Unsustainable sustainability – Allotment gardens between socialism and ecological luxury
Zbyněk Ulčák, Pavel Klvač
Department of Environmental studies
Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University
Brno, Czech Republic
ulcak@fss.muni.cz

Predatory x ecological luxury
(Librova, 2003)
•Predatory luxury –
•tends to appropriate everything rare for its own use, may seem to respect nature
•
•Ecological luxury –
•small footprint, soft technologies, reflects intrinsic values, altruism
•

•small scale food self-suply systems as part of sustainable localisation (Segfang, 2007)
•
•(allotment) gardens - sustainable – because they represent mainly de-materialised consumption (of
leisure time, distance, resources), but not organic, also public space is being privatised

Obrazek
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Basic statistics:
•The Czech Union of Allotment and Hobby Gardeners – 260 000 members, facilities,
•Allotment gardens – up to 400 m2, shed – 16 m2,
•Brno – (400 000 inhabitants):
•1980s – 14 000 members,  650 ha
•2004 – 6 000 members
•
•

Ideal goals:
•- the creation of leisure garden sites;
•- the protection of nature and environment;
•- the sustainable development in accordance with the recommendations of the Earth Summit in Rio de
Janeiro in 1992;
•- the sensitization of children and young people for the respect of nature;
•- the support of socially weaker persons by putting garden plots at their disposal;
•- the integration of handicapped and elderly people in society by gardening and the associative
life;
•- a meaningful leisure time occupation for the whole family, especially for unemployed,
pensioners;
•- compensation and relaxing from a monotonous work;
•- the stimulation of family life and fellowship.
•
•(Office International du Coin de Terre et des Jardins Familiaux, Luxembourg, 2007)

Less food production
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Crop selectivity
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Leisure time
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People
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Animals
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Neglected space
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Future?
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Thank you
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