Transition Town Tooting

Tag: Mushkil Aasaan

  • All are welcome at our April Tooting ACE*!

    All are welcome at our April Tooting ACE*!

    A warm invitation to join us at our 2022 *Annual Celebratory Extravaganza

    Saturday April 30th – 2 – 4.30 pm

    Mushkil Aasaan, 222 Upper Tooting Road, London SW17 9LN

    Our last ‘in-person’ ACE was held back in March 2019 – how much has happened since then in your life, our community and the world – a lot!

    Join us to join the dots in local change-making, exchange experiences, catch up with all kinds of projects which have flourished and grown and explore future possibilities. The afternoon will mix practical activities with listening, talking and sharing news.

    There’s something for everyone, whether you want to know about our community garden and plant for Spring; hear about the Tooting Tapestry; find our more about our fixing and repairing projects; hear about Tooting’s new ‘Green Way’ or explore together how we respond in Tooting to the latest IPPC report from the world’s climate scientists.

    It’s a chance to find out about the good changes happening on your doorstep

    Come along and get involved. Everyone one is welcome.

    Timings:

    2.00 – 2.45 – Marketplace of Projects – meet and chat with others running projects and groups around Tooting.

    2.45 – 3.00 – TTT update – hear the latest from Transition Tooting

    3.00 – 3.45 – What can we do together in Tooting? Explore with us how we can work together locally to meet our climate committments and help our commmity thrive and flourish.

    3.45 – 4.30 – Carry on chatting and sharing ideas – check out any projects you might have missed – have a cup of tea.

    4.30 Close

  • Mushkil Aasaan Needs Our Support!

    Mushkil Aasaan could be under threat because the Council has withdrawn its contract to provide social care to vulnerable people in our local community.

    Of course the Council has a right to seek the best deal for constituents, but in this instance one wonders whether commercial expedience is trumping common sense in the Council’s offer of the contract to non-specialist providers, who may lack MA’s local experience, knowledge and cultural sensitivity.

    Local people are getting together to try to get the Council to change its mind. 


    The flyer above explains how to get involved in either the public meeting at Mushkil Aasaan on Monday or at the Council meeting on Wednesday of next week.

    You can follow latest development on the Mushkil Action twitter feed and website.

    From TTT’s perspective we are incredibly grateful to Mushkil Aasaan director Naseem Aboobaker for her offer of free meeting space in the hall over the last 10 years, and provision of a space for Tooting Community Garden in the grounds of 5 North Drive for the last 7 years.  Many reading this will have been to Foodival, Restarts, Gardening sessions or other meetings all of which have been faciliated by Naseem’s kindness and community spirit.

    Now Naseem requests that the Council reinstate Mushkil Aasaan’s contract and status as a Specialist Provider and TTT strongly supports this.  Do get involved if you can over the next days.  Naseem and Mushkil Aasaan have been a great help to TTT;  let’s see how we can offer support in return at this stressful time.

  • Dragon Bean bench in Tooting Community Garden: the grand opening

    Yesterday we officially opened the Dragon Bean bench at the Community Garden Summer Picnic!

    Gentle finishing touches last week

    For the past twelve months Fio Adamson has been guiding a participatory sculpture project in the Community Garden.

    About to cut the ribbon & unveil the bench

    Now, can Fio rest….?

    Working with many pieces of the American Oak felled on the Furzedown Rec, the Furzedown Oak Project was born.
    Over this past year around 80 people of all ages have worked with Fio to imagine, draw, visualise, carry, carve and advise on what’s evolved into the Dragon Bean bench.

    Our Summer Picnic celebrated the Dragon Bean and good company in the Garden: we had delicious food, made popcorn and cooked potatoes on a fire, enjoyed volcano kettle tea, picked brambles, weeded the leeks, painted beautiful signs for the vegetable plots…

    Lots more picnic photos on the Community Garden facebook pages

    We’re so lucky to have the use of the Community Garden land, loaned to us by Tooting charity Mushkil Aasaan. It means we can facilitate community projects like this and our outdoor learning with schools. Plus we can enjoy the Community Garden sessions with anyone who wishes to come, every Sunday.

    We’ve opened the space on over 225 Sundays since 2011.

    Why ‘Dragon Bean’? Come and have a look!
    The sculpture-bench is ready to sit or lie on in the Tooting Community Garden on Sundays from 11:00 to 1:00 at 5 North Drive SW16 1RN.
    We post any updates on our Facebook pages. All welcome!

  • Celebrating Community Outdoor Learning with Wandsworth’s Mayor

    This afternoon a formal celebration of three years of Community Outdoor Learning with Gatton School took place at the Tooting Community Garden, attended as guest of honour by the Mayor of Wandsworth, Councillor Nicola Nardelli, plus site owner Naseem Aboobaker of Mushkil Aasaan and Rifat Batool, Head at Gatton School. 
    The celebration was joined by many of the children, staff and volunteers who have contributed to the development of the garden and the Outdoor Learning programme.

    The Mosaic and Vertical Garden

    The Mayor officially opened the vertical garden made by Year 6 children in recent weeks as well as unveiling the mosaic curated by artist Kirsteen Ritchie and made with the help of many of the children at school.  
    Naseem expressed her thankfulness for the community connections made in the garden and a group of the children read out their own tributes and reflections on the garden projects.  
    Rifat spoke about the educational value of the outdoor projects over the past three years.

    A community collaboration


    Mayor Nicola Nardelli & Naseem Aboobaker

    The Mayor with Gatton School Year 6 children

    We’re very grateful to all who took part on a lovely day to celebrate this project.
    More to follow …