Exclusive Rights Available

The Netherlands is one of the world?s largest agricultural exporters, but the small, densely populated country is a sprawling collection of towns and suburbs, with little space for gardens in town, and very little greenbelt in between. As a result, Holland has little gardening culture and most of the population is totally divorced from the process of food production.

However, the concept of permaculture is slowly becoming more fashionable, and several organisations and projects aiming to make the Dutch lifestyle more sustainable are springing up around the country.

In 2009 the program `Foodprint: Food for the City` was launched in The Hague, with the aim of assessing the impact that food production can have on the planning, design and culture of a city. Created by Stroom Den Haag, the program is sponsored by the city council and supported by many regional and local organisations who provide the money, knowledge and volunteers needed to keep the projects running.

Foodprint has invited artists and architects from around the world to submit proposals for projects, highlighting the value of sustainable living and involving the local people, entrepreneurs, food experts and farmers. The result is an an array of diverse projects, ranging from practical applications of permaculture techniques to abstract and thought-provoking art installations.

One of the Foodprint projects is The Hague?s Edible Park, the brainchild of Nils Norman, a London-born artist and advocate of sustainable living, whose aim with this artwork is to demonstrate what green architecture and permaculture can contribute to a city like The Hague.

The concept is spread over two locations in the center of town and comprises different types of gardens, a pavilion built using sustainable materials and a series of activities which will promote and teach sustainable living techniques.

The first location of the Edible Park is the Hague?s Zuiderpark, one of the city?s largest parks, where the locals go to relax, play sports, enjoy pop concerts or open air theater, and try out their new tents before the summer camping season.

The project is located on the grounds of the Herweijerhoeve city farm in the Zuiderpark, and covers around 800 square meters. The local community was closely involved in the design and landscaping of the large permaculture garden, which is split into different areas, each demonstrating ideas applicable in the small town gardens and on the patios and balconies of The Hague residents.

Small plots dotted around the garden are dedicated to forest gardening, where dwarf fruit trees have been planted alongside aromatic herbs, vegetables and medicinal plants, all carefully chosen to provide a good habitat for the local animals and insects.