Cassiltoun Housing Association

Project: Castlemilk Stables Community Garden

Facebook: Cassiltoun Housing Association

Idea in a Nutshell

Cassiltoun Housing Association will put the money towards their Castlemilk Stables Community Garden which has a focus on local food production, aiming to contribute produce for the weekly community lunch. As the weekly feed becomes increasingly popular, there is a desire to grow more in the garden, and subsequently save our own locally adapted seed. The primary aim of the project would be to empower individuals and volunteers who interact with the garden to feel confident to grow, save, and share seeds to the wider community, through means of a mini seed library. In this unpredictable climate, by having reliable open sourced seed, this can help tackle problems associated with growing food locally, and encourage more small-scale, back-garden growers. In order to achieve this, the necessary infrastructure is needed to help explore methods of seed saving in the current space.

Introducing new pollinators, crop-isolation materials, processing equipment and drying space, amongst delivery of education and climate-led workshops which explore these themes.

Experience

Castlemilk is one of Glasgow’s peripheral housing schemes. Originally built on a green field site in the 1950’s and 1960’s, the area suffered from many of the problems which are associated with the decline of manufacturing industry in the West of Scotland. In addition Castlemilk suffered from a lack of facilities within the community and geographical remoteness from the rest of the Glasgow conurbation, exacerbated by insufficient transport links. The 1970’s saw a vast number of voids in Castlemilk, which led to vandalism, decline, social and economic problems for the community. Founder Board of Management members, among them the Association’s previous Chair, Anna Stuart MBE, set about to create a decent, affordable, clean and damp-free place for local people to live.

Cassiltoun Housing Association (originally Castlemilk East Housing Co-op) is the oldest community ownership Housing Co-operative in Glasgow, being registered with the Industrial and Provident Society in December 1984. The Assocation is managed by a voluntary Board which is made of local people and professionals from the housing, education and political sector.

We are very proud of our roots in the 'co-operative' ethos, we are very committed to partnership working and community regeneration including the creation and support of social enterprise, and we deliver a wide range of projects that benefit local people and the local economy.