Context
The creation of "Gradske Baste", which means "City Gardens" in Bosnian, is part of the urban garden movement that is developing in many European cities. The aim of the project is both social and environmental: to bring together a community of residents around gardening, to create links while enabling them to play a role in their own diet by producing their own fruit and vegetables. The aim of the Gradske Baste association and the project of the same name is to offer residents the chance to eat in a more sustainable way, while improving the greening of Banja Luka. The challenges of urban greening are manifold: combating air, water and soil pollution; regulating heat; limiting the risks associated with climate change, such as flooding, for example. Urban gardens are one way of improving the greening of a city. These spaces help to preserve and develop biodiversity, by creating areas that are favourable to local flora and fauna. Urban gardens are areas where the soil is permeable, thereby encouraging the infiltration of rainwater.
The project
"Gradske Baste" enables local people to garden in dedicated parcels in an organic way, rediscovering old-fashioned methods based on observation and respect for nature. Residents who wish to get involved in the project and join the "Gradske Baste" community become owners of a 60m² plot, where they have access to water, hay for mulching, tools and free workshops.
The "Gradske Baste" project was born in 2017, at an initial meeting of residents interested in urban gardens. It was decided that this project should be of general interest: serve all the residents of Banja Luka and be independent of political parties. The three initial representatives of 'Gradske Baste' contacted the local authorities and the initiative was well received. The project then evolved: from a spontaneous citizens' initiative, "Gradske Baste" became an association with its own articles of association and governance, in order to be able to officially request support from the local authorities for the implementation of the urban gardens. The first project was drafted in 2018 and was followed by the establishment of official cooperation with Banja Luka town hall, and then an agreement was signed for the provision of a plot of land on which the plots were created.
"Gradske Baste" underwent some changes in its governance and operation in 2020-2021, but despite this the project is still going strong and remains the first urban garden project in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The first to be implemented, but also the first in terms of scale. Other urban garden initiatives are now being launched. This is the case, for example, of the urban garden and sensory park planned for Sarajevo in 2022, supported by the City of Sarajevo and the Sarajevo Regional Development Agency.
"Gradske Baste is integrated into the local community ecosystem. Its members take part in events such as the Autumn Festival in Banja Luka. They also organise a series of events each year to showcase their work to local residents.
Who is it for ?
The project is aimed at all residents of Banja Luka.
Resources
"Gradske Baste" operates thanks to the involvement of the association's board of directors and the local people who cultivate the plots.
Results
Interest in the urban gardens has been fast-growing and high in relation to the expectations of the initial founders. In 2020, after 2 years in existence, "Gradske Baste" has distributed 56 plots to local residents. There has been a high level of citizen involvement right from the start of the project.
Little extra
The members of "Gradske Baste" welcome local schoolchildren to the plots to teach them about environmentally-friendly gardening practices.
This initiative sheet was written by Romane Bouchez, LFC volunteer - February 2023
Last modification : 12 Jun 2023.
Gradske Baste
The association Banja Luka City Gardens was created on the initiative of a group of citizens who share the same ideas and desires: to develop urban gardens and gardening activities, to produce fruit and vegetables in the city and to have a say in what we eat. Not to mention the social and environmental benefits that urban gardens bring.