At BonBee we love community projects that improve people's quality of life through the use of plants as a means of social inclusion and wellbeing. In this blog post we want to tell you about the implementation of rooftop gardens in Barcelona, how they influence the lives of people with functional diversity and how they have become food providers for soup kitchens in the city.

In 2016 the IRTA (Research Institute attached to the Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food of the Generalitat de Catalunya) designed and created the first vegetable garden on the rooftop of the building of the Municipal Institute for People with Disabilities (IMPD) in Barcelona. These gardens were cultivated using a technique called hydroponics where it is not necessary to use soil to achieve proper planting without weight on the roofs.

Such was the impact of this project that it received theEuropean Public Sector Award from the European Commission. It currently has 5 orchards in operation in municipal buildings located in the districts of Eixample, Ciutat Vella, Gràcia and Sants-Montjuïc.

One of the objectives of the City Council is to increase the number of community gardens from 5 to 10 in order to increase the participation of more people with disabilities in this type of project.

In addition, through this project, people with disabilities are taught how the gardens work properly and how food is distributed to community kitchens and food banks in the city. This generates social inclusion based on the active role that each of them plays in the project, which promotes values such as teamwork, responsibility, patience and self-control.

According to a study conducted by the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB), the Hospital del Mar Institute for Medical Research (IMIM) and ISGlobal, the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA) and the Barcelona Laboratory for Urban Environmental Justice and Sustainability (BCNUEJ), the benefits of rooftop community gardens have achieved high levels of success and satisfaction, results that have not been found in other similar projects.

What is grown in the orchards?

The gardens grow chard, spinach, lettuce, peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, among others. Pstemuction is very similar to that of a conventional garden. For example, in one of the gardens, up to 400 kg of tomatoes can be harvested.

Would you like to have your own vegetable garden at home?

You already know the many benefits that urban gardens bring both for the health of people and the care of the environment. If you want to start your project and need flowers and plants to complement it, contact BonBee!