 Munich-Neuhausen › Munich Garden of Cultures The "Münchner Gärten der Kulturen" association was founded in Spring 2004 and is supported by a large platform of municipal representatives of Munich, local churches as well as religious and refugee organisations.  Together, refugees and other immigrants of various nationalities cultivate the beautiful park area of Munich's orphanage (in which many unaccompanied refugee children live) with vegetables, herbs and flowers. Nature helps these people, of which most have had to leave everything behind, to gain new ground and to let something new "grow". Unaccompanied minors and refugees with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder do also participate in the project. The work done in the garden promotes new resources and taking the initiative, helps to re-establish the feeling of being at home and has significant therapeutic effect. This is where the cooperation with REFUGIO, the Munich Torture Treatment Centre, is very valuable. The assumption that all participants have a tolerant basic attitude towards others does not correspond with their reality. Most of the refugees though have experienced other ethnic groups in their home country as hostile, and even as the final cause for their esc  ape. A good leadership/coordination is very important in this process.The garden project in Munich sees itself as an international learning community and relies on the complex competences of the immigrants. The work in the gardens enables them to independently create the transit from their past life in their home country to their present life in Munich. They themselves become the protagonists in their own integration process., in which they can (not just concerning gardening) make use of and bring forth their competences and various experiences. The project is also planning on, just like the garden project in Göttingen, to organise and launch communication and interaction between neighbours, political work, animal farming, the construction of an oriental oven, the examination of other environmental projects, German language courses, further education programs, music, a book project as well as the cooperation with other intercultural gardens. |