Even as passionate city dwellers, we’re naturally concerned with our environment and its ongoing sustainability. Taking a different approach to our kitchen scraps is one simple way to mitigate our impact. Read: compost, which is the obsession behind Die Boden Schafft, a 2012-founded initiative aimed at generating new soil, raising awareness about the earth we walk on and educating about all things compost. To achieve their goal, the team around founder Martina Kolarek regularly offers events and workshops. All that’s required is two square meters of soil, your kitchen scraps and a little bit of time. Alternatively, join one of Die Boden Schafft’s excursions to Brandenburg on 27.5.18, where a workshop will take place on the Grüna farm — the perfect opportunity to swap the city for the countryside, if only for one day. Register via email and prepare to get your hands dirty — and to see your garden, whether balcony or otherwise, flourish! (Text: Jennifer Prietzel / Photos: Die Boden Schafft)

Die Boden Schafft, next compost workshop on 27.5.2018, 13-18h at the Grüna farm.
Bauernhof Grüna, Grüna 8, 14913 Jüterborg OT Grüna; map

As if time has stood resolutely still, Libken’s “Plattenbau” (a prefabricated apartment block, typical of East Germany) emerges as a modern monument to thought and creation against the bucolic landscape of the Uckermark. In 2014, Larissa Rosa Lackner, Theresa Pommerenke and Christoph Bartsch initiated their first artist residency here. This year (2018) sees the second round of a special scholarship for culinary arts, which, from July through September, gives recipients the chance to conduct research on the art of cooking while experimenting with regional products. Together with local producers, the artists-in-residence prepare delicacies for a series of al fresco dinners entitled “Lange Tafel”. These events are open to the public, and my experience of participating still evokes vivid memories: An abundance of vegetables had been preserved and prepared with love, sophistication and appreciation. The sweet smell of bread and sizzling meat filled the air; life suddenly seemed simple again. Smiling faces surrounded me, while the fields stretched to the horizon, and a deer frolicked in the still of the evening. (Text: Katrin Pauline Müller / Photos: Larissa Rosa Lackner, Libken e.V.)

Libken e.V., Böckenberg 15-17, 17268 Gerswalde; map
Lange Tafel next takes place on 28.7, 25.8 and 29.9.2018.

Katrin Pauline Müller is an author and an artist. Communication, body language, senses and emotions make up her field of exploration. She has lived in Berlin since 2000 and currently calls Mitte home.