SAM Rozkwit
Stowarzyszenie Aktywności Miejskich Rozkwit is a non-governmental organization established in 2017 with the aim of contributing to the sustainable development of green spaces in Warsaw, with particular focus on allotment gardens. We want a city that is welcoming to its human and non-human inhabitants, inclusive, which uses local traditions in gardening, architecture and crafts, as well as its social and ecological potential, in a manner conducive to adressing the challenges posed by ever-changing urban life.
We work towards integrating and animating local communities, foster links between them, promote the principles of sustainable development, an environmentally conscious and healthy lifestyle. as well as support intergenerational integration, both in allotment gardens and in other spaces where communities meet. We strive not only to use already existing infrastructure available to the inhabitants of Warsaw, but also to open up access to new places.
We are convinced that the answers to challenges of life in a modern city can be found at the points where diverse areas of knowledge and everyday practice meet, intersect or complement each other - particularly in the creative tension between the social and environmental aspects of the city. Therefore, we are interested in spaces where art, design, science and urban activism interact and in open-minded, grassroots attempts to establish forms of environmentally and socially responsible urban life: both the more practical approaches and those which aim to stimulate imagination or open new theoretical perspectives.
In our activities, we keep in mind that the most valuable asset communities have at their disposal is the knowledge of experts, enthusiasts and those who guard local history. We ensure that in creating laboratories of the city of the future, their experience and agency should be given due respect and that the vision of a people-friendly city should be pursued on the basis of what the inhabitants themselves consider valuable.
In 2019 and 2020, in cooperation with the Greenery Office of the City of Warsaw, we carried out two editions of the „Onward, allotments!” program, which seeks to support urban allotment gardens and increase their accessibility for the inhabitants of Warsaw. Allotments enrich city life with places and opportunities that cannot be found anywhere else. We want them to retain their unique ecological and social character and remain an indispensable, integral part of the modern city landscape: both of the everyday life of local communities and of the green and blue urban infrastructure. Together with allotment gardeners and local communities we try to preserve allotment traditions and creatively develop them, bringing the remarkable richness and diversity of the gardens to the attention of an ever-increasing number of people.
Since 2020 we have also been running a three-year project funded by the City of Warsaw, aimed at providing activities for seniors and promoting a healthy lifestyle among them. The project consists of a series of yoga classes and vegetarian cooking workshops showcasing cuisines from all over the world. During the pandemic both of these activities are held online.
In cooperation with the Office of the Ochota District we are organizing a community club where seniors can take part in meetings, discussions and workshops. As the opportunities to connect with others take on an added importance during the pandemic, our offer will be flexibly adapted to the changing coronavirus-related restrictions.
We are also engaged in introducing art to unexpected spaces in order to challenge its perception as elitist, inaccessible and removed from the realities of everyday life. This approach lay behind events such as exhibitions of photographs and paintings held in allotments, as well as our ongoing collaboration with the independent Stroboskop Gallery, situated in a garage in a block of flats in Ochota.
Our portfolio includes activities as diverse as workshops (among others in gardening and cooking), debates and conversations with experts (both in person and online) exhibitions and art projects, arts and crafts lessons for children, yoga classes and thematic guided walks.
Each of us has their own varied skills and interests, which makes for a well-rounded team. However, regardless of the current focus of our efforts, we are always open to cooperation with passionate people. We also try to act as a link between local leaders, activists and experts with different backgrounds, from different parts of the city and from different social groups and support them in their efforts to create new initiatives. We are confident that the blooming of an inhabitant-friendly city is possible only while respecting its unique character – a character which the inhabitants themselves know best.
However, we are also keen to learn how the ecological and social issues linked to urban life are being tackled in other countries, in different cultural and economic contexts, and to share our own experiences in this regard with like-minded people from all over the world. To this end, we were involved in an international project „On y va!”, funded by the Bosch Stiftung – a platform for the exchange of experiences between organizations working with different forms of urban gardening, together with Himmelbeet, a Berlin-based community garden, and Saluterre, a French organization providing expert assistance for communities who want to establish gardens. We also have experience working with Warsaw-based international artists whose work relates conceptually to the topics we focus on.
We work towards integrating and animating local communities, foster links between them, promote the principles of sustainable development, an environmentally conscious and healthy lifestyle. as well as support intergenerational integration, both in allotment gardens and in other spaces where communities meet. We strive not only to use already existing infrastructure available to the inhabitants of Warsaw, but also to open up access to new places.
We are convinced that the answers to challenges of life in a modern city can be found at the points where diverse areas of knowledge and everyday practice meet, intersect or complement each other - particularly in the creative tension between the social and environmental aspects of the city. Therefore, we are interested in spaces where art, design, science and urban activism interact and in open-minded, grassroots attempts to establish forms of environmentally and socially responsible urban life: both the more practical approaches and those which aim to stimulate imagination or open new theoretical perspectives.
In our activities, we keep in mind that the most valuable asset communities have at their disposal is the knowledge of experts, enthusiasts and those who guard local history. We ensure that in creating laboratories of the city of the future, their experience and agency should be given due respect and that the vision of a people-friendly city should be pursued on the basis of what the inhabitants themselves consider valuable.
In 2019 and 2020, in cooperation with the Greenery Office of the City of Warsaw, we carried out two editions of the „Onward, allotments!” program, which seeks to support urban allotment gardens and increase their accessibility for the inhabitants of Warsaw. Allotments enrich city life with places and opportunities that cannot be found anywhere else. We want them to retain their unique ecological and social character and remain an indispensable, integral part of the modern city landscape: both of the everyday life of local communities and of the green and blue urban infrastructure. Together with allotment gardeners and local communities we try to preserve allotment traditions and creatively develop them, bringing the remarkable richness and diversity of the gardens to the attention of an ever-increasing number of people.
Since 2020 we have also been running a three-year project funded by the City of Warsaw, aimed at providing activities for seniors and promoting a healthy lifestyle among them. The project consists of a series of yoga classes and vegetarian cooking workshops showcasing cuisines from all over the world. During the pandemic both of these activities are held online.
In cooperation with the Office of the Ochota District we are organizing a community club where seniors can take part in meetings, discussions and workshops. As the opportunities to connect with others take on an added importance during the pandemic, our offer will be flexibly adapted to the changing coronavirus-related restrictions.
We are also engaged in introducing art to unexpected spaces in order to challenge its perception as elitist, inaccessible and removed from the realities of everyday life. This approach lay behind events such as exhibitions of photographs and paintings held in allotments, as well as our ongoing collaboration with the independent Stroboskop Gallery, situated in a garage in a block of flats in Ochota.
Our portfolio includes activities as diverse as workshops (among others in gardening and cooking), debates and conversations with experts (both in person and online) exhibitions and art projects, arts and crafts lessons for children, yoga classes and thematic guided walks.
Each of us has their own varied skills and interests, which makes for a well-rounded team. However, regardless of the current focus of our efforts, we are always open to cooperation with passionate people. We also try to act as a link between local leaders, activists and experts with different backgrounds, from different parts of the city and from different social groups and support them in their efforts to create new initiatives. We are confident that the blooming of an inhabitant-friendly city is possible only while respecting its unique character – a character which the inhabitants themselves know best.
However, we are also keen to learn how the ecological and social issues linked to urban life are being tackled in other countries, in different cultural and economic contexts, and to share our own experiences in this regard with like-minded people from all over the world. To this end, we were involved in an international project „On y va!”, funded by the Bosch Stiftung – a platform for the exchange of experiences between organizations working with different forms of urban gardening, together with Himmelbeet, a Berlin-based community garden, and Saluterre, a French organization providing expert assistance for communities who want to establish gardens. We also have experience working with Warsaw-based international artists whose work relates conceptually to the topics we focus on.
