14 September 2006
Culture Kitchen 2006 in Bradford- From the plot, to the pot, to the plate

Photo opportunity: Wednesday 20 September 2006, 12.15
Carlisle Business Centre 60 Carlisle Road, Bradford, BD8 88D

The 10th birthday of Bradford Community Environment Project on 20th September will be a celebration of local food growing with Women’s Environmental Network. Women community growers will join together at the Carlisle Business Centre, 60 Carlisle Road, Bradford BD8 88D from across Bradford and the North of England to share inspiration and the fruits of their growing plots.

Members of community growing groups including Sho Nirbhor from Bradford, Burnley Food Links, Leaf in Sheffield, Surestart in Manchester and Public Health Resource Service in Huddersfield are expected to attend as well as interested and new growers. WEN will be offering groups support with the development of their projects. There will be workshops on: harvest dances with Kala Sangam, a Bradford based south Asian arts organisation; making beauty products from everyday kitchen ingredients with WEN and seed saving with the Heritage Seed Library from 'Garden Organic'. There will be a chance to check out the Plant Cultures slide show, that includes photos collected from around Bradford about plants with South Asian origin. Local councillor and BCEP trustee, Hawarun Hussain will cut the birthday cake.

Carlton Smith, Director of BCEP said, ’BCEP is delighted to continue to work with this national network in promoting local food growing activities, and glad that WEN and its members can join us in celebrating our 10th birthday’.

The day will end with an inspirational visit to Bradford City Farm.

ENDS

For further information please contact:
Clare Joy Food Project Co-ordinator Tel: 020 7481 9004, Fax: 020 7481 9144 food@wen.org.uk
Mobile number on the day Caroline Fernandez 0787 6777327

Notes to editors:
1. Women’s Environmental Network (WEN) is a national charity and membership organisation which campaigns on environmental and health issues from a women’s perspective. It educates, informs and empowers women and men who care about the environment.

2. Bradford Community Environment Project is Bradford’s largest registered environmental charity which has been helping local communities to engage positively with their environment since 1996.

3. The ‘Taste of a Better Future’ Network was set up six years ago to help ethnic minority women’s groups develop organic food growing skills. It recognises that such groups have little access to affordable organic food, particularly traditional fruit and vegetable varieties, or to gardens of their own. Over the last six years, the 50+ groups in the Network have brought new life to some of the most unlikely spaces on housing estates and disused inner city plots. As well as nutritious food, they have enjoyed making new friends, sharing skills and bolstering their communities. The current project, ‘Cultivating the Future’, offers support and training to urban women’s growing groups.

4. Culture Kitchen Bradford has had support from the Austin Hope Pilkington Trust and Cultivating the Future is supported by Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, London Borough of Tower Hamlets and Olive Tree Trust.

5. Photographers and reporters are welcome to attend. The best photo opportunities will probably be at 12.15 when Local Councillor Hawarun Hussain will cut the birthday celebration cake.