Colonists | 2014-18.brussels

Two middle-aged men pull a harrow to dig furrows. The picture was taken in June 1915 at Josaphat Park in Schaerbeek. This family playground was also turned into a vegetable garden. Even though the capital still had a look of countryside, not all the citizens could find a plot in which to cultivate as a mean to fight scarcity. Supported by communal authorities, the habitants organized the exploitation of abandoned plots. They were called “colonists”.

Besides caring for the gardens, the colonists organized the surveillance of their plots. Indeed, pilfering was common. Therefore, the vegetable growers organised patrols that circulated around the gardens at night and on Sundays.