By early spring 2020, the vitality of a whole new system of fauna and flora had become visible, from herbs to flowers, from shrubs to trees, from flower beds to central meadows, and from pots to walls and the railing to the adjoining courtyard still under construction. The healthy growth of the species led us to believe that a balance had been achieved. We had specialist birds and insects, the various areas for human cohabitation had also been gradually furnished and laid out taking into account the suitable sun exposure for the variety of activities of the residents.
When Covid-19 first sent us all into prolonged quarantines in the buildings, the garden constituted a true oasis of refuge for neighbors never seen before, also prolonging the time of permanence of those who already frequented it, such as the workers in one of the offices, who began, notably, to receive clients in the common space where we continued alone to care for the soil, its animals and plants, as well as for the revitalization of a larger tiled area and the maintenance of the many structures and equipment that we acquired, collected, transformed or built. Once confined, we also began a work of research and artistic collaborations incident within the space itself.
It was at this time that we started a residence in the courtyard, which would last for about four months and which would trigger the foundation of this collective, initially inviting artists and an anthropologist to reflect with us from a distance on this history of occupation and creation of Nature in a semi-public space, but soon also extending the invitation to participation to all neighbors: the usual ones, but also those we didn't know yet, frequenting the garden without any information about its origin and, naturally, without any responsibilities in its maintenance. All investments in the space were at the time still entirely of our responsibility, since in 2017 the new owner and current landlord of all the houses and offices had authorized us to keep the garden at our charge, cancelling the annual maintenance costs to all tenants. Understanding that the management of this new flow of human use in the context of a pandemic would now have to be formalized, not least because new conflicts concerning hygiene rules and consumption habits during quarantines were beginning to appear, we called a general meeting for all those interested in the garden. This meeting, attended by about eight people representing five houses, resulted in a list of rules for the use of the space adapted to the pandemic and the commitment to collaborate in the accommodation of the recycled waste (which had rapidly increased in production), in the care of the plants, in the order, cleaning and maintenance of furniture and other equipment. It was agreed to use the window recovered from the 2017 fire, where we had posted the first map of the garden, as a place accessible to all to share information and continue communicating; interest was expressed in participating in seasonal costs, project funding and gardening and permaculture training; we undertook to draw up an estimate of past and future budgets, as well as offering free training to develop the project collectively.
In 2020, in the presence of the owner, a municipal inspection to verify the safety of the structures also took place, in which compliance with legislation was ensured. At the same time, we also ensured the occupation of the enormous tiled area at the entrance to the courtyard, next to the new wall separating it from the rubbish area, where we had already installed raised beds, furniture and gardening equipment. We were working on new projects there, and the area was also a popular leisure and meeting area for residents, where the owner intended to install part of the new bicycle parking. Besides the four exhibitions of the cabaret resulting from the artist residency, which we presented there in the extraordinary context of the pandemic, attracting a large part of the users of the space, as well as local activists, colleagues and friends, and enabling a first public discussion about the Reichen-Hof project, the conditions for the sustained development of collective creative processes were also created in the months preceding them. A neighbor collaborated in the video made at the installation of the desert cactus section, another one photographed the first show, as well as the ones that followed in 2021. These neighbors, along with a third resident, also participated in the various introductory permaculture workshops and urban gardening actions we held then, with a view to their continued interest in the care of the garden over the following seasons: one of them would collaborate in funding the construction of a new compost bin, investing in her own vegetable bed and, over the course of a year, would also take responsibility for weed removal and some of the cleaning of the tiled area. All the others, those who also became interested in the plants and those who became engaged in discussing the socio-cultural aspect of the project, never actually committed themselves to regular tasks and costs. The participation in the development of occasional projects and events, however, gave evidence of some communal intentionality.
