A guide for design-
El Sol Brillante
What do they do? (Description of service idea, e.g. a
community garden, a food coop, etc). What are the demands/
problems this initiative responds to? What is the aim of the
initiative? What happens and how does it happens? What
benefits does it bring to the neighborhood?
Individuals in this garden primarily focus on growing plants,
flowers, and, to a lesser extent, fruits and vegetables. In order to
create more fertile soil for the garden, several members have
taken the initiative to focus their efforts on composting. Now, the
garden has biweekly workshops to focus on teaching not only
garden members but also individuals from neighboring gardens
the art of composting. The methodology that is taught at the
garden is based on effective micro-organism (EF) technology.
Moreover, the initiative aims to beautify the community itself
while continuing to utilize a sustainable model. This type of
collaborative work brings a strong sense of community and
positive energy to the neighborhood.
What is this neighborhood like? How was it before this new
solution took place?
In a sense, the neighborhood is very residential – primarily
comprised of apartment buildings, a few sustainable restaurants,
and the green space that is El Sol Brillante, El Sol Brillante Junior,
and Sour Park. As a result, the block could be described as a
very “green” zone. Prior to the garden’s establishment in the
1970s, the neighborhood had a heavy Puerto Rican population.
The vacant lot where El Sol Brillante now sits was utilized by
junkies as a shooting gallery. Many of the bodegas on the street
were merely fronts for drug operations.
1.3 History of the initiative
How did the project/initiative start? Who took the initiative? Why?
Can you describe a timeline of events, highlighting success and failure
aspects, major milestones? How far can you go back? How did this
initiative mature? How did it turn to be a real enterprise? (registered,
formalized etc.) Did it receive public or private support of any kind? Did it
help change the public or policy structure?
There was a push by leaders within the community to remove the
pervasive drug scene from 12th street in the early-mid 1970s to little
avail; however, once an activist collected a bucket full of hypodermic
needles and took them as evidence to the government, the vacant lot
on 12th Street was moved to the top of the list. Later on, the garden’s
land was purchased from the city for a relatively inexpensive price.
Officially, the garden was established in 1978.
1.4 Main actors
Who are the users of this initiative? Who are the promoters of this
initiative? Is there a difference between users and promoters or are they
basically the same? Describe users and promoters lifestyles?
Do the users work as a group or groups? Is there a network of related
organizations and/or individuals? Do they have any form of connection or
exchange with other similar initiatives? Was the group inspired by other
examples? Do you know counter examples, (of service ideas that did not
take-off), cases that went wrong?
Garden users vary greatly in occupation and hobbies, although they
basically all come from the immediate vicinity. The individuals are
employed outside of the garden and largely use this as a retreat on
weekends or on evenings during the week. The gardeners feel that
maintaining a garden is similar to a second, part-time job. The users
have many diverse careers - musicians, school teachers, travel
agents, film makers, therapists, lawyers, and IV soccer leaguers are
What are the technologies that the group uses? How are they
used in system?
A significant composting system is in place in the garden which is
fueled by an effective micro-organism (EF) process, the first of its
kind in New York City. This process requires use of trash cans to
store food scraps, a worm bin to ferment the soil, and trenches
throughout the garden for planting. The key difference between
traditional composting and EF is the use of bran in the fermentation
process. The whole process takes about two weeks and, provided
the rats don’t raid the soil, is ready for planting in just a months time.
All correspondence by the garden is handled by an email listserv.
Additionally, the garden has a website,
http://evpcnyc.org/elsolsr/index.html that contains limited
information about the garden. The garden members are considering
purchasing a projector for movie nights.
What communication materials do the group have? (e.g.
website, brochures, postcards, etc). What is the main purpose
of these materials? e.g. to keep participants updated about
activities (internal communication) or to get more participants
(external communication)? Does the group want to have more
The garden has a website and utilizes email as well. The purpose of
the website is two fold, both to keep participants informed and to
attract potential new members. The email however is aimed solely
for communication between members. The group definitely seems
to be interested in gaining new membership and bolstering
increased participation within the community.
1.7. Perspective for the future
What are the perspective/objectives of the group for the next
3-5 years? What are some of the success factors and possible
risks in the short medium and long term?
The group would like to implement more year round activities in the
near future with possible festivities including movie nights and
barbecues. Also, the group is heavily invested in co-developing and
adapting to emerging composting methods and hope to eventually
grow the garden completely from a compost base. In the next three
to five years the garden plans to continue hosting workshops on
composting, and encourage sustainability in the community by
working with nearby educational institutions.
1.8. Problems and opportunities
Are there any specific issues/problems/barriers that pose
threats to the initiative? Are there any main areas of concern
among the participants (leaders and users alike)? Are there any
opportunities that could be explored (that are currently not
The garden functions on a very simple democratic system;
therefore, there is little evidence of structure or hierarchy. This
system seems to be the most fair way to manage garden operations;
however, such a free system also affords lots of dissention within
the garden as members have various aesthetic and functional goals
for the space. In terms of composting dilemmas, rats pose a major
threat to the initiative.
1.9. Indications of other social innovation
Do the users participate in other entrepreneurial endeavors? Do they form
small initiatives on their own? Are members involved in other
“sustainable” services within the community? (Ex. Food Co-op,
carpooling, community gardens, etc)? Do you see evidence of wider
networks that these users contribute to?
While a few users do sell the food they’ve grown in the garden for a
profit, the garden membership only nets a 10% commission on total
sales. Across the board, garden users exhibit an interest in
sustainability and other initiatives focused on local food and green
energy in particular. Interpersonal relations between gardeners
throughout the lower east side also contributes to connections to
Website of the initiative
Interviewee name and contact information (email, address, phone
Other references (websites, articles, other people we should talk to)
Susan Greenfield: Garden Contact
Quantitative Data Exercise
How many members does the initiative have? How many are very active
in the initiative? How does individual spaces compare with shared/group
spaces? How many members are involved in other community-based
services? (Food Co-op, activist orgs, clothes swapping, bike sharing, etc.)
What is the size of the initiative in square footage?
The are approximately forty members in total, all of whom are more
or less active within the garden. In terms of property division,
individual plots comprise the garden’s central area while communal
space expands our, around the boarder. Members pay an annual fee
of $30.00 a piece for membership dues.