1. Reporters’ book
A guide for design-
based ethnographic
research
M’Finda Kalunga
Community Garden

2. 1.1 Description
What do they do? (Description of service idea, e.g. a
community garden, a food coop, etc). What are the
demands/problems this initiative responds to? What is the
aim of the initiative? What happens and how does it
happens? What benefits does it bring to the
neighborhood?
M’Finda Kalunga is a community garden that
provides individual plots, community events, children’s
activities, classes and composting to the public in Manhattan’s
Lower East side. Its’ members often describe the garden as
being a “communal backyard”, which emphasizes how its
primary purpose is for the members to work together to
maintain the space for the community’s enjoyment. The
garden operates under the time and commitment of its’
members, without this it could not exist. It receives much of its
funding from member dues, GreenThumb donations and
grants which help the garden fulfill its’ aim of continuing to be
an integral part of the community. The garden members focus
on ensuring that the public has an opportunity to come visit
and participate because the garden does not belong to its’
members but to the public. The garden benefits the
neighborhood by offering free classes that educate the public
on garden related subjects and by hosting events to celebrate
various cultural holidays to make the various ethnic groups in
the community feel comfortable and welcome in the
community.

3. 1.2 Context
What is this neighborhood like? How was it before this
new solution took place?
Prior to the creation of the M’Finda Kalunga garden
in the 1980s, which is located in the lower east side, the area
suffered from a lack of affordable housing and drug problems.
The garden was created to bring the people in that area
together and give them a common goal and sense of
community. When the garden was first created, used drug
needles and broken bottles were often found in the soil, which
meant that the gardeners had to be very safe when putting their
hands in the soil.
While the neighborhood still remains to be very
diverse with several different ethnicities and nationalities calling
it home, it has begun to become increasingly gentrified in the
recent past, which has resulted in an increased interest of
newcomers desiring to participate with the garden. While this
has had several positive effects, it has also created underlying
power struggles between the older, more experienced
gardeners who have been there a long time and the
newcomers – often younger, wealthier families – who do not
know much about gardening but like the idea of having a
garden, yet do not participate often due to their more hectic and
less dedicated schedules. This causes issues primarily with
regard to the limited number of plots available in the garden.
Yet due to this gentrification and the creation of spaces such as
the garden that provide safe, desirable places to be in the
community such drug problems have largely disappeared, and
as a result the community is much safer than before. Strong
evidence of this is seen in the significant number of older,
discount stores that are increasingly disappearing and being
replaced by new, pricey boutiques.

4. 1.3 History of the initiative
How did the project/initiative start? Who took the
initiative? Why?
Can you describe a timeline of events, highlighting
success and failure aspects, major milestones? How far
can you go back? How did this initiative mature? How did
it turn to be a real enterprise? (registered, formalized etc.)
Did it receive public or private support of any kind? Did it
help change the public or policy structure?
The M’Finda Kalunga garden was started in the early
1980s by the Roosevelt Park Community coalition. As previously
mentioned, there was a huge drug problem in the area at that time
and the land that the garden occupies was not being used for any
purpose, other than as a place where drugs were frequently sold
and used. The coalition decided to ‘take the park back’ and make
it a supportive place within the community. Part of the coalition
was the Bowery Residence Committee, who came in and acquired
the building that is next to the garden and turned it into a senior
center; however they had little interest in maintaining the garden
so other members of the coalition took it over and it became a
community garden. Organizations in the community such as the
University Settlement House and second language groups came
and began to work in the garden to help maintain it as well as
individuals from the community who came and joined the initiative.
The name M’Finda Kalunga means “garden at the edge
of the other side of the world.” It was named this in
commemoration of the African American burial ground that used to
be located on Chrystie Street between Livington and Stanton, but
was moved in 1853 in order to be built over. The garden is
dedicated to those that were buried there.
It eventually became a member of GreenThumb and
the Parks service, both of which have provided support and some
sense of stability for the garden.

5. 1.4 Main actors
Who are the users of this initiative? Who are the promoters of this
initiative? Is there a difference between users and promoters or
are they basically the same? Describe users and promoters
lifestyles?
Do the users work as a group or groups? Is there a network of
related organizations and/or individuals? Do they have any form
of connection or exchange with other similar initiatives? Was the
group inspired by other examples? Do you know counter
examples, (of service ideas that did not take-off), cases that went
wrong?
The users of the M’Finda Kalunga community garden are
comprised of fmembers and volunteers of the garden as well as any
visitors that stop by to come in from the community and participate in
events that the garden holds. The promoters of the initiative are the
members of the garden. Both users and promoters are largely families
and groups of individuals who have been living in the community for a
long time; however, visitors of the garden come from a wider variety of
places, many often being tourists. There are two Co-Chairs of the
garden who are largely responsible for communicating with
GreenThumb, the Parks service, Partnership for parks and other
groups, in addition to one Co-Head Gardener - all of whom are the
primary promoters of the group. Full members are key-holders to the
garden who pay a due of twenty dollars a year and assist in at least one
community event a year, whereas ‘friends of the garden’ are those who
are undergoing an apprenticeship to become a full member. Other
users include regular volunteers who are not full members and visitors
to the garden.
Many of the individual plots in the garden are run by small
groups of people. One such group that now owns a plot met because
they were each pregnant at the same time and had been going to the
same yoga class. They all wanted to join the garden so their children
would be able to be a part of that environment. Another group that
owns a plot in the garden is from the nearby Rivington hospital. The
hospital in turn provides the gardener’s with any first-aid supplies that
one might need and gives other members access to their restrooms.

6. 1.5. Technologies
What are the technologies that the group uses? How are
they used in system?
Perhaps the most important technology the garden
uses is its’ locked gate, which is there to protect the senior
citizens who use the garden during the week. During the
weekend, members volunteer to watch the garden and open
the gate to allow for visitors to come in and explore the garden
or go to any events at the garden. Other technologies used by
the group primarily include standard gardening tools, such as
rakes, shovels, hoes, etc, which are kept in a shed at the
garden for members to use. There is also a large composting
facility where leaves and other greenery are piled and get
turned regularly. The garden has a vegetable compost as
well, but it is not open to everyone due to the number of
rodents in the area, which the gardeners do not want to attract
to the garden. After the vegetable compost is cooked, it gets
added to the leaf compost and used for fertilizer in the garden.
In addition, there is a chicken coop located in the garden that
is used to house a few chickens that were given to the garden
by another garden that was unable to keep them. The
chickens have primarily served as a sort of attraction for the
garden, as they often bring many curious people into see them
- particularly young children and their parents.

7. 1.6. Communication
What communication materials do the group have? (e.g.
website, brochures, postcards, etc). What is the main
purpose of these materials? e.g. to keep participants
updated about activities (internal communication) or to get
more participants (external communication)? Does the
group want to have more participants?
The garden has a very informative website that
provides a history of the garden and information about its’
upcoming events. The outside community is encouraged to
come and get involved with these events. The website also
provides free resources on gardening and links to similar
initiatives. In addition, there is a private sector of the website that
may be accessed by members of the garden only. At the garden
there is an informative plaque located next to the entrance, which
gives curious visitors and those walking by a short history of the
garden.
The primary purpose of these materials is to educate,
encourage and provide resources to those in the community who
are interested in gardening in general or looking to become
involved with M’Finda Kalunga, as well as to communicate
amongst the members already involved with the initiative. While
M’Finda Kalunga invites the outside community into the garden
by holding events, classes and opening the garden on the
weekends so the public may walk through and marvel at its
beauty, the garden is not currently seeking additional full time
members who want their own plots, as there are no free plots
available and to get one, one must do an apprenticeship for
usually about a year before receiving it. The garden is, however,
always looking for additional volunteers to look over the garden,
which currently is only open ten hours a week, as that is the
minimum requirement set by GreenThumb. If the garden had
more volunteers it would be able to be open to the public more
hours per week.

8. 1.7. Perspective for the future
What are the perspective/objectives of the group for the
next 3-5 years? What are some of the success factors and
possible risks in the short medium and long term?
The primary objective of the garden for the next few
years is to continue to be a valuable part of the community. The
garden is looking for additional volunteers so that it can keep the
gate open to the public for longer hours. Some members have
expressed an interest in looking for ways to begin growing food
in the garden as well as starting additional new projects like bee
keeping. Undoubtedly, the community surrounding the garden
will continue to change due to gentrification and some members
have expressed a concern that they may be forced to move
because of rising rents. The garden will have to learn to adapt
to the changing community and find ways to make sure that it
remains to be an integral part of the community as its primary
purpose is to offer a valued space to the public.

9. 1.8. Problems and opportunities
Are there any specific issues/problems/barriers that pose
threats to the initiative? Are there any main areas of
concern among the participants (leaders and users alike)?
Are there any opportunities that could be explored (that
are currently not explored)?
Members of the M’Finda Kalunga community garden
are aware that they do not own the land and that consequently
it could be taken away from them at any time, but do believe
that the garden is fairly well protected from this because it is
located on park land, inside of the larger Sarah D. Roosevelt
park. Some members have expressed concern regarding the
continued gentrification of the community, which, as previously
mentioned, threatens to push some of those older members
out of the community due to high rents. In addition, many have
commented on how it is often difficult to get things done
because of the members’ differing opinions and beliefs about
what should or should not be done. New suggestions always
seem to be controversial among the group and take a long time
to implement. An additional concern, which is one reason the
gate is kept locked when members are not around, is the
possibility of homeless members in the community coming to
live in the garden. The soil quality and large population of
rodents present primary barriers preventing garden members
from growing food in the garden, perhaps there are possible
opportunities here for how to fix these threats so that members
can safely and effectively begin to grow produce.

10. 1.9. Indications of other social innovation
Do the users participate in other entrepreneurial
endeavors? Do they form small initiatives on their own?
Are members involved in other “sustainable” services
within the community? (Ex. Food Co-op, carpooling,
community gardens, etc)? Do you see evidence of wider
networks that these users contribute to?
Members of the garden are primarily concerned with
bringing people into the garden to enjoy it, however some
members work with additional outside groups in conjunction with
M’Finda Kalunga.
Some members at the garden are involved with the
Bowery Resident’s Committee that runs the senior center at the
garden. Volunteers from the garden sometimes volunteer at the
senior center as well to help teach English to immigrants. The
seniors from the center use the garden during the week, which is
why it is kept locked to protect them. Sometimes the events that
the garden puts on will overlap with the senior center, and both
entities will be involved in hosting the event.
Other members of the garden are involved with the
Lower East Side Ecology Center, particularly with regard to
composting. M’Finda Kalunga conducts demonstrations on
composting in conjunction with the Lower East Side Ecology
Center.
The Stanton Street CSA group and M’Finda Kalunga
garden work together as well, with the garden hosting and
promoting the CSA, which brings down produce from a farm
upstate to sell to members in the community.
The garden tries to celebrate several holidays related to
different cultures in order to make all the different ethnic groups in
the community feel comfortable and welcome. One such holiday
the garden celebrates is “June-Teenth,” which is on June 19th and
marks the day that the slaves in Texas found out about the
emancipation proclamation, which wasn’t until a year after the
proclamation had been instated.

11. 1.10. References
Website of the initiative
www.mkgarden.org
Interviewee name and contact information
Victoria Kurtz --------
Julie Larsen Hanson: Julielarsen@mac.com
Robert Humber: 646-620-5260
Elizabeth Hubbard: j22192@msn.com
Other References
http://stantonstreetcsa.wordpress.com/
http://www.greenthumbnyc.org/
http://www.nycgovparks.org/

12. Quantitative Data Exercise
How many members does the initiative have? How many
are very active in the initiative? How does individual
spaces compare with shared/group spaces? How many
members are involved in other community-based
services? (Food Co-op, activist orgs, clothes swapping,
bike sharing, etc.) What is the size of the initiative in
square footage?
The M’Finda Kalunga community garden is currently
comprised of approximately fifty members, with about thirty of
those being ‘very active.’ Most of the garden is divided up into
individual plots, while some areas of the garden are reserved
for group activities, such as composting demonstrations and
public events. Many of these members are involved in other
community-based services, such as the CSA. All full members
of the garden are required to participate at some point in Parks
Department sponsored clean up days. M’Finda Kalunga
expands over nearly the entire block on Delancey St. between
Forsyth and Chrystie Streets.