Porechoi at Calthorpe Community Garden
Porechoi are a group of elderly Bangladeshi ladies who have a set of allotment plots at Calthorpe Community Garden. It's a programme established within the garden for many years now. However, the group only recently reveived their name. "Porechoi" in Bangla, means to know someone, a kin and identity. The objective was to try and celebrate the culture of the women through practices to celebrate their identities; such as gardening and possibly extending to more in the future. For ecology talks, its's important to work with this group as it provides a content of slow practice. As a practitioner, the group challenges homogenous forms of practice and asks for considerations in languages other than English.
Picture of Porechoi lady harvesting pumpkin flowers
Memories in Climate
1st August, 2022, Calthorpe Community Garden, London
A workshop in collaboration with Camden memory service and Kahdijah Carberry from MA Cities cohort.
The event looked to engage the ladies of Porechoi through memories of climate. The workshops and day were designed to call upon memory and instinct in order to recognise the importance of memory in relation to climate.
A table was set with clues and gestures to remind participants of Bangladesh. Popular music played from Tagore, which have lyrics of climate, foods, craft such as a typical quilt and names of the ladies written in Bangla to encourage their participation. The event attempted to provide an experience of senses, where Kahdijah also made paper incorporated with spices in order to evoke memories relating to familiar smells.
Music from Tagore, used to play during
Event poster made using group's identity
recording of conversations from the day
