BambooMoves On The Green Wall Series

The Green Wall was beneficial to our community in many ways.The Green Wall acted as our "coffee table" for a conversation starter. When students come to the studio for the first time, they feel intimidated to meet or talk with others. However, through the green wall, I feel people felt more at ease because they would notice the wall and instantly chat about the beautiful design Suzuyo, the artist, created for the wall. Then they would talk about what was on the wall, creating a sense of family as one person would rub the leaves of the herb, smell their fingers, and without thinking have the stranger next to them smell their fingers to get a second opinion. Through this exchange, they would giggle and then and say together, OREGANO!

I watched this interaction take place many times while working at the front desk. This is also where the idea of a cook book came from. Many people who cut off the herbs, wanted to know how other people use the herbs. Or some of our students, do not cook because they do not know what to cook, but because the wall was there conversations would start between veteran chefs and the newbie, want-to-be chefs on how to make simple, fast, and healthy meals.

Thus, we are now collecting recipes from the students at Bamboomoves for a cookbook; vegan, vegetarian and some meat recipes. It will be a cookbook for all; for families with carnivores,  herbivores, or for people who are transitioning from eating meat to a vegetarian diet.

The Green Wall, also created the sense of how people can grow their own herbs in their apartments, through getting a Green Wall or by starting their own plants in their apartments. We have many students who belong to the CSA. The conversations, would start with the Green Wall but would grow into how the CSA operates and how to belong and how important it is to buy organic, local foods to help minimize our carbon food print as well as feeding the body with health foods.

Even at the end of our 3 months with the wall, it started to become more of a brown wall as our studio had dry heat but people would give ideas and suggestions to help it grow, still keeping it a way for the Bamboomoves Family to come together in conversation and sharing knowledge of sustainable development.  We will miss the wall and hope through the cookbook, we will keep that idea of sustainable, locally grown food going.

Thank you, Rego Park Alliance for such a wonderful opportunity. We wish you much luck with this endeavor as it benefits the community in so many ways.



In Peace,
Kaity, Kristen, and Suzanne & the Bamboomoves Team