DIY Baltimore: A Foodmakers Potluck at the Baltimore Free Farm

On the last Saturday in February, around forty people gathered together for a potluck meal in the Baltimore Free Farm warehouse. It was the monthly Foodmakers potluck, and the theme was “Seeds.”

In keeping with the monthly theme there was a seedling workshop, and afterward everyone shared the food they had brought: sesame seed ice cream, pear muffins, even homemade cider and beer.

Someone passed around inaugural drafts of the “Bnote,” a proposed local currency for Baltimore. People traded recipes and gardening tips, met new friends and learned about each other’s jobs and hobbies. There were side conversations about other groups like the Mid-Atlantic Primitive Skills organization or the Baltimore Farm Network. New visitors to the Free Farm space learned a little about the creative re-use that defines the Free Farm’s construction, such as the former cubicle walls that now provide insulation and improved audio quality to the walls of the event space.

“There was so much interest in this potluck,”said Brian, one of the organizers for the Foodmaker potlucks. “About forty people RSVP’d, and there was twenty more on the waiting list."We’re going to have to start meeting in bigger places!”

The Foodmakers google group and monthly potlucks are starting to spiral off into other events. There was talk about future plans for events like ChiliBrew, a smashing success of a fundraiser that showcases local home-brewers and chili-makers. The inaugural event last May raised money for Velocipede, a local co-operative organization that recycles bike parts and teaches people how to fix their own bikes, and the Baltimore Free School, which holds workshops to promote community learning beyond the standard educational structure.

Andrew Mattingly,one of the members of the Baltimore Free Farm, described the many ways that the Free Farm is part of this larger Baltimore DIY ecosystem. They have hosted workshops with Baltimore Honey, gained free construction materials by volunteering with the Loading Dock, and have taught the community about gardening by hosting a number of garden work days.

"I don't feel that you can have sustainability without a community," said Andrew. "People all have their own specialty-- working on sound for events, doing construction, gardening. DIY encompasses so many different aspects."

To list all of the Baltimore DIY music venues, art spaces, activist groups, alternative living spaces, gardens, educators, makers, design collectives and more would be an impossible task. There is even a group of people who make their own board games!

Spend enough time at any of these places and you just might become a frequent volunteer, event organizer, or amateur expert. There is an inspiring community of folks out there who love creating things for their own lives and community. The more people who are involved, the more skills and resources we all share together.

Aliza Ess blogs on urban sustainability and DIY projects at baltimorediy.org