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Airbnb is a great way to match travelers with people who have apartments or rooms available. Now, an innovative new platform is connecting would be growers with people who have available outdoor space.
With allotment lists in the UK full, and thousands on the waiting list, the wait time can be decades, according to The Guardian, its been very difficult for urban dwellers to find a garden plot. Since the coronavirus pandemic began, demand has been steadily going up.
“New sites are being created up and down the country, and planning authorities are asking developers to include allotment space in their plans. But there’s a lot more demand than availability,” Phil Gomersall, president of the National Allotment Society told the Guardian.
Conor Gallagher, 30, came up with the idea of linking people who want to grow their own food with people who have small plots of unused land. He launched AllotMe, a new platform in May 2021, that aims to make finding garden space as easy as renting from Airbnb.
Originally from Belfast, Gallagher said, “After I moved to London I saw how people wanted to eat more healthily, ethically and sustainably but faced barriers such as a lack of space or excessive cost.
“So many people have no garden or access to outside space and obtaining an allotment through traditional routes is difficult verging on impossible. There’s a huge desire for sustainable living but often no way of satisfying it.”
He saw neglected gardens around the city and realized that all of this underutilized space could be a big part of the solution for people looking to grow their own food according to the AllotMe website. Since it is estimated that 70 percent of the world's population will be living in cities by 2050, Gallagher believes that more people will grow their own food.
“As an architect, I’m trained to spot opportunities in space, and it dawned on me when passing an overgrown and unloved garden that there is an untapped reservoir of outdoor space in London that is going unused, so why not bring the two together,” he told Positive News.
The first plot of land listed on the platform was part of his own backyard that he rented to Corrie Rounding, of South London.
“I’ve wanted to find a space to grow my own for so long, but it’s so hard to come by in London,” said Rounding. “The chance to grow my own is brilliant, but it’s also so therapeutic. I love how calming it is to work in outdoor space.”
The plots are renting for between £15 and £30 ($21 and $42) a month, depending on the size of the space with a minimum time of three months. Part of the fees goes to AllotMe, some is used for insurance – “Garden Guarantee” for the person renting out their space, and the rest goes to the plot owners. Right now the demand is higher than the amount of available plots.
If you live in a city in the UK, and you have the gardening bug, this platform is a good way for you to grow your own fruits and veggies and take care of the planet too. Finding your own little green space could soon be as easy as calling a taxi or renting a vacation room.
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