Chickens on Peabody Estates

Out of all the Peabody estates in North West London that I work on, Dalgarno Gardens W10 is one of the most community-led active. They have chickens. There was some sensitivity on the estate. Before my time a terrorist cell was identified there and the entire estate went in to lock down. I am often quoted that aggrieved tenants of the same ethnic origin would come in to Tenants’ meetings just to verbalise that they were not terrorists.

 

On a sunny day, the setting is idyllic. Last week I was there as part of a medieval plants workshop, dying a bit of linen in wode to make a hanging fish ornament. The inspiration behind this is Siglinde. I don’t know how old she is – probably not that much younger than me, but she has a beautiful face that will only get more beautiful as she ages because of who she is and how she chooses to live her life.

 

Below is how she describes herself and her work

 

Siglinde Buhl has been a Peabody tenant at Dalgarno Gardens W10 for 14 years.  She came to London from Germany to study sculpture. 

Ten years ago, a twist of fate, when she was searching for her missing post, led her to an empty shop at 9, Dalgarno Gardens which was an ideal space for her MA art project. Originally trained as a social worker and needing funds to pay for the shop rent, she began to run community classes.  Corner 9 Arts Project became established in 2005. ‘I wanted to involve everybody and did not want people to be excluded because of cost, so we became a charity to be able to access public funds’.  It now has a management committee and many local artists run programmes there.  It is popular with Dalgarno residents. Siglinde has also worked in partnership with Dalgarno Tenants’ Association over the last year to create the Physic Garden on the Estate with funding support from Peabody and Peoples Postcode Lottery.  The most recent addition in November 2014 are the chickens and Siglinde runs holiday projects for local children to get to know them.  She can be contacted on 07763 472516 or e-mail info@corner9.com

 

While I am stitching my little fish I listen to the mums and children talking. In the small group there must be five or six different nationalities and both parents and children move seamlessly between their mother tongues and English. It makes me feel very positive about the future of our planet. Children can only be enriched by this exposure to diversity.

 

Afterwards I walk to another part of the same estate where a group of older tenants have created a raised kitchen garden. I have already touched on Peabody and gardens https://hazeldurbridge.com/peabody-gardens-trip/

Peabody have not been able to secure funding to continue with the London wide resident-led gardening initiative, but I identified a small local charity and I am checking the resident has delivered a signed, hard copy of our application. I find him sitting in the garden with several others. We chat. He tells me how many people he has got to know locally because of the garden. Another lady says to me, ‘Hazel, do you like your job?’ Yes I do. What’s not to like? It’s a privilege to do this.