Guerrilla with flowers | Gaby | TEDxParisSalon
-
0:02 - 0:04Good evening, my name is Gab,
and I live in Paris. -
0:04 - 0:07I'm a gardener, I do
a specific type of gardening. -
0:07 - 0:13I have a garden on the rooftops of Paris.
-
0:13 - 0:16Maybe I'm lucky to have
this small shared garden. -
0:16 - 0:19In fact I discovered how to create them
-
0:19 - 0:21from six square meters
of green space in Paris. -
0:21 - 0:23I take part in guerrilla gardening.
-
0:23 - 0:29The idea is to create new gardens
where they don't exist today. -
0:29 - 0:33It's considered illegal,
since we garden and grow -
0:33 - 0:35on land that doesn't belong to us.
-
0:35 - 0:38I'm going to explain
the history of the movement -
0:38 - 0:40to show you that it is part
of something global, -
0:40 - 0:44international, and not just
something we're doing ourselves. -
0:44 - 0:48In the 17th century, Gerrard Stanley
defended farmers' land, -
0:48 - 0:52and fought against the idea
of land privatisation -
0:52 - 0:56and large agricultural farms
-
0:56 - 0:58that had already started
to establish themselves -
0:58 - 1:01and had really restricted
farmers' independence, -
1:01 - 1:04and their ability
to provide their own food. -
1:04 - 1:07Stanley asked them to farm illegally
on land nearby their homes. -
1:08 - 1:11This movement continues today
under the name The Landless Movement -
1:11 - 1:14where many people fight
to have a few square meters -
1:14 - 1:18and to defend their territory as well as
their society and way of living. -
1:19 - 1:23The term 'guerrilla gardening'
dates from the 70s. -
1:23 - 1:26Green Guerrilla was invented
by Liz Christie in New York. -
1:26 - 1:31They decided to tackle
all the derelict urban areas, -
1:31 - 1:34the wastelands, and create
the first community gardens -
1:34 - 1:35that we have today.
-
1:35 - 1:38The equivalent in France
are called the shared gardens. -
1:38 - 1:42Nowadays, the guerrilla is often
represented like this: -
1:42 - 1:44a street art image by Banksy,
-
1:44 - 1:48that shows a young man,
a militant, an activist, -
1:48 - 1:51who is about to throw stones,
but instead throws flowers. -
1:51 - 1:54Our principles are a bit like this;
the idea is to use plants -
1:54 - 1:57in every way possible
to give both a message -
1:57 - 2:00on ecology, politics, the environment,
-
2:00 - 2:02and society too,
-
2:02 - 2:05but there are lots of forms
of guerilla gardening. -
2:05 - 2:09Some are anti commercial,
and would rather work for free, -
2:09 - 2:11some are against this type of neglect
-
2:11 - 2:14and would prefer to see a garden instead.
-
2:14 - 2:19This is what guerrilla gardeners do :
before, just the bottom of a fence -
2:19 - 2:22and after the gardener's work.
-
2:22 - 2:25Guerrilla gardening is also very much
about vegetable gardening. -
2:26 - 2:29The aim is to plant vegetables in towns,
-
2:29 - 2:32for local food and to challenge
the supply into our towns. -
2:32 - 2:38We know, for example, that
Paris supermarkets import food each week, -
2:38 - 2:41yet if the lorries weren't able
to return to Paris, -
2:41 - 2:42there wouldn't be any more food.
-
2:42 - 2:45It's also a case of us sharing the land,
-
2:45 - 2:48we grow, and make
a real effort in the garden -
2:48 - 2:52while others plant vegetables,
for example leeks, here near to Nantes, -
2:52 - 2:56where they were fighting
against a dual carriageway project -
2:56 - 2:59that was planned near their community.
-
2:59 - 3:02They said, we are going to take action
through guerilla gardening -
3:02 - 3:06and show them we prefer
to keep our fields, our leeks ... -
3:06 - 3:09They used vegetables to contest
the ongoing project. -
3:10 - 3:14This is a more artistic effect,
a design represented using moss, -
3:14 - 3:16and flower petals at Perpignan.
-
3:18 - 3:21Other artists, for example,
Helmut Smith, took this action -
3:21 - 3:25to contest the use of advertisements
in our public spaces -
3:25 - 3:29and the privatisation of our visual space,
-
3:29 - 3:32the fact that no one has authorisation
-
3:32 - 3:36to do just what they want
in a public space. -
3:36 - 3:40He planted a tree right in front
of the advertisement. -
3:40 - 3:43It's been in front of this
publicity board for several years. -
3:43 - 3:46It's grown rather well.
-
3:46 - 3:52Others do it because gardening
can be hard work, -
3:52 - 3:55they say "I go all the time to run
for nothing at a sports centre, -
3:55 - 3:59under the bright lights, etc.,
I prefer to be out in the fresh air, -
3:59 - 4:02doing something that is useful
for everybody, I'm going to come -
4:02 - 4:03and give you a hand gardening."
-
4:03 - 4:05Others simply do it
-
4:05 - 4:08to be able to teach their children
what's a plant, what's a seed, -
4:08 - 4:12to know it takes time to grow,
to know how to dig, -
4:12 - 4:18these things are more important
than anything else that you learn, -
4:18 - 4:21and it's just that: to relearn
the fundamentals of gardening. -
4:21 - 4:24Here's our workshop in Paris,
it's a little disorganised, -
4:24 - 4:26it's a place where we experiment
on lots of things -
4:26 - 4:29to simply bring vegetables to the town.
-
4:29 - 4:32Here you can see the benches
made from recycled palettes -
4:32 - 4:41filled with plants that have been
grown from recovered seeds, -
4:41 - 4:43it's our meeting point.
-
4:43 - 4:47Some experiments to grow tomatoes
are carried out in toilets, -
4:47 - 4:50here's a few pieces of glued timber,
arranged around a post, -
4:50 - 4:56an initiative like that
can grow several plants. -
4:56 - 5:02Here at the edge of a road, we've
transformed barriers into flower tubs. -
5:02 - 5:06Here, someone has planted a flower
on the road to question locally -
5:06 - 5:09what place cars have in the town.
They occupy 80% of our public space : -
5:09 - 5:14that leaves 20% for walking,
20% for vegetation -
5:14 - 5:18which is a farce by comparison.
-
5:18 - 5:22It's also to be able to say that we can
put vegetables all over the town. -
5:22 - 5:25We always have the means
of planting vegetables anywhere, -
5:25 - 5:28of finding a little gap,
-
5:28 - 5:30with this seed bomb "bombe de graine",
-
5:30 - 5:33a mixture of clay, compost,
and little seeds. -
5:33 - 5:36It's one of our tools to be able to
reach less accessible places, -
5:36 - 5:43to put it in gaps,
like these types of places. -
5:43 - 5:45I would like to invite you
-
5:45 - 5:49to the International Tulip
guerilla gardening, -
5:49 - 5:51an international movement,
all over the world, -
5:51 - 5:53where people plant tulips,
-
5:53 - 5:56but in Paris we usually plant vegetables.
-
5:56 - 6:00It takes place on the 9th October
and I'm inviting you to take part. -
6:00 - 6:02If you're not able to go,
-
6:02 - 6:06I'm asking you to find a place near to
your home with soil just like this, -
6:06 - 6:08there are a few of them everywhere,
look for some plants, -
6:08 - 6:10then set a date,
-
6:10 - 6:14see if your neighbours
are interested, ask your friends, -
6:14 - 6:16and do it.
-
6:16 - 6:20In a few months, you'll maybe
see your tulips grow, -
6:20 - 6:25you're first attempt at guerrilla
gardening all around a roundabout. -
6:25 - 6:27So what was guerrilla gardening?
-
6:27 - 6:31It's lots of different ideas of sharing
a message using plants, -
6:31 - 6:36they can be ecological, political,
social, environmental, -
6:36 - 6:39I don't believe there is any other
movement or action -
6:39 - 6:42that allows you to do
such things with just plants. -
6:42 - 6:45So for that, I am inviting you to choose
your weapons and take action. -
6:45 - 6:46Thank you.
-
6:46 - 6:49(Applause)
- Title:
- Guerrilla with flowers | Gaby | TEDxParisSalon
- Description:
-
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organised by a local community.
Filmed at Gaîté Lyrique for TEDxParisSalon on 12 September 2012. For further presentations see http://tedxparis.com/
- Video Language:
- French
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDxTalks
- Duration:
- 06:54
Ellen approved English subtitles for La guérilla par les fleurs | Gaby | TEDxParisSalon | ||
Ellen edited English subtitles for La guérilla par les fleurs | Gaby | TEDxParisSalon | ||
Riyad Altayeb accepted English subtitles for La guérilla par les fleurs | Gaby | TEDxParisSalon | ||
Riyad Altayeb edited English subtitles for La guérilla par les fleurs | Gaby | TEDxParisSalon | ||
Suzanne Trueman edited English subtitles for La guérilla par les fleurs | Gaby | TEDxParisSalon | ||
Suzanne Trueman edited English subtitles for La guérilla par les fleurs | Gaby | TEDxParisSalon | ||
Suzanne Trueman edited English subtitles for La guérilla par les fleurs | Gaby | TEDxParisSalon | ||
Suzanne Trueman edited English subtitles for La guérilla par les fleurs | Gaby | TEDxParisSalon |