A COMMUNITY GARDEN FOR THE MARKET - THE LEGACY OF ‘LA CASITA’

Now that the Summer Festival has come to an end and La Casita has been dismantled, we are beginning a new chapter for the structure and the materials that made it possible.

Designed by UNIT38, La Casita was originally created as a temporary entrance to Seven Sisters Market during the Community Summer Festival. The structure was made from a system of modular wooden boxes, built by Universal Joinery and engineered by Public House.

Bringing La Casita to life was also a collective effort. It was the result of days of building, installing and painting, and many hours contributed by volunteers who worked alongside the team to get everything ready for the festival. From preparing and painting individual boxes to assembling the final structure on site, many hands were involved in transforming the design into the colourful entrance that welcomed people into the Market.

For that reason, we were particularly keen for all that work and material not to disappear once the festival was over. Instead, we started thinking together with Seven Sisters Market traders about how the boxes could have a second life within the Market, and how something temporary could leave behind something useful and lasting for the community.

From La Casita to a community garden

Together with traders, we are now working to transform these boxes into a community garden for Seven Sisters Market.

The idea is for the garden to become much more than a collection of planters. We want to create a shared green space that can support the everyday life of the Market in different ways: growing herbs, vegetables and other produce that can be used by traders in their kitchens, while also creating opportunities for therapeutic activities, learning, recreation and community gatherings.

For a market shaped by so many cultures, food traditions and migration stories, growing food can also become another way of sharing knowledge and keeping those connections alive. We are particularly excited about exploring what it might mean to grow crops, herbs and plants from different parts of the world together in one place, reflecting some of the cultures and cuisines that make Seven Sisters Market what it is.

Having a community garden within the Market is also about creating a different kind of shared space: somewhere to slow down, care for something collectively, exchange knowledge across generations and build relationships through everyday activities. The process of growing, looking after and harvesting can become as important as the garden itself.

Learning from others across London

We are still at the beginning of this journey, and an important part of the process is learning from community growing projects already doing incredible work across London.

We have been visiting spaces, building relationships and finding inspiration through organisations such as Black Rootz and Wolves Lane Centre, learning not only about the technical aspects of community growing, but also about the care, knowledge and collective work that make these spaces meaningful and sustainable.

We are also very grateful to have people such as Clapton Botanica sharing their knowledge with us, helping us think through everything from preparing the planters and choosing appropriate plants to soil, drainage, maintenance and growing conditions. Just as importantly, these conversations are helping us understand the wider value that gardening and growing activities can bring to a community.

We are now working with traders on the layout of the garden, the distribution and adaptation of the boxes, and how the space will be used and cared for in the long term.

A temporary structure is becoming something new: a small piece of La Casita that stays with the Market, grows with it, and continues to be shaped by the people who use it.

Stay tuned as the garden begins to take shape!