Urban Guerrilla Episode 1: The Gorilla Green Guerrilla Tells of the Old Days

Text/Hai Chen (Gorilla Green Guerrilla)

Late at night on August 28, 2010, a group of young people appeared in a corner of the National Taiwan University campus. They sat in a circle on the ground, and at first glance no one could tell what they were doing. But as soon as a passerby came near, they would start chatting awkwardly, just to buy time to slip the freshly picked sweet potato leaves and herb plants into the grass.

This group of young people, who hoped that lawns could be "not just for looking at, but also for eating," was made up of several young community planners. They had attended a talk about "Guerrilla Gardening" abroad and were deeply inspired.

Driven by passion and a can-do spirit, these young people carried out their first green guerrilla action just like that, and the "Gorilla Green Guerrilla" was born from this simple original intention.

A year later, today, regardless of gender, age or occupation, people who care about all kinds of urban issues have slowly gathered and joined the action one after another, creating the diverse and fascinating journey of the Gorilla Green Guerrilla.

The Mission of the Gorilla Green Guerrilla

Why is it called the "Gorilla Green Guerrilla"?

Our "guerrilla" refers to "guerrilla gardening," which is the act of gardening in public places without permission. Through action, we hope to awaken the public to the neglect of public space and the issue of land use rights, and to re-examine our public land and spaces.

The name "Gorilla" is used because the English word for guerrilla, "Guerrilla," sounds very similar to the English word for gorilla, "Gorilla." At the same time, we borrow the animal imagery of the "gorilla" not only to express the raw force that shakes society, but also to symbolize through this animal our inseparable relationship with nature. In our LOGO, we combine the long gun held by a guerrilla with the farming "rake," highlighting our "green planting guerrilla" approach, while the "cabbage" in the gorilla's belly connects to the food security issue we advocate.

Finally, we want to tell everyone: if even gorillas know how to create and protect their living space, then shouldn't we humans try even harder? Otherwise, we cannot call ourselves evolved!

The Gorilla Green Guerrilla cares about three issues: urban space, urban-type community building, and food security.

Since food is the first necessity of the people, we decided to start the discussion with the bite of food in our mouths -- beginning with the idea of urban agricultural space, because we believe that "a food transport chain based on petrochemical energy," "industrialized agriculture based on chemical molecules," and "a production and sales model based on hypermarkets that sever the relationship between producers and consumers" are among the main reasons that people have drifted further and further from the land and from nature.

To understand the current situation, we started by making small farmer maps and investigating vegetable sources at traditional markets. This includes farming tips, growers' experience, connecting small farmers, information transparency, promoting local concepts, and reducing food miles -- all of which we care about.

During the investigation, we found that many odd-shaped leftover spaces and riverbank lands are being cultivated. Although these are not formally legal cultivation spaces, for many people farming is a necessity for survival. As a result, issues of land ownership and use rights have also emerged. Whose land are these plots, after all? And who has the right to use them?

Following this thread of urban agriculture, we noticed that citizens' farms are in short supply, and balcony gardens and cultivation activities extending from people's own spaces are appearing all over the city. Many people like to grow plants and want to grow them, but suffer from a lack of space, time and skills. Thus the concept of "Stylish Farmer Comes to Your Home" was born.

This is a social group that can provide a complete set of consulting services, including material purchasing, growing techniques, and plant doctor testing, and it can be said to be one of our ultimate goals.

We hope that by improving our own growing abilities and promoting the concept of growing (or rather, farming), we can respond to concerns about food security, urban agriculture, and community gardens.

 
The issues and action methods advocated by the Gorilla Green Guerrilla

Finally, our guerrilla group not only wants to guerrilla the land, but also guerrilla people's hearts, starting from simple issues and simple methods around us.

In early 2011, the organization's mode of operation officially changed to a method in which project managers propose projects. The project directions can be roughly divided into two categories. The first is "community stationing," in which we cooperate with community development associations or related units to manage adopted plots in communities, hoping that community-based farming and planting can become seeds for cultivating community gardens.

The second is "guerrilla action," which uses a flash-mob-like approach to carry out planting in every corner of the city without negotiating with the owners, or to grow vegetables in bicycle baskets and perform street theater on the roads. We hope to let more people know about and understand the diverse possibilities of urban space use, and to spark public discussion. Our goal is to expand the area of arable land in the city, and to try to understand the relationship between people, land, and planting, as well as the role public land plays in urban space.
 

The Nangang guerrilla case, preparations before the guerrilla action

In addition to carrying out various projects, Gorilla also connects with related courses, such as community college and community courses and related workshops, and also seeks opportunities for publicity and exposure online and in the media.

Of course, community management is also indispensable. Recharging at book clubs, monthly gatherings, irregular project discussion meetings, and self-funded staff trips are all the best opportunities for us to bond, share insights, and make friends.

 
The Gorilla book club, held twice a month

A year is about to pass, and we will certainly keep going. We hope that on the first birthday of the "Gorilla Green Guerrilla," another group of people will also be secretly carrying out green guerrilla actions somewhere in the dark.

How to find Gorilla?

●  Search "Gorilla Green Guerrilla" on Facebook
●  Wretch Blog