I live in South Central. This is South Central: liquor stores, fast food, vacant lots.
我住喺中南部 中南部係咁樣嘅: 好多酒舖 好多快餐店 好多空地
So the city planners, they get together and they figure they're going to change the name South Central to make it represent something else, so they change it to South Los Angeles, like this is going to fix what's really going wrong in the city. This is South Los Angeles. (Laughter) Liquor stores, fast food, vacant lots.
之後有啲城市規劃師走到埋嚟一齊討論 佢哋決定將中南部呢個名 改成一個更加有意義嘅名 改成南洛杉磯 佢哋覺得改咗個名 就可以解決呢個城市所有問題 所以呢度係南洛杉磯(笑聲) 好多酒舖 好多快餐 好多空地
Just like 26.5 million other Americans, I live in a food desert, South Central Los Angeles, home of the drive-thru and the drive-by. Funny thing is, the drive-thrus are killing more people than the drive-bys. People are dying from curable diseases in South Central Los Angeles. For instance, the obesity rate in my neighborhood is five times higher than, say, Beverly Hills, which is probably eight, 10 miles away.
同其他 2,650 萬美國人一樣 我住喺一個食物荒蕪之地 就係洛杉磯中南部 亦係外賣車道普遍 同馬路槍擊頻繁嘅地方 有趣嘅係 外賣車道比馬路槍擊所奪去嘅生命仲多 喺洛杉磯中南部 好多人都死於有得醫嘅病 譬如話,我住嘅嗰區嘅癡肥率 比我哋八、十里距離外嘅比佛利山 高出五倍
I got tired of seeing this happening. And I was wondering, how would you feel if you had no access to healthy food, if every time you walk out your door you see the ill effects that the present food system has on your neighborhood? I see wheelchairs bought and sold like used cars. I see dialysis centers popping up like Starbucks. And I figured, this has to stop. So I figured that the problem is the solution. Food is the problem and food is the solution. Plus I got tired of driving 45 minutes round trip to get an apple that wasn't impregnated with pesticides.
我對呢種情況好厭倦 所以我就開始諗 如果你冇辦法得到健康嘅食品 如果你每次出門口都睇到呢啲食物 對你嘅隔籬鄰舍產生壞影響 你會有咩感受? 我見到輪椅好似二手車咁普通咁買賣 我睇住嗰啲洗腎中心 好似星巴克咁起完一間又一間 我就諗:呢啲嘢要停喇 我後來發現問題嘅癥結係解決嘅關鍵 敗也食物,成也食物 再加上,我唔想再來回 45 分鐘車程 先至買到冇農藥嘅蘋果
So what I did, I planted a food forest in front of my house. It was on a strip of land that we call a parkway. It's 150 feet by 10 feet. Thing is, it's owned by the city. But you have to maintain it. So I'm like, "Cool. I can do whatever the hell I want, since it's my responsibility and I gotta maintain it." And this is how I decided to maintain it.
於是,我就喺屋企門前整咗一塊田 位置就係嗰條又長又窄嘅馬路邊草地 大概係 150 呎長、十呎闊 問題係,它係屬於市政府嘅 但係必須由你自己去打理 我就諗:「咁就得啦,既然由我打理, 咁我想點搞都得啦。」 咁我就決定咗咁樣搞
So me and my group, L.A. Green Grounds, we got together and we started planting my food forest, fruit trees, you know, the whole nine, vegetables. What we do, we're a pay-it-forward kind of group, where it's composed of gardeners from all walks of life, from all over the city, and it's completely volunteer, and everything we do is free. And the garden, it was beautiful.
我同洛杉磯綠地組織嘅會員 一齊合力種植農作物、果樹 你知啦,就係各式各類嘅蔬菜 我哋係人哋好心幫我 我哋好心幫其他人嘅一類組織 我哋嘅園丁嚟自各行各業 嚟自城市各個角落,百分百義務性質 而且我哋做嘅都係免費 果園好靚
And then somebody complained. The city came down on me, and basically gave me a citation saying that I had to remove my garden, which this citation was turning into a warrant. And I'm like, "Come on, really? A warrant for planting food on a piece of land that you could care less about?" (Laughter) And I was like, "Cool. Bring it." Because this time it wasn't coming up. So L.A. Times got ahold of it. Steve Lopez did a story on it and talked to the councilman, and one of the Green Grounds members, they put up a petition on Change.org, and with 900 signatures, we were a success. We had a victory on our hands. My councilman even called in and said how they endorse and love what we're doing. I mean, come on, why wouldn't they? L.A. leads the United States in vacant lots that the city actually owns. They own 26 square miles of vacant lots. That's 20 Central Parks. That's enough space to plant 725 million tomato plants. Why in the hell would they not okay this? Growing one plant will give you 1,000, 10,000 seeds. When one dollar's worth of green beans will give you 75 dollars' worth of produce. It's my gospel, when I'm telling people, grow your own food. Growing your own food is like printing your own money.
但跟住就有人去投訴 市政府搵我,同我講咗一條法律 大致上就係叫我拆咗個果園 如果唔係,我就會收到法庭傳票 我當時嘅反應係:「唔係啩? 你竟然因為我哋 喺呢笪無關痛癢嘅地方種植 而發傳票?」(笑聲) 我心諗:「話知你。」 好彩件事冇搞到好大 洛杉磯時報有報導過 Steve Lopez 記者又整咗篇報道 Steve Lopez 仲同議員 同埋綠地組織其中一名成員傾過 佢哋喺 Change.org 幫我哋 發起咗簽名運動 我哋最後爭取到九百個簽名 我哋係相當成功 我哋贏咗啦! 議員仲打電話畀我 同我講佢哋點支持 同點解鐘意我哋依家做緊嘅嘢 我覺得:梗係啦 點解佢哋會唔鐘意吖 洛杉磯嘅空地面積係全美之冠 有成 26 平方里嘅空地 相當於 20 個中央公園 呢個空間足夠種 7.25 億棵番茄樹 佢哋有乜鬼理由會唔鐘意? 一棵植物可以提供一千、一萬粒種子 價值一蚊嘅青豆 可以產生到價值 75 蚊嘅產品 我成日都同啲人講自己種食物啦 自己種嘢食就好似自己印銀紙咁 (掌聲)
(Applause)
你睇下,我同中南部有好有緣
See, I have a legacy in South Central. I grew up there. I raised my sons there. And I refuse to be a part of this manufactured reality that was manufactured for me by some other people, and I'm manufacturing my own reality.
我喺嗰邊大,我啲仔又係喺嗰邊大 但係依家呢個現實社會 係人為製造出嚟嘅 所以我好拒絕呢個現實社會 我要製造我自己嘅現實生活 而且,我係一名藝術家
See, I'm an artist. Gardening is my graffiti. I grow my art. Just like a graffiti artist, where they beautify walls, me, I beautify lawns, parkways. I use the garden, the soil, like it's a piece of cloth, and the plants and the trees, that's my embellishment for that cloth. You'd be surprised what the soil could do if you let it be your canvas. You just couldn't imagine how amazing a sunflower is and how it affects people.
花草樹木有如我嘅塗鴉 我栽種我自己嘅藝術 就好似一名塗鴉家咁,佢哋美化碰牆 我就美化草地、公園道路 花圃、泥土就好似我塊畫布咁 花草樹木就係呢塊布嘅點綴飾物 如果你將塊地當成你嘅畫布 佢嘅鬼斧神工係你所預料唔到嘅 你係冇辦法想像到一朵向日葵有幾靚 亦都估唔到佢點對人有影響
So what happened? I have witnessed my garden become a tool for the education, a tool for the transformation of my neighborhood. To change the community, you have to change the composition of the soil. We are the soil. You'd be surprised how kids are affected by this. Gardening is the most therapeutic and defiant act you can do, especially in the inner city. Plus you get strawberries.
咁,究竟發生咗咩事呢? 我見證住自己嘅花圃 變成有教育意義嘅事 同埋改造到我個社區 但我想講,要改變社區 就要先改變泥土嘅成份 而我哋就係泥土 你會好驚訝花圃點樣可以影響到細路仔 園藝尤其是喺城市入邊 係最有治療功效嘅 兼最可以放膽做嘅行為 再加上,你可以攞到士多啤梨
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
I remember this time, there was this mother and a daughter came, it was, like, 10:30 at night, and they were in my yard, and I came out and they looked so ashamed. So I'm like, man, it made me feel bad that they were there, and I told them, you know, you don't have to do this like this. This is on the street for a reason. It made me feel ashamed to see people that were this close to me that were hungry, and this only reinforced why I do this, and people asked me, "Fin, aren't you afraid people are going to steal your food?" And I'm like, "Hell no, I ain't afraid they're gonna steal it. That's why it's on the street. That's the whole idea. I want them to take it, but at the same time, I want them to take back their health."
我記得有次有對母女過嚟 嗰次大概係夜晚十點半左右 佢哋嚟到我個園圃 然之後我行咗出去,佢哋睇起嚟好冇面 但見到咁,我覺得好難受 我就同佢哋講話︰ 「其實你哋唔使咁樣, 之所以種喺條街度係有原因嘅。」 睇住住喺我附近嘅人肚餓咁生活 令到我好唔好意思 呢件事亦都令我堅定我所做嘅嘢 有啲人會問我:「乜你唔驚 啲人嚟偷你啲食物咩?」 我就話喇︰「梗係唔會啦, 我唔驚佢哋會嚟偷嘢食。 我擺得喺度就預咗佢哋攞。 呢個就係我設立園圃嘅目的。 我希望佢哋去攞,但係喺同一時間, 我希望佢哋飲食會更加健康。」
There's another time when I put a garden in this homeless shelter in downtown Los Angeles. These are the guys, they helped me unload the truck. It was cool, and they just shared the stories about how this affected them and how they used to plant with their mother and their grandmother, and it was just cool to see how this changed them, if it was only for that one moment.
仲有一次 我喺洛杉磯市中心嘅 一間流浪漢之家整咗個園圃 嗰啲流浪漢好好心 幫我將啲嘢由個貨車搬落嚟 成個園圃計劃都好正 之後佢哋都分享返呢件事 講呢件事對佢哋嘅影響 同埋講返佢哋點同佢哋媽咪 阿嫲阿婆一齊種嘢 即使個影響只不過係一時三刻都好 睇見園圃對佢哋嘅影響,我好開心
So Green Grounds has gone on to plant maybe 20 gardens. We've had, like, 50 people come to our dig-ins and participate, and it's all volunteers. If kids grow kale, kids eat kale. (Laughter) If they grow tomatoes, they eat tomatoes. (Applause) But when none of this is presented to them, if they're not shown how food affects the mind and the body, they blindly eat whatever the hell you put in front of them.
咁,到依家綠地組織 已經設立咗可能廿個園圃 我們已經有五十個人幫手耕種 佢哋全部都係義工 如果啲細路種甘藍菜 咁佢哋就食甘藍菜 (笑聲) 如果佢哋種番茄 咁佢哋就食番茄(掌聲) 但係如果佢哋未曾見過呢啲食物 如果冇人畀佢哋睇清楚 食物係點樣影響身體 佢哋就會好盲目食你擺喺佢哋面前嘅嘢
I see young people and they want to work, but they're in this thing where they're caught up -- I see kids of color and they're just on this track that's designed for them, that leads them to nowhere. So with gardening, I see an opportunity where we can train these kids to take over their communities, to have a sustainable life. And when we do this, who knows? We might produce the next George Washington Carver. but if we don't change the composition of the soil, we will never do this.
我見過後生仔想搵份工做 但係佢哋被呢個現實社會限制咗 我識得好多非白種人嘅年輕人 身處呢個困局 無前途可言 所以,我就諗 我哋可以用呢個園藝計劃 去訓練呢啲細路 畀佢哋去接掌佢哋嘅社區 畀佢哋可以自力更生 我哋咁樣做嘅時候 無人知道日後佢哋會有咩創舉 我哋可能培養出 喬治.華盛頓.卡弗二世嘅人 但如果一日我們唔改變泥土嘅成份
Now this is one of my plans. This is what I want to do.
我哋永遠就唔會有可能
I want to plant a whole block of gardens where people can share in the food in the same block. I want to take shipping containers and turn them into healthy cafes. Now don't get me wrong. I'm not talking about no free shit, because free is not sustainable. The funny thing about sustainability, you have to sustain it. (Laughter) (Applause) What I'm talking about is putting people to work, and getting kids off the street, and letting them know the joy, the pride and the honor in growing your own food, opening farmer's markets.
依家,呢個就係我其中一個計劃 呢個就係我想做嘅嘢 我想種一大片田 畀啲街坊可以分享食物 我想將貨櫃變成有益嘅咖啡廳 嗱,唔好誤會 我唔係話乜鬼都唔使錢 因為免費係冇辦法可以經營落去嘅 經營係一件好得意嘅嘢 就係你必須經營落去 (笑聲、掌聲) 我所講嘅係畀人有工作 畀細路仔有地方可以去,唔使喺條街度 同時畀佢哋體會下 自己種嘢食、自己開農產品市場 嘅樂趣、喜悅,同埋光榮
So what I want to do here, we gotta make this sexy. So I want us all to become ecolutionary renegades, gangstas, gangsta gardeners. We gotta flip the script on what a gangsta is. If you ain't a gardener, you ain't gangsta. Get gangsta with your shovel, okay? And let that be your weapon of choice.
我而家喺度想做嘅係 首先我哋必須要令 農圃耕作搞到好有噱頭 我想大家都變成環保革命分子 環保派系、環保幫派園丁 從今我哋要改寫幫派嘅描述 如果你唔係園丁,咁你就唔係幫派份子 要做幫派份子 就要攞起你個鏟,明冇? 等個鏟成為你嘅武器
(Applause)
(掌聲)
So basically, if you want to meet with me, you know, if you want to meet, don't call me if you want to sit around in cushy chairs and have meetings where you talk about doing some shit -- where you talk about doing some shit. If you want to meet with me, come to the garden with your shovel so we can plant some shit.
基本上,如果你想見我 就係如果你想見面嘅話 你一定唔可以淨係想坐喺度開會 講埋晒你想咩嘢嘅廢話 如果你係想同我見面嘅 咁就嚟農圃呢度 帶埋你個鏟,我哋一起種嘢 係咁多,多謝
Peace. Thank you.
(掌聲)
(Applause) Thank you. (Applause)
多謝(掌聲)