Citizen Detail #1

Alaya, not her real name, has two very energetic little boys. She and her husband own their own home in neighbourhood #3. Alaya is quite concerned about food security, particularly the price and supply of rice because the family budget is very tight. She likes to know where her family’s food comes from and how it is grown; she prefers fair trade, local, and organic for health, economic, and environmental reasons, but she cannot afford it very often.
Alaya very much wants to put in a garden in her small yard but needs help. She does not have the tools, a vehicle to source the tools and materials, access to the manpower to help clear the large growth of hedge and weeds in her backyard, or enough time to do it all herself. Her mother and father live in the south and grow vegetables, as do her grandparents and uncles. Having grown up with lots of fruit trees and a veg garden she is finding it hard to adjust to such a small yard. She plans to garden organically primarily to avoid pesticides in her family diet. She is hoping that she can get started at home and then get an allotment in order to seriously supplement her household food supply. She is also keen to develop an interest in gardening and nature in her children. She likes books by Monty Don.
Alaya knows several neighbours who grow and is inspired by them. She would be very happy to participate in a neighbourhood-growing scheme. She is very concerned about climate change because her home country, Bangladesh, is prone to flooding from sea level rise and she still has many family members there. She is involved in local community activism.
Alaya believes that the council should educate the public about the value of fresh organic food and the dangers of pesticides, she would like access to compost whether from the council or as a community based initiative. She would like some support and advice from the council; she is willing to work trade in return for help in her garden.