DOTE Garden is a physical space in the city of Palermo, conceived and cared for by the collective Aterraterra. It is born out of Listening to Seeds, the third moment in our Year of Listening. You can visit the garden by reading the stories of the seeds that have been planted in it. This is one of the stories.
I am a city girl, born and raised in Milan so that is a very different upbringing. I don’t have memories of me getting close to nature. My only memory connected to vegetables is with cucumbers. I was passionate about it. I was also passionate about reading. So as a child, I would read and eat cucumbers; two to three a day. It was a whole experience for me, I was very quite and reading all the time. I spent many years eating just cucumbers. And when I would go to school, a nun school, I would bring my cucumber with me as my snack. The amazing thing is that other kids didn’t know what it is. I would explain surprised: it is called ‘cetriolo’ (Italian for cucumber). They’d ask for a bite, and they’d love it and they’d ask their mom’s for it. I think parents in the context where I grew up in wouldn’t even try to connect their kids with the taste of vegetables, assuming they wouldn’t like it. At school kids would want to trade their sweets with me for the cucumbers. I also remember that it was different for me when I would eat it on the table, or eat it my way- hidden somewhere with a book. It tasted very different, it gave me focus while reading.
I have now trouble eating cucumbers. It is so emotional for me. They are like the Madeleine’s of proust they bring so many memories of my childhood. So I don’t know if I’d want to seed them in this garden or not.
Click here to read/see the different stories…
Photo by: Ségolène Bulot
