How we’ve transformed an unused area of the company into a vegetable garden

How to redevelop an unused area of the company? By creating a “vegetable garden in a crate“.

Oesse’s employees, divided into 8 teams, were intended to convert an outside area of the company, creating a community garden by reusing containers and creating customized benches.

Thanks to the support of the cooperative Il Piccolo Principe we learned the principles to follow about the choice of plants, the distance to be maintained, maintenance, the composition between soil and fertilizer, and other key aspects for the success of the task.

In order to create their own vegetable garden in a crate, each team was given a budget to buy the desired mix of plants at the ‘market’ set up by the cooperative.

The teams decided independently on the division of the roles: some bought the plants, some planted the plants, some assembled and painted the benches, and some helped with the landscaping of the communal areas and flowerbeds, always following the principles of the 5S Lean technique.

A shared maintenance plan has now been organized among the employees for the management of the green area and the first “fruits” have already been harvested.

CSR benefits and objectives

Carrying out this kind of activity in the company allows you to socialize, get to know your colleagues better and at the same time eat healthily: the products grown are harvested and used by employees at home or in the company canteen.

In terms of CSR, we have also:

• supported the local cooperative that deals with social and labor integration
• reused everyday materials present in the company – industrial skips to create the flowerbeds and wood from packaging (pallets) to build the benches
• made employees aware of the need to use 0-km products, encouraging a healthier diet.

The activity enabled participants to develop team-building, negotiation, problem-solving, creativity, and time management skills.