Beyond Concrete
Losæter is a modern park with edible plants and a vibrant community in the centre of Oslo. It was established as early as 2011 as part of an art project for sustainability, and it is commissioned and produced by Bjørvika Utvikling in collaboration with the international art collective, Future farmers. The park has grown over the years and today the area consists of fields with traditional grains and an abundance of various vegetables, living soil, compost, pallet collars, a public baking house and a number of activities under the auspices of the City Farmer, a baking community (Bakelauget), a horticultural therapy project, Herligheten allotment collective and several others. Losæter is a place where people from all parts of the world meet and produce together, creating a sense of home, and perhaps to find an escape from the noise and busy life of the city. Although, it is a urban garden as many others in Scandinavia, at Losæter there is a sense of quiet and the possibility to grow everyday during the summer season, with no limits of entrance and without a membership, just pure collectiveness and desire to help with the harvest. The fascinating community made of people with different backgrounds and cultures, meet on Wednesdays to harvest together and eat a collective meal with the produce of the garden, prepared by the Losæter collective. While I was working with this project, I noticed the variety of roots and vegetables available in the garden, even not Norwegian, such as the quinoa plant, rising questions of how climate is also changing the landscapes and could shape future agricultural practices in Norway.
