This Allotment: Stories of Growing, Eating and Nurturing- Chelsea History Festival
This Allotment: Stories of Growing, Eating and Nurturing editor Sarah Rigby will be joined by allotment historian JC Niala and chef Olia Hercules to explore what allotments reveal about resilience, resistance, and freedom.
Allotments are more than just plots of land—they are a microcosm of society. Fiercely guarded patches where people claim their space, yet also places of community, shared harvests, and recipes from around the world. They are filled with blowsy dahlias, buzzing bees, cups of tea in tumbledown sheds, and the wisdom of weeds and seeds. This collection of twelve pieces from gardeners, writers, and historians celebrates these vibrant spaces that nurture far more than just plants.
In this discussion, three of its contributors: Sarah, JC and Olia will explore growing, eating, and nurturing in these special places, and what allotments reveal about ourselves and society.
Speakers:
Sarah Rigby
Sarah Rigby is an editor, publisher, book coach, and publishing director at the independent publisher Elliott & Thompson. She has worked with acclaimed nature and place writers, including Nancy Campbell, Rob Cowen, and James Aldred. Originally from Yorkshire, Sarah now lives in London with her family, shares an allotment with her friend Viv, and volunteers with Organic Lea, a community food-growing cooperative near Epping Forest.
JC Niala
JC Niala is an allotment historian and writer who explores the connections between nature, culture, and community through allotments. Her doctoral research involved 36 months of studying allotments and urban gardening in Oxford, where she defined allotments as “banal utopias” — everyday sanctuaries where people collaboratively create paradise with nature. In 2022, she won the Social History Society Public History Prize for recreating a 1918-style allotment, leading to events, exhibitions, and the publication of a poetry journal, *Portal: 1918 Allotment*. In 2023, she collaborated with Greenpeace on *The Waiting List*, creating a large seed paper artwork highlighting the 174,183 people on allotment waiting lists and urging councils to recognize their potential for urban sustainability.
Olia Hercules
Olia Hercules is a British-Ukrainian chef, cookbook author, and activist. She has published four cookbooks, including the award-winning *Mamushka*, translated into eleven languages, and *Summer Kitchens*, which explores Ukrainian regional cuisine and preservation traditions. As a co-founder of Cook For Ukraine, she has helped raise over £2 million for those impacted by the war in Ukraine. Olia lives in London with her husband Joe and their two sons, continuing her work in writing and promoting Ukrainian culture.
Additional information
This event will take place in our first floor ‘Gallery’ space which is accessed via a narrow 22-step staircase with a handrail. Unfortunately it is not wheelchair accessible.