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llotment gardens are characterised by
a concentration in one place of
several small land parcels of about
200 to 400 m2that are assigned to
individuals or families, usually organised
in an association. In allotment gardens the
parcels are cultivated individually, while in
common gardens the entire area is tended
collectively by a group of people (Macnair,
2002). An allotment garden is made legally
available by the city authorities to the
association to be used exclusively for
growing of vegetables, fruits and cut
flowers, but not for residential purposes.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
The idea of allotment gardening reached
its first peak in 1864 when the first
Allotment Gardeners’ Association was
founded in Germany. During the period of
industrialisation in Europe, large numbers
of workers and their families migrated
from rural areas to the cities in search of
employment in the factories. Very often,
these families lived under extremely poor
conditions – a socio-economic situation
somewhat similar to the booming
development of Philippine cities today. To
improve their overall situation, so-called
“gardens for the poor” (later termed
“allotment gardens”) were established;
cities, factories and monasteries provided
plots for the urban poor, allowing them to
grow food for their families and to keep
pigs, chicken, and other small domestic
animals (Kasch, 2001).
The aspect of food security became even
more important in the first half of the 20th
century, during World War I and II, when
the socio-economic situation was
appalling, particularly in terms of people’s
nutritional status. Many cities were
isolated from the hinterlands, and
agricultural products from the rural
surroundings did not reach the city
markets anymore or were sold at very
high prices on the black markets.
Consequently, food production within the
city, especially fruit and vegetable
production in homegardens and
allotment gardens, became essential for
survival. In 1919, one year after the end of
World War I, the first legislation for
allotment gardening in Germany was
29December 2003
Allotment Gardens for
Philippine Cities
_________________
Robert J. Holmer, Xavier University College of Agriculture, Cagayan de Oro, Philippines
Merlito T. Clavejo, CLENRO, City Government, Cagayan de Oro, Philippines
Stefan Dongus, City Government, Schelklingen, Germany
Axel Drescher, Applied Geography of the Tropics and Subtropics (APT), University of
Freiburg, Germany
✉rjholmer@philcom.ph
Community gardens are defined as gardens where people share the basic
resources of land, water, and sunlight. This definition includes both
allotment and common gardens. Since March 2002, a project is being
implemented in Cagayan de Oro, Southern Philippines, to establish four
pilot allotment gardens in different parts of the city with financial assistance
from EuropeAid’s AsiaUrbs Programme.
This document has been produced with
financial assistance of the European
Community through its AsiaUrbs
Programme (project PHL-3-17). The views
expressed herein are those of the project
partners and can therefore in no way be tak-
en to reflect the official opinion of the
European Commission. The authors express
their gratitude to all project partners in the
Philippines and in Europe for the assistance
rendered. Special thanks go to the
Kleingartenmuseum Leipzig (Allotment
Garden Museum Leipzig) for placing the
allotment garden pictures at our disposal.
Robert Holmer
Inside the vegetable nursery with some of the gardeners
A
passed. The so-called “Small Garden and
Small-Rent Land Law”, provided security
in land tenure and fixed leasing fees. In
1983, this law was amended by the
“Republic Act for Allotment Gardens”
(Gröning & Wolschke-Bulmahn, 1995).
The importance of allotment gardening in
Germany has shifted over the years. While
in times of crisis and widespread poverty
(from 1850 to 1950), the main function of
allotment gardening was to enhance food
security and improve food supply, its
present function is in providing
recreational areas and locations for social
gatherings. What was previously a part-
time job is nowadays considered a
beloved hobby for millions of
practitioners. Frequently, allotment
gardens are conceived as part of the
public green belt area (Crouch, 2000,
Drescher, 2001).
OBJECTIVES AND METHODOLOGY
The main objective of the pilot projects is
to serve as a model and learning centre to
enable a future extension of allotment
gardening in Cagayan de Oro and other
Philippine cities.
The pilot areas are in four barangays (the
smallest local government unit in the
Philippines). The areas in Bugo, Gusa and
Lapasan were selected based on the
experiences gathered by the city
government in a previous project on
waste segregation. The allotment gardens
here were linked with the biodegradable
fraction of the segregated waste by using
it as compost in the allotment garden,
thus serving as an outlet for this kind of
waste. The fourth pilot allotment garden
in barangay Canitoan is located close to
the city’s
controlled
landfill site,
and was
selected to
be used by the Cagayan de Oro garbage
pickers, one of the most socially
disadvantaged groups of the city.
The College of Agriculture of Xavier
University recommended linking the solid
waste management component with the
production of vegetables in allotment
gardens using compost made from the
biodegradable wastes of the surrounding
community. Expertise on composting and
production of vegetables in an urban
setting had been gained through an
earlier EU-funded research project
(GUANZON & HOLMER, 2003). The
German partners Schelklingen and APT of
the University of Freiburg agreed to
contribute their expertise on the
administrative aspects of allotment
gardening, particularly on legal aspects
and community organisation. The project
also has a community-based geographic
information system component (GIS) as a
tool for integrating allotment gardening
into urban planning. This is coordinated
by the Belgian partners Dinant City and
the Geography Department of the
FUNDP University, Namur City.
AREA SELECTION
Suitable areas were identified on the basis
of a) accessibility to water and
transportation, b) no rent or a reasonable
rental cost and c) availability of a
contiguous area of at least 3200 m2to
accommodate eight family units of 400 m2
each.
Most of the open spaces in Cagayan de
Oro are privately owned. Hence it was
necessary to advocate and promote the
project goals and objectives not only to
the respective barangay but also to private
landowners. The areas in Bugo and Gusa
were identified with assistance of the
Allotment Garden Technical Working
Group (AGTWG) of the project, the
barangay council and the beneficiaries. In
both cases the land is owned privately. In
Bugo, the landowner did not ask for rental
payments but offered her land to be used
for community purposes, while in Gusa,
the allotment garden area is composed of
two adjacent lots, owned by different
proprietors. In both cases, the owners
agreed to the provisions set out by the
project. Land rentals are paid according to
the current rates for agricultural land in
Cagayan de Oro and
the surrounding
provinces. The area in
Lapasan was
identified by use of
GIS at the city hall. The AGTWG then
made a site inspection and gave its
approval. Thereafter, the barangay
chairman approached the owner for a
leasing agreement without rental
payments. In the case of Canitoan, the
land is owned by Xavier University who
made the land available to the
beneficiaries without rental payments. In
all cases, memoranda of agreements were
issued to all stakeholders, clearly stating
the provisions of the project. The
memorandum of agreement provides
legal security for all parties: for the urban
poor the access to land solely for
agricultural purposes, and for the
landowner the assurance that his
property will not be squatted on. As
regards the period of tenure, both parties
agreed to start with a short-term pilot
phase and to evaluate the benefits of the
project before going for a long-term
agreement. Hence, the memoranda of
agreement stipulate a “win-win” situation
as a prerequisite for successful
implementation of the project activities.
PARTICIPANT SELECTION
The pilot allotment gardeners of the
AsiaUrbs project can be categorised into
two main groups:
• Those who have already taken up urban
agriculture as part of their survival
strategy. However, due lack of space,
these activities are confined to
production of vegetables in containers
(such as used cans or plastic bottles) or
in tiny patches along the roadside.
• Those who are in need of alternative
sources of subsistence and income but
have not taken up farming due to lack of
access to land (such as the garbage
pickers at the landfill site).
Beneficiaries were recruited, based on
their income; their willingness to do the
30 UA-Magazine
a) The Information & Education Campaign Group
(IEC) with assistance of the Allotment Garden
Technical Working Group (AGTWG) and a
barangay organiser promote the goals and
objectives of allotment gardening to all
households of the pilot area
b) Interested households submit their application
through the project assistant to the AGTWG
c) The AGTWG pre-screens applicants and
forwards a list of final candidates to the barangay
council for approval. The AGTWG ensures that
all major groupings of the community are
represented.
d) The barangay council approves/disapproves
membership
e) An acceptance ceremony is conducted with a
pledge of commitment by the beneficiaries.
The allotment gardens are
essential for the success of
solid *waste management
Allotment gardens in Germany in 1950
Robert Holmer
capital outlay, consumables, training and
overhead costs.
DISCUSSION OF RESULTS
The pilot allotment gardens enabled the
urban poor of Cagayan de Oro to have
legal access to vacant land in the city for
agricultural purposes.
The private landowners who participated
in the project are so convinced that they
have offered other areas in Cagayan de
Oro to be used for allotment gardening.
The total area so offered is five hectares
of open land. The landowners were
particularly convinced that their land will
no longer be idle but productive, and that
their property is protected from illegal
squatting, which is perceived as a
constant threat for open spaces.
The allotment garden is essential for the
success of the solid waste management
programme in the area. The residual
waste of the 300 pilot households to be
brought to the landfill area could be
reduced to 33 %. 55 % of the household
waste is biodegradable and went to the
compost heap in the allotment garden,
while a further 10 % is recyclable and
marketed by a garbage pickers’
organisation.
The project gets full support of the local
government units. A city ordinance on
the use of vacant lots in the city is in
preparation and will further promote
allotment gardening (i.e. tax incentives
for landowners that make land available
for urban agriculture; requirement to
allocate space for allotment gardening in
residential areas such as sub-divisions).
Yet, not everything has been smooth.
Different perceptions of the community
and the of the project itself had to be
settled (what technologies to use, how
will the project money be spent,
misconceptions regarding roles and
responsibilities). A good preparation
with, and mutual understanding of the
project objectives by, all stakeholders is
31December 2003
The importance of allotment
gardening in Germany has
shifted over the years
REFERENCES
Crouch, D. 2000. Reinventing allotments for the twenty-first century: the UK experience. Acta Hort. (ISHS) 523:135-142.
http://www.actahort.org/books/523/523_18.htm
Drescher, A. W., 2001. The transferability of the German allotment system to the Southern African Situation. Proceedings of
the Expert Meeting on Urban and peri-urban horticulture in Southern Africa, Stellenbosch, January 2001.
Kasch, G., 2001. Deutsches Kleingärtnermuseum in Leipzig: Deutschlands Kleingärtner vom 19. zum 21. Jahrhundert. Band 4,
Sächsische Landesstelle für Museumswesen, Chemnitz, Germany.
Gröning, G., Wolschke-Bulmahn, J., 1995. Von Ackermann bis Ziegelhütte. Ein Jahrhundert Kleingartenkultur in Frankfurt
am Main. Studien zur Frankfurter Geschichte. and 36, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Guanzon, Y. B., Holmer, R.J., 2003. Basic cultural management practices for vegetable production in urban areas of the
Philippines. Urban Agriculture Magazine, 10, 14-15, RUAF, Leusden, Netherlands.
MacNair, E., 2002. The Garden City Handbook: How to Create and Protect Community Gardens in Greater Victoria. Polis
Project on Ecological Governance. University of Victoria, Victoria BC, Canada
http://www.polisproject.org/polis2/PDFs/the%20garden%20city%20handbook.pdf
Schnitzler, W.H. R.J. Holmer, 2002. Prospective Issues and Challenges of Urban Fringe Agriculture. Report of the APO
Seminar on Urban Fringe Agriculture held in Tokyo from 17 to 24 May 2000. Asian Productivity Organization, 2002, S. 53-63.
Robert Holmer
Allotment gardens Germany in 1920
actual garden work, to participate and
share experiences; their residency near
the project site and being residents of the
pilot barangay. A Memorandum of
agreement was signed with the barangay
to support the project activities.
Initially, the identification of allotment
garden beneficiaries based on the above-
mentioned criteria was left to the
communities. This resulted, however, in
certain constraints and inequalities that
led to the following optimised standard
procedure for membership application as
agreed upon by the project steering
committee:
ALLOTMENT GARDEN SET-UP
The size of each family unit is 20 m x 20
m (400 m2) consisting of eight beds
planted to vegetables of different
botanical families (cucurbits,
solanaceous crops, legumes, leafy
vegetables, etc.). The design of a pilot
barangay allotment garden consists of
eight individual family units having a net
total area of 3,200 m2and a gross total
area of 4,000 m2. The area is fenced, and
has an entrance, a tool shed, a nursery,
and water supply (for which the
additional 800 m2 is used. One important
aspect of the allotment garden is the
compost heap for the biodegradable
household wastes. The compost heap
thus links the allotment garden with the
integrated solid waste management
component of the pilot area. More than
50 % of the household waste in Cagayan
de Oro is biodegradable, and its
conversion into compost and safe
application in the allotment garden
significantly reduces the residual waste
to be dumped at the controlled city
landfill.
As regards the cost of establishing one
pilot allotment garden, the project spent
approximately 337,640.00 PhP (6,400.00
US $). This includes human resources,
thus a necessity for success.
Also, certain fears and objections within
the community had to be overcome.
Residents were particularly worried that
the compost heap in the allotment
garden may be odorous. However, the
compost heaps established so far are
properly maintained and thus not
offensive to the neighbouring
community.
The entire project is funded through a
grant that is channelled through the
barangay. The only direct contribution
expected from the beneficiaries is labour
to maintain the allotment garden. They
are however obliged to contribute
towards setting up a fund for the
association, which could be used for
replacing damaged tools and other
equipment, and for obtaining resources
(like what?) for new members. And
thereby the project is made sustainable.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Based on the experiences of setting up
the first four allotment gardens in
Cagayan de Oro, the following is
recommended:
• Further advocate and promote project
objectives among private landowners,
local government officials and the
general public in order to extend
allotment gardening to other areas of
the city
• Include norms and values in training
programmes to strengthen the
allotment gardeners association
• Consult the city council on strategies to
ensure long-term tenure of the
allotment gardens (i.e. proposal to
purchase land from private landowners)
• Conduct more research, particularly on
integrated pest management strategies
to reduce dependence on chemical
pesticides
