This Allotment: Stories of Growing, Eating and Nurturing

Join us for a discussion of allotment life with gardeners, food writers, horticulturalists and historians.

About the event

‘This Allotment’ is a book celebrating allotment life in 12 vibrant pieces from gardeners, food writers, novelists, horticulturalists and historians.

Allotments are more than just plots of land – they are a microcosm of society. Fiercely guarded patches where people claim their space, yet also places of community, shared harvests, and recipes from around the world. They are filled with blowsy dahlias, buzzing bees, cups of tea in tumbledown sheds, and the wisdom of weeds and seeds.

In this discussion, three of the book’s contributors – Sarah Rigby, JC Niala and Olia Hercules – will explore growing, eating, and nurturing in these special places, and what allotments reveal about ourselves and society.

Additional information

This event will take place in our first floor ‘Gallery’ space which is accessed via a narrow 22-step staircase with a handrail. Unfortunately, it is not wheelchair accessible.

About the speakers

Sarah Rigby is an editor, publisher and book coach. Originally from Yorkshire, Sarah lives in London and came up with the idea for this collection of stories after growing an allotment herself and volunteering at the organic food growing co-op, Organic Lea, in Epping Forest.

Olia Hercules is a British-Ukrainian chef, cookbook author, and activist. She has published four cookbooks, including the award-winning ‘Mamushka’, translated into eleven languages, and ‘Summer Kitchens’, which explores Ukrainian regional cuisine and preservation traditions. As a co-founder of Cook For Ukraine, she has helped raise over £2 million for those impacted by the war in Ukraine.

JC Niala is an allotment historian and writer who explores the connections between nature, culture and community through allotments. Her doctoral research defined allotments as ‘banal utopias’ – everyday sanctuaries where people collaboratively create paradise with nature. In 2022, she won the Social History Society Public History Prize for recreating a 1918-style allotment. And in 2023, she collaborated with Greenpeace to highlight allotment waiting lists and urge councils to recognise their potential for urban sustainability.