Green Pea is an arts-for-education organisation, with charitable purposes started when a number of Southgate residents met randomly, at least two members falling in love in Mr Bagels Cafe on Ashfield Parade, in 2007. The little group were enthused about the need to make a difference to one another's lives, and the future of Southgate. From that origin came the idea that wherever possible a locality should be providing services for itself, from youth provision to mental health, from street market to public events, and from street cleaning to overall democratic self-governance (and tax raising powers)..
Green Pea is not associated with any political party, but its genesis as a public project came out of the grassroots 'People in Common' Parliament Square Picnic initiative. This started in 2005 with the launch of a weekly Sunday picnic against the Government's no-protest zone around Parliament.
The picnic united a diverse group of people in defence of freedom of expression in the vicinity of Parliament, and stemming from this in turn came a series of debates & public fora about the British Constitution, and the path to true democratic fulfillment. This series of fora, called C421 or the Campaign for a 21st Century Constitution concluded that the only way to build a truly democratic constitution is to start at the bottom. Hence our desire for a publically owned market, for local services to be owned and run by the people and the concept of community anchor meetings..1st July 2008
A. Green Pea Arts Constitution
Our objective is to use the power of art & social enterprise to rebuild and enhance community cohesion and promote friendship, health and good citizenship in and around Southgate.
As a community arts organisation we aim to attract funding through collective social enterprise and if necessary, public sector grants. We are now in the process of setting up a regular street market, the rents from which we hope to make a source of funding for the wider community. Membership of Green Pea and / or the community anchor project is open to all.
October 19th 2007 with update 20th July 2008
B. Our Ethos
1. communities should be running things for themselves, both decisions about their locality and, where possible all other services such as street cleaning, recycling, health, local market etc etc.
2. everyone must be given the opportunity to work out what they really want to create with their lives, in other words if 'everyone is an artist', what is your art? in citizenship terms, this is identity politics, 'the personal is the political' and how to move from citizen-consumer to citizen-creator.
3. we need a process and methodology of how to connect the two, the path to individual self-realization - and its rewards - but also the contribution of that realization to public service provision, or stewardship (of system and society) or, in old fashioned terminology, the common weal.
4. this process can't be rushed, nor can its importance be avoided.
17th January 2008
C. Where We're At - Update
We’re now casting out for support and interest in developing these, or any other relevant Southgate-based community led projects.
(1) Southgate Town Market
We want to see a regular, eclectic, carnivalesque market with performance art to bring in punters, revitalise and Southgate Town on the map. We’re now applying for a licence to hold a Sunday market near to Southgate tube station: a market for local and international art, craft and food, with activities for the kids and room for other social, environmental and educational enterprise. So, we’re looking for artists, craftspeople, musicians and other potential stallholders, sponsors or enterprising individuals to help make this happen.
(2) Community Centre
We’d like to see an independent local community space, with garden and cafe, in central Southgate. We believe there should be a space, to be held and run by local people for the community as they see fit, in every community: an intercultural space that exists for no one interest group, but for all. A place where people from all walks of life can get to know one another, fostering community spirit and developing positive, community-minded solutions, together.
(3) Green Pea Youth Projects
Two potential projects have now been identified: the first at the Alan Pullinger Centre in Southgate, and the second across the Borough. We’re presently putting together a proposal for both. More information on this will follow.
(4) Newsletter
We are now working on the first edition of our newsletter, PM Tea to be accompanied by the survey mentioned below and a call to C421/People in Common meetings.
(5) Locality Survey
In order to gauge support for these, and help identify other key projects, we'll be conducting a Q&A survey of the locality. This survey will include open-ended questions of immediate and long-term concern to Southgate residents and users, including the question of a regular market and the future of Ashfield Parade.
The broad purpose of the survey is to map the area in terms of resources interests and goodwill, to identify issues that are important to the members of the Southgate locality so we can move them up the public agenda, to locate cultural leaders and other interested parties to help move forward the various projects.
After the survey is done we hope to be able to connect those interested in working on the same issues and projects with each other, moving towards a series of C421 meetings that are intercultural, Southgate future orientated and community led.
(6) Local Health Service
We want to ensure the provision of a local community driven holistic health service, something that takes patients out of the usual drug/one off referral left to their own devices treatment loop for addiction, depression, anxiety and into a more sustained healing process operating out of a single location.
If you are a practitioner interested and qualified to work in emotional health we want to hear from you. The basic idea is to secure a space in which to create a regular programme of activities such as meditation, music, art, dance, plus Cognitive Behaviour therapy, NLP and intellectual/academic presentations, life coaching for skills such as career and debt/money management, job hunting and relationships etc. For more info on this project, please contact Arul Vettivelu on 0773 4921607
And if you have any questions about, or are interested in helping with any of these projects, please do get in touch. Email greenpeaproject@gmail.com, text/call Mark on 0785 439 0408 or join the group at http://groups.google.co.uk/group/southgatelondon
17th January 2008
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