A literal example of community growth is blooming in Portlaoise thanks to the development and ongoing maintenance of an allotment space in one of the town’s disadvantaged areas.
Overseen by Laois Partnership Company’s SICAP scheme, the community allotment at O’Moore Place has burgeoned through the green-fingered skill of residents, who have volunteered to restore life to what was once part of a derelict patch of land prone to antisocial behaviour.
In 2018, Laois Partnership Company secured RAPID funding from Laois County Council to build a 16-plot allotment site in the space and with funding from the community enhancement strand, the space was secured with a perimeter fence and gate. Funding from Healthy Ireland provided horticulture training to ten local residents, who displayed great resilience as they overcame several teething issues with the site, such as severe flooding, damage to the fence which allowed horses to trample through the plots and eat some of what had been planted, and antisocial behaviour.
The group has gone from strength to strength despite those early setbacks, with many engaging in training opportunities, including a gardening course facilitated by Laois Offaly ETB that had a holistic and therapeutic focus.
Many members of the group were feeling incredibly nervous but also quite isolated post Covid and with the gentle approach that SICAP allows community workers to take, the group are now fully engaged and thoroughly enjoying the space and the company of each other. Consistency and communication are key to the sustained engagement of clients, and our skilled and experienced development workers play a key role in supporting the project.
A development worker and a SICAP training officer met with the group regularly during the training programme, directing group members to other supports available within SICAP, such as mentoring for employment, Failte Isteach language classes, and counselling supports, as well as towards other agencies and programmes such as Volunteering Laois, LOETB, Youth Work Ireland Laois, and the Laois School of Music.
With ongoing support from the SICAP officers, the group are supported to overcome challenges and ensure the programme’s success. One challenge they faced was the fact that the group is diverse in culture, having members from Ireland, Poland, Latvia, Ukraine, Russia, and Bulgaria. It is important to ensure every voice is heard, all opinions are considered when making decisions, and that understanding is provided to all, which is why SICAP officers facilitate group meetings to ensure smooth running.
Another difficulty is that funding can be slow to materialise, but SICAP officers can support with funding applications, as well as provide some financial support from grants, as opportunities arise.
A lack of indoor space was an issue but through strategic management of funds and pooling of resources the space now has a large shed for meetings, paperwork, and the essential tea break, as well as a smaller shed for the storage of tools and a fabulous polytunnel.
Initially the allotment space was, for some members, the only interaction outside their home that they had on a week-to-week basis. Some members of the group have formed much needed friendships, meeting for walks and coffee outside the allotment space and supporting each other through life’s obstacles. Most members say it is a peaceful space where they can spend time away from the chaos or the humdrum of the house, work on their plot, feel the soil, smell the flowers, draw breath, and quiet the mind. Some members have brought their children or younger siblings to the space to encourage an interest in gardening and are finding that the time spent together is benefiting their relationships.
The allotment space can be a place of quiet reflection or a hive of activity, with laughter ringing out through the air. It can be a local market that you pop down to for the vegetables for today’s dinner or flowers to add some colour to the hallway. It is all of these things and much more to the people that use the space – it is a space where they can grow, and be, together.
