It begins with boxes.  Hundreds and hundreds of cardboard boxes snatched from Safeway, Camp Kwomais, and overflowing recycle bins.  We stretch them out, yank off the tape, and cover the rectangle of grass that is to become Alexandra Community Gardens.

Next the donated sawdust—in fact, everything is donated—is wheel-barrelled out, and then the wooden garden boxes placed in their rows.  Eight hours and thousands of shovelfuls later, and thirty raised beds are ready for seeds to reach their verdant heights.

Of course, this did not really begin with boxes.  It began with an idea, which came from the people, that germinated at a community gathering.   … →