Description
Sustainability in a double sense. Siggesta Gård becomes self-sufficient in vegetables with our Kitchen Garden — both ecological and social sustainability.
In our kitchen garden we grow vegetables which are then served to the guests who visit our restaurants. The aim is to eventually become self-sufficient on vegetables and herbs. In 2022, we harvested the next one ton of raw materials from our gardens.
Ecological sustainability
The aim of the project is to develop a kitchen garden comprising greenhouses, open land and compost on a total area of about 1500 sqm. In order to start the project, we sought funding from the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development. The project helps to increase the share of locally grown raw materials in Värmdö and to create synergies in the form of knowledge transfer, increased integration and recreation for the public.
Reducing environmental impact through organic farming
A cultivation system that does not use artificial fertilisers or chemical control reduces the impact on the environment. We will also reduce overall energy and water consumption by expanding vegetarian offerings. Serving more vegetarian food can be a way to reduce our environmental impact. If we were to consume the energy from the plants directly, instead of these first going through an animal that we are going to eat, it would consume less cultivation area. Energy consumption and water consumption are much higher for producing a kilogram of meat than for a kilogram of wheat.
We reduce transport emissions The transport between the production site and the point of sale is reduced, which is a big environmental concern. We expect to reduce transport emissions by about 700 miles less in transport between supplier and Siggesta Gård during the period May - September.
Social sustainability
We are particularly proud of this project as it is also an integration project that we are doing together with Bereket and Regen from Eritrea. They did an internship with us in 2019. Bereket has had his own farm in his home country and came up with the idea of a garden at Siggesta Gård. We help him realize his dream and at the same time we learn about cultivation and get an addition to our range and concept that is much appreciated. Regen works in our janitorial office and keeps order in the yard and all the animals.
Our differences make us strong.
We also a breadth in age on the workforce. Team Siggesta boasts employees aged 19-74. Marianne is a rock in the yard and takes care of the crops in the very best way.
Bring vegetables home
In addition to serving the delicious vegetables on our tables, our guests will also be able to buy a bag of local produce, depending on the harvest and season.
The activity”Conference on Cultivation“let our guests self-cultivate with their colleagues. We provide pallet collars, soil, manure, seeds, tools etc. If you want to learn more about this, Bereket, our gardener, gives tips on what techniques he uses. You grow together and the company gets “its” grow boxes (which you label with the company name) in Siggesta Kitchen Garden.
Known from newspaper & radio
Local newspaper Nacka Värmdö Posten has written a report about Bereket, Marianne and our kitchen garden. They visited us one summer day and joined us in the garden and got to know all about growing methods, techniques and our work between kitchen and garden. The article is locked, one needs a subscription to read it.
The Swedish Radio language reaction Tigrinya, has also made an interesting report about Bereket and his amazing work in the garden.
