Decolonising food: The Guerrilla Permaculture Manifesto
As spring blossoms in our towns and cities, the time is ripe for strategy. How do we move into decolonised collectives? How do we divest our dependance on capitalist infrastructure to feed and clothe us? How can we expand into rest as well as resistance. For me, it all comes down to food. The extraction of foods drove colonial motivation for 100’s of years, and to re-indigenise, we must undo the dependance on its legacy. Building food sovereignty is the essential key to decolonisation, reconnecting with the land through community permacultural practice to feed ourselves, work less, rest more, and fight fascism.
This is Guerrilla permaculture: an evolving and collective divestment practice of vigilante food justice. Here are some of the basics to start your food sovereignty journey.
Urban Foraging
There are over 5,000 edible plants on this planet, yet the average human consumes fewer than 50. We are surrounded by food often dismissed as weeds. Learning to identify and use these plants is a foundational practice of Guerrilla Permaculture, a philosophy that merges sustainable living with activism.
Here are five foragable foods, how to identify them, and their uses:
● Nettle: Common across the British Isles, nettle leaves sting to the touch but become safe to eat after blanching in boiling water for a few minutes. High in calcium, nettles reduce inflammation, lower blood pressure, and regulate blood sugar. Use them as a spinach substitute in stews, curries, or pasta dishes. The seeds are also edible, highly nutritious, and great for hair growth.
● Garlic Mustard: An invasive weed with a garlicky, mustard-like flavor. Use it as a garlic substitute in recipes or raw in salads for a spicy kick.
● Pineapple Weed: A small, white flower with yellow pollen that tastes like pineapple. Found in cracks, pavements, and park verges, both the flowers and leaves add fruity sweetness to salads, stir-fries, and stews, whether raw or cooked.
● Clover: Ubiquitous in lawns and parks, clover flowers contain a drop of honeydew and are often used to make tea with medicinal properties. The tea helps with colds, flu, and hormonal balance, making it especially beneficial for pregnant individuals. Clover blossoms can also be dried and ground into flour, while the greens work well in salads and stir-fries.
● Dandelion: Every part of the dandelion is edible. The roots, once dried, make a cardiovascular-beneficial tea. The leaves serve as a spinach substitute, and the flowers can be eaten raw, baked, or fried with spices.
These five plants alone can make a nutritious soup, but they represent just a fraction of the free food around us. Explore your local parks, streets, and green spaces to discover more.
Picking and Preparing
After foraging, soak your harvest in salt water for at least an hour to remove bugs and grime. For plants collected near roads or low-lying areas, add a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda to the water and rinse thoroughly before cooking.
The Honourable Harvest
The Honourable Harvest, rooted in Indigenous American philosophy, outlines principles for sustainable and respectful foraging. It emphasizes the reciprocal relationship between people and the Earth, making it central to Guerrilla Permaculture. These practices aim to heal communities and ecosystems alike:
Never take the first or last harvest. This ensures sustainable foraging and preserves the ecosystem for other species.
Minimize harm while harvesting. Avoid disrupting the ground and surrounding area.
Take only what you need. Leave enough for the plant to thrive and for others to benefit.
Use everything you take. Avoid waste by experimenting with preservation methods like
pickling or sharing your harvest.Share the bounty. As the land provides for you, share the fruits of your harvest with others.
Reciprocate with gratitude. Offer water, compost, or fertilizer to the earth to honor the gift and encourage future growth.
Guerrilla Propagation
Wealthy neighborhoods often boast abundant greenery, while poorer areas lack such resources. Guerrilla Propagation addresses this disparity by reclaiming and redistributing plant abundance:
Take cuttings from accessible plants in wealthy areas and propagate them at home. Rosemary, for example, can root in water, while other plants benefit from natural rooting stimulants like honey, cinnamon, saliva, or apple cider vinegar.
Follow the Rule of Three:
○ Propagate one plant for yourself.
○ Grow a second to give to someone in your community.
○ Once your plant is thriving, take a cutting to plant in a public space for communal benefit.
This cycle transforms a single plant into a network of resources, fostering community resilience and sustainability. If you receive a plant through this process, continue the cycle by propagating and sharing it.
Guerrilla Planting
Guerrilla Planting enhances urban spaces with biodiversity and free food. Public planting supports bee populations and ensures long-term community food access. Follow these steps:
Select a location. Choose an easily accessible space with minimal foot traffic, such as park corners or quiet street verges.
Prepare your plant. Use newspaper pots for quick planting, and bring a sturdy trowel to dig with minimal disruption. Add food scraps to the hole to nourish the soil.
Water your plant. A natural fertilizer, like banana peel water, boosts soil nutrients.
Time your planting. Plant after rain for softer soil and better absorption.
Choose perennials. These plants grow back annually, making them ideal for Guerrilla Planting. Options include rosemary, thyme, mint, chamomile, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, kale, and lovage.
Five-Minute Permaculture
Starting a permaculture practice doesn’t have to be labor-intensive. Here are quick ways to grow food at home:
Spring Onions: Place the bottom inch of a spring onion in water. Within two weeks, it will regrow. Stagger multiple onions for a continuous supply.
Garlic: Place a clove’s base in water to grow garlic chives, which can replace garlic in recipes.
Lettuce: Romaine works best. Leave an inch of the base in water to grow new leaves.
Permaculture in Community
Urban living often limits access to growing spaces, but Guerrilla Permaculture thrives on community collaboration. Here’s how to share resources and build connections:
Share spaces. Partner with someone who has a garden, balcony, or south-facing window. Shared custody of plants reduces individual labor and increases success.
Share harvests. Exchange foraged goods, homemade items like teas or pickles, or fresh produce with loved ones or local food banks. The gift economy strengthens community bonds.
Celebrate together. Share your first harvest by hosting a meal for your closest friends and family.
Building Your Food Network
Life can be overwhelming, and not everyone has the capacity to participate fully in these practices. Guerrilla Permaculture honors the need for rest and advocates for collective labor. Building food networks allows individuals to contribute according to their abilities:
Distribute roles. Those with mobility can forage and plant, while others can care for plants at home.
Share cooking labor. Organize regular meals or batch cooking within the network, redistributing domestic labor for mutual benefit.
Capitalism demands individuals manage all labor alone, but Guerrilla Permaculture promotes community care. By integrating diverse capacities, food networks ensure everyone’s needs are met.
Beyond Food
Guerrilla Permaculture begins with food but extends to building self-sustaining communities, as our pre-colonial ancestors did. This practice protects the most vulnerable, fostering solidarity across shared struggles. While rooted in our immediate communities, it calls for broader alliances, addressing the exploitation of all beings under capitalism. Guerrilla Permaculture embodies an Eco-Marxist commitment to equity and care—from each as they are able, to each as they are loved.
guerrilla permaculture turns the radical conservatory’s garden dry & makes rebellious, collective, self-sustaining commons eagerly flourish :)