The project addressed several issues:

• Insufficient opportunity for bilateral social integration between newcomers and the host society in Sofia at an informal level, which can lead to the isolation and exclusion of migrant communities;
• High levels of hate speech against migrants, refugees and ethnic minorities;
• Insufficient participation by migrants in the creation and management of urban spaces;
• An insufficient number of community innovative green urban spaces in Sofia, which offer holistic solutions to the problems of sustainable development - reduction and utilisation of garbage and its composting, creation of urban gardens for growing vegetables and spices, collection and utilisation of rainwater water, air purification, etc.

The project aimed to:

• Empower migrants and refugees by including them in a project for the co-creation of a multicultural urban garden, where they can share their own ideas, views and opinions with other participants at the same time as planting spices, herbs, and vegetables from their countries of origin;
• Create conditions for the meeting of foreigners and Bulgarians, in order to work on a common project and vision and thereby facilitate increased social integration between the two groups in an informal environment;
• Test a model of innovative urban green space, which solves holistically problems of urban sustainable development;
• Test an innovative social model that can be applied to other vulnerable groups such as Roma, the blind, people with intellectual disabilities, victims of domestic violence and so on, as well as in the school/community environment.

• Newcomers – migrants and refugees, including asylum seekers
• Host community – neighbours; locals

Project activities:

• Reaching potential participants - migrants, refugees and Bulgarians;
• Organising a series of 6 community meetings for the co-creation of the garden - discussing the purpose, sharing ideas, creating an action plan, cleaning the space, arranging pots and flowerpots, planting seeds and plants, creating a vertical garden;
• Developing materials for promoting good practices in the field of urban agriculture and sustainable urban development;
• Documenting the co-creation process with inspiring examples, ideas and practices;
• Taking care of the garden on weekly bases;
• Organising the New Roots Festival which celebrates diversity, abundance and social inclusion through agriculture, art, music, workshops, and cuisine.

• 1 shared multicultural urban garden in Sofia was developed;
• 6 community meetings for co-creation of the garden were organised (more than 120 participants from Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Syria, Belgium, Italy, Japan, Brazil, Lebanon, Algeria, Bulgaria)
• 1 community New Roots Festival was organised including various workshops, lectures, debates, stalls, foods and drinks (more than 80 participants)
• 1 vibrant community of a mixed group of newcomers and locals was created - both in real-life and online (including more than 140 members of a new Facebook group) 
• Strengthened social integration between different groups, such as newcomers and locals, but also vulnerable groups such as Roma and people with psychological disabilities.

The project received the national award Volunteer Initiative of the Year 2019, given by the President of Bulgaria.

The project was financed by the Sofia Municipality under the Social Innovation Programme 2019.

The team included:

• Project Manger
• Urban Garden Specialist
• Community/Event Manager