A simple Incredible Edible idea turned a small town upside down and now guerrilla gardening has become a world movement that’s helping communities grow together around food.
I’m a filmmaker and a little over 2 years ago I self-funded and produced a short film about Todmorden’s Incredible Edible town. I was amazed at the response to its release. My vimeo page alone has had over 280,000 visitors from 150 countries and world Incredible Edible groups who have translated the film are reporting similar figures.
I’m currently running an Indiegogo campaign to tell the story of an amazing food phenomenon – Incredible Edible World – www.indiegogo.com
A few years ago a small group of local people in Todmorden, a small northwest UK town, realised there was a problem: importing and exporting food increases cost and creates a huge carbon footprint.
So they came up with a simple solution. Their town had acres of derelict and unused land, so why not create a sustainable food source for the entire community?
They knew if they asked for permission to plant food in private and council owned land they would get tied up in bureaucracy. So without asking, they cut the red tape and began planting fruit, vegetables and herbs in any unused spaces across Todmorden.
The guerrilla gardeners then told the town, ‘Help yourself! It’s free!’ The seeds of the Incredible Edible Movement were firmly planted.
Word got around quickly and little did they know, their idea, and the growing passion of other UK Incredible Edible groups would have a profound effect on communities all over the UK and The World.
So far nearly 30 countries have established more than thirty-five distinct Incredible Edible groups and it’s still growing fast.
This is an exciting and challenging project, which will explore one central question: Why has Incredible Edible’s model of food sustainability become so influential in such a short period of time that hundreds of communities worldwide are now following it? I hope it will inspire thousands more people to get involved and form their own Incredible Edible communities worldwide.
To find out more and join in, please visit: www.indiegogo.com
