shop production line, where everyone got to share the fruits of their labours – not a ‘dull but worthy’ salad or soup, but chips, because a good bag of chips still does it for most people and the idea just made you smile.
The tagline to this work is, ‘grown with love in lockdown’… with the strangeness that we all lived through, celebrating that, love for family, love for friends and the world that - with a good bit more care - might propel us into a happier future again.
