Powerpoint 4 The Farming Project In 1978, the Manpower Services Commission set up a farming project on four acres of land at Loughborough Technical College. The project employed 30 people from the Asian community and grew 32 varieties of exotic vegetables, including bitter melon, mung beans, chilli peppers and okra. The project lasted for 5 years. Daphne Beale was a member of the projects executive committee. Here, she shares some of her memories of the project. Photograph on Leicester Mercury website permission not sought Asian people wanted to get some of their own vegetables and were finding it difficult. Everybody said they wont grow in this country because of the weather. Daphne Beale Image from the BBC TV KS3 bitesize website There was a basic range of vegetables available here at that time: vegetables they hadnt met before. Probably half of them didnt know what to do with them. Daphne Beale How many of these can you name? Common British fruit and vegetables The Manpower Services Commission were looking to see what veg would grow here - for a healthy diet and also to show people what they could do for themselves. Many of the workers had been farmers and this gave them an opportunity to use the skills they already had. Farming in Bangladesh - Photographs by Alison Mott So it was employment, it was a way of using the land to do something useful and it was also a way of saying you can feel at home here. And, of course, it was a way to introduce the vegetables to other people as well, which they did! A lot of people said it wasnt possible to grow Asian vegetables because the British climate is wrong. We proved that isnt the case and they can be grown here. Daphne Beale Photograph of her mothers garden by Salma Haris of Leicester Do you know the plants growing here? They produced quite a lot of vegetables which were sold around the town. The vegetables and herbs were available to buy in local shops and were far cheaper than the imported ones. Daphne Beale Photograph by Sam Biswas of Loughborough What about these? The project was about integrating people, really, making people feel a part of Loughborough and I think it did. Looking around our town, we have integrated pretty well over the years. Daphne Beale Loughborough Mela 2014 And youll find that Asian people in the community here now do grow their own vegetables, which is really nice! Daphne Beale Photograph by Salma Haris Any new vegetables that can be grown in this country to add variety and flavour to our diet must be welcome. But when these vegetables also satisfy a social need by supplying fresh and more nutritious vegetables to the Asian community, then they are doubly welcome. Paul Gimson, The Farming Project Horticultural Manager, 1981 Photograph by Sam Biswas This is mint and coriander. Did you guess? Do you grow fruit and vegetables at home? Why not make a class display of photographs of the fruit and vegetables grown by pupils and their families? Label the photographs with the names of the items in other languages as well as in English. You could even include photographs of the fruit and vegetables when they are used in a meal. Created for Charnwood Arts by Alison Mott