Edinburgh Agroecology - Lauriston Farm

Community Outdoor Kitchen

The project aimed to expand the facilities in community allotments by increasing the space for communal tool storage and creating a community kitchen to facilitate the preparation and eating of healthy, fresh food in a welcoming community setting. It aimed to build positive habits and perceptions around food growing and consumption while increasing community connection and resilience.

At least 134 households regularly engage on the farm across 36 plots. As many of the households are families, the number of individuals who benefit from the site will be well over 200.

The charities engaging with it included Pilton Community Health Project’s Men’s Health Project, Fresh Start, Project Esperanza, Edinburgh Tool Library, Positive Paths, Positive Futures, and Edinburgh and Lothians Regional Equalities Project.

Plotholder groups include the homeless charity Fresh Start, the young women’s support organisation She Scotland, and Project Esperanza, which work with women and families of African heritage living in North Edinburgh. Local residents in small groups have also taken on plots, including a friendship group of Kenyan women from Muirhouse and Drylaw and a collection of older women from Cramond. The farm is also now welcoming participants from the LEAP recovery program and many more.

The project has been a community effort to build strong and resilient long-term infrastructure. It will allow a large number of people from very diverse backgrounds, cultures, and social strata to come together to ensure a sovereign food supply for North Edinburgh. The project is already seeing participants apply for and take on jobs at the farm or develop their growing skills

A recent Social Return on Investment (SROI) study of Lauriston farm concluded that due to the combined effects of the place in nature (with the biodiversity and stunning views), the food production on site and the *massive* social capital generated by the community growing area the site has a SROI figure of 6.5. That means every £1 invested in the farm is worth £6.5 to society.

Quote: “Sense of shared purpose, community, building something together, meeting people, learning new

skills, sharing soup, getting muddy.”

More information about the impact of the project is available online.

Find out more by reading the Edinburgh Agroecology application to the Edinburgh Community Climate Fund or visit their website.