Grow:Brixton

The vision for Grow:Brixton set out to create a unique enterprise space. Everyone who rented a commercial unit would be asked to provide a ‘Give’ back to the community and the immediate surroundings. This may include supporting others with skills exchanges, offering employment and training opportunities for locals, mentoring local school kids, or sharing their own experiences of business / creating / making / developing in the form of free public talks. On site accountancy and legal support was to be provided for small businesses for start up support and ensuring sustainable business growth. Outward facing units would further bring activation to the surrounding streets and provide a dual aspect offering along Brixton Station Road arches.

To support the centralised food and drink space, we established partnerships with the Clink Restaurant in Brixton Prison and the Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA) who would co-manage the central restaurant/café space. Simple and accessible food offerings during the day, with more exciting events and activities of an evening. The first big idea was to have a cook-off between Raymond Blanc OBE (SRA President) and local legend Jeff the Chef, bringing his Caribbean cuisine to a new audience. It quickly became more than just food growing, developing a plant to plate approach to regeneration – we all eat right! Nearby Hill Mead Primary School agreed to run their whole years curriculum around the commercial and community side of food growing, using the site as a testbed for off site education.

Grow:Brixton presented an inclusive offering for all.