The idea
The Comfrey Almanac is a collaborative book project mapping the interactions of human and natural diversity as they unfold over the year in our Tyneside gardens. This book embodies our organisation's ethos in cultivating a space where human and natural diversity can thrive together. Your donation of £10 + pp. will give you a beautiful and practical 120-page risograph book, The Comfrey Almanac: Growing the Multicultural Garden, upon publication in January 2024. Conceived in collaboration with our volunteers, staff and a resident academic, we've been working together over a year to document life in our garden. The Almanac showcases the global in the local, charting the year with stories; cultural events (Nowruz, Eid, Refugee Week); garden tips; global recipes; natural remedies, and local wildlife. With workshops and publication, this project will valorise our volunteers and the community, creating new opportunities and an enduring legacy that can evolve online over the years.
What we'll deliver
- 120-page illustrated book: The Comfrey Almanac: Growing the Multicultural Garden
- 8 Artist-Led workshops to participants at The Comfrey Project to produce illustrations for the above book.
- A book launch at our Windmill Hills Centre in Gateshead
- Digital online version of The Comfrey Almanac: Growing the Multicultural Garden
Why it's a great idea
The Comfrey Almanac will be a lasting structure to record the knowledge, skills and folklore of the diverse cultures that make up the Tyneside community. The project will contribute to the mental and physical well-being of participants, with workshops enabling opportunities and creative connection, and publication fostering a sense of dignity, belonging, and achievement. The launch and valorisation of The Comfrey Almanac through local libraries, community centres and Newcastle University will ensure its accessibility, significance and reach, offering educational and cultural enrichment opportunities to our volunteers and a broad audience. The Almanac's promotion at venues across Tyneside will include community discussions and activities centred around multicultural belonging, ecology, and urban social and environmental renewal in the North of Tyne area. The Almanac also has potential to generate income for our charity and help us in our goal to celebrate diversity sustainably.
Steps to get it done
- Workshop Series Completion (June 2024): Finalize a series of artist-led workshops with The Comfrey Project participants.
- Manuscript Preparation (July 2024): Compile and edit the contributions from workshops to cohere with existing material.
- Design and Layout Finalization (September 2024): Including print and online version.
- Publication and Initial Distribution (November 2024): digital and print versions.
The Comfrey Project aims to create a society where refugees and people seeking asylum are included and respected as equals. We have three garden/allotment sites - at Moorside, Walkergate and Windmill Hills in Bensham. We use our gardens as a basis for creative activities which improve mental and physical wellbeing. As a tangible product which promotes our presence and value to the social and natural heritage of Gateshead and the North of Tyne, the Almanac will be invaluable. We will use it to support the delivery of our educational programmes, and it will aid in our participants' self-motivated engagements with other community organisations in the area. It will also enhance our visibility within Higher Education institutions, as our academic partnership will ensure its promotion and enable our participants to lead Almanac workshops at the university. This book and its website will generate broad interest in our work, encourage volunteers and build bridges to the wider community.
