Leopoldo crea espacio verde

DIG FOR VICTORY was the motto launched by the British War Ministry to the population at the beginning of 1941. At that time of the war, England and London in particular were suffering the bombings of Hitler and blockade of overseas goods. England was practically isolated and food was growing scarce. Not one grain of cereal could enter the country.

Churchill’s strategy to combat this isolation was to encourage people to become self-sufficient in their food supply. It didn’t matter if you couldn’t shoot a rifle, their weapons were pickaxes and spades, seeds and seedlings to turn lawns and backyards into vegetable patches to supply families with fresh healthy food. And tips, propaganda and information.

Four years later, Berlin and all of Germany had been devastated by allied bombing and the German people underwent the hardships of defeat. With the war over, more than ever it was a question of survival. Out came the pickaxes and spades to the rescue, this time in German hands. The country was in ruins, and among these ruins the people starting digging for survival. Paradoxes of war and peace; growing your own seems to be the common denominator in the solution to the main problem of all animals, rational or otherwise: food. Perhaps today in some far corner of the network of Power, they are thinking up a similar strategy to mitigate the effects of unsustainable growth. You don’t need to wait for orders to pick up a spade.