Torba shared gardens — peri-urban Algiers (Zeralda, Douaouda)

The shared-garden work of Torba, a citizens' association operating around Algiers. Starting from the permaculture courses it began in 2014, it built a model of renting small parcels of 20–100 m² from municipalities and distributing them to people who want to grow. Gardens run at Zeralda, Douaouda and Blida, with Tiaret and Oran planned.

Each participant takes an equally sized plot and shares the drip-irrigation system. The gardens stay with local seed and seasonal crops and use neither pesticides nor chemical fertiliser, and shared meals cooked from the harvest are part of how the gardens run.

Built on the permaculture training cycles the association began running in 2014: Torba negotiates with municipalities for small urban parcels and hands them out as plots to those who want one. Hundreds of people have been through the training since it started; no breakdown of fees has been published.

Recast what had been scattered family growing into shared plots negotiated with municipalities. The first winter harvests brought potatoes, turnips, salad greens, peas and beans, and the association puts the yield of a 100 m² plot at roughly 300 kg a year.

The association negotiates with municipalities for small urban parcels and allocates them to participants as plots.

This entry is compiled from the public sources, official sites and research below.

• OfficialAssociation Torba — Jardins partagés en zone péri-urbaine d'Alger ↗torba.dz