COOKING UP D8

Cooking Up D8 is a collaborative project with Kinga Strama. We wanted to create a zine that connected people with free and available resources throughout the Dublin 8 neighbourhoods. By sharing information about forageable plants partnered with recipes, we wanted to encourage community building and the sharing of knowledge within the Dublin 8 communities.

While exploring Dublin 8 we noticed the lack of green spaces and the physical gates around what was available. We decided to interview SICCDA (South Inner City Community Development Association) which runs a community garden. Through the interview we learned of funding issues and the bureaucratic ‘red tape’ that prevents community gardens from having access to basic needs and that growing food and running a garden is labour-intensive and community organisations tend to be underfunded. We also learned the of abundance of benefits that community gardens can provide to the individual.

Our goals included helping communities through teaching food autonomy, sharing knowledge that can be passed down and used as a tool for connecting people. We wanted this information to be accessible and applicable to all communities. For future iterations, we planned for the zine to be free and available in print (using recycled and eco-friendly materials) and online. We also saw the potential for this zine to allow people of diverse backgrounds to share their recipes, techniques and food knowledge.

Risograph printed and handbound. Typeset by Kinga Strama. Illustration/Lettering and Content Curation by Stacy Kim