Our non-profit organisation, Black Butterfly, is raising funds to support the development of our community-led urban regeneration programme and agriculture project called, Joyful Roots.
Since our creation in May 2020, our team of volunteers has worked tirelessly to develop opportunities to support the Black community, as well as other racialised and underrepresented communities, in Sussex, London and internationally.
In Hastings, we have run a mutual aid service every week since the latter part of 2020, supplying culturally relevant, organic fruit/veg bags to families from our multicultural and refugee community. at the height of demand for our service, we supported almost 200 families, but now we regularly support 50.
There is a charge of £10 or £5 for the bags, but we understood early on that not everyone had the financial means for even these prices, so we offered a trade-a-skill exchange. Only about 10% of our bags are paid for with money because life remains difficult for so many in our coastal community, especially people from the communities that we prioritise.
From the beginning, we knew that we needed to access spaces to build a more resilient community offer, embedding empathy, understanding and healing whilst creating cultural, economic and educational opportunities. We now have 3 formerly long-term empty spaces, which are being developed for community benefit.
We're asking for help from the Crowdfunder community to support the development of our wellbeing spaces and the community-led projects happening within them.
THE SPACES
With support from our sister company, Unveiled, we set about securing leases on long-term empty buildings, bringing them back into use as part of our community development and wealth-building strategy.
Building 1
HATTONS YARD (cultural hub, community storage & garden space)
We're transforming a large warehouse into a multi-use community space with dedicated storage for local community and social-purpose businesses. The forecourt is slowly becoming a community garden with flowering plants and organically grown fruit and veg - an inviting and healing space. There is currently also a pallet wood store for our varying workshops and we have plans for an outdoor kitchen, fish shack and decked area.
The building is used by various groups (e.g. dance, sports, cultural, choirs, creative, disabilities, mental health, etc), trainers, freelancers and community members. Due to its size, accessibility, location and ventilation, it has played a critical role for many following the Covid-19 lockdowns.
Many spaces were either too small, poorly ventilated, requisitioned as vaccine centres, or just not running their previous activities. This meant that the availability and development of somewhere like Hattons Yard was essential to the community's recovery. Our hope is that it will become a community and co-operative development hub.
NOTE: The transformation of this space has been partially funded by the National Lottery Community Fund, but it's limited in amount and scope. Funding via Crowdfunder would help us increase physical activities and develop the forecourt / garden space.
Building 2
SMALL ACTS (hub and dining space) + STIR IT UP Community Kitchen
Continuing our theme of healing spaces, this former betting shop in central St Leonards is being transformed into an immersive gathering space and community kitchen. We want to create a welcoming and joyful home-from-home feel, so we're styling it like a 1970's West Indian home.
This project is based on the many homes that acted like community centres for the West Indian community at the time, providing a valued social service: full of joy, laughter, discussion, knowledge-sharing, gardening, Caribbean cuisine, music, co-operative and community development, and so much more. They were safe havens, healing spaces, away from the external hostilities of 70's Britain.
The name Small Acts was inspired by the Small Axe African proverb and Bob Marley song reference, but we want to show what the power of small acts of kindness and radical generosity can do for communities. In a sea of impacts, evidence, outcomes and outputs, we're offering welcoming spaces to converse, play, socialise, comfort and problem-solve together.
Every week, alongside our partners / facilitators, we provide advocacy / support services and host discussions, educational classes and workshops. We require funds to complete this project, especially the kitchen area. We currently use the main dining area as a meeting space and collection point for our weekly organic fruit / veg bag service. Once we have raised enough funds to finish the community kitchen space, we will provide cooking classes, dining events and offer a catering service supporting displaced / stateless community members.
Building 3
Higher Ground (sky farm)
The last of our 3 spaces is a vacant rooftop car park in the centre of Hastings. Having tried unsuccessfully for a long time to secure land for large-scale food production and facing many barriers, we tried to find an alternative solution.
Like many other racialised communities, accessing land in the UK is an uphill struggle and we face many barriers. To get around these issues, during the Covid-19 lockdowns we negotiated and eventually managed to secure a 2-yr lease on an empty rooftop car park with a view to:
- greening a large urban space,
- providing access to farming opportunities,
- improving biodiversity and local food systems,
- reducing the costs of our veg bags,
- developing climate action initiatives,
- creating employment and educational opportunities, as well as skills development.
Unfortunately, we have continued to encounter many barriers (man-made and environmental), but this activity, alongside many of our others, has been been supported by and beneficial to many in our community, including our members from racialised / refugee / displaced communities.
We plan to use this summer growing season to show what can be achieved collectively on redundant land in urban settings. We believe this project, and others like it, could help towns and cities become more resilient in the face of environmental issues and emergencies. Inclusive, accessible, collaborative and forward-thinking projects like this should form part of the local economic recovery, wellbeing and green economy strategies, but we're not consulted on these things, so we're trying to lead on it ourselves.
Funding would enable us to buy and build specialist planters to help with issues of water scarcity on the rooftop and run events and workshops. At the end of the project, the planters would be moved to other temporary locations or a permanent home for the farm. Any extra funding would pay for staff members and workshop facilitators.