Courtesy of Roxanne C., Philadelphia PA
A reporter called recently to ask us about guerrilla gardening. It was a short interview. We don’t know much about it, though it does have some similarities with SPIN. Both use overlooked or neglected spaces to grow food. Both are practiced by free-thinkers. Both try to push boundaries.Neither can be controlled because they are used by all sorts of people in many different places.
But whereas guerrilla gardeners look to “Occupy”, SPIN farmers are establishing an occupation. Unlike quick-hit protests or fleeting bursts of self-expression, they are building, not protesting. Powered by a backyard-scale business model. these entrepreneurs are creating viable farm businesses without corporate or government support or major policy changes. They’re showing how to take the conflict out of being grassroots and profit-driven. SPIN farmers operate as serious business people, not outlaws. Because they contribute to their local economies, local authorities
are more likely to regard them as an asset and work to support them, not thwart them.
SPIN may actually have more in common with another enthusiasm of outsiders that was gaining a significant cultural toehold about the same time as guerrilla gardening – skateboarding. SPIN is different from traditional farming, and skateboarding is different from other sports, because of low barriers to entry. Both combine a high level of skill with improvisation. Both have well-developed codes, but allow for plenty of creativity. Neither require a team to  make work.
Most importantly, skateboarding has managed to make the leap from marginal to mainstream, without selling out. And that is a trick worth mastering.
Skateboarders have some things in common with SPIN farmers including….
good balance.Â
