ORME ETS ORTI METROPOLITANI

ORME ETS, ORTI METROPOLITANI

is an umbrella association based in Turin (IT). ORME brings together different organisations (NGOs, associations, social cooperatives, social enterprises, and other entities) which are active in urban agriculture to promote collaboration and to design a common agenda from a bottom-up perspective.

The association was founded in October 2021 by seven organisations located within in the city of Turin after an intense co-design process started in 2016. At the present time, the organisations that are eligible to join the association belong to the area of the City of Turin. However, ORME plans to cross city boundaries and soon include stakeholders and practices from other territories.

The willingness to establish a network between associations was born from a bottom-up perspective: on one hand, the association was aiming to have political representation and to be acknowledged by the local administration as a critical mentoring partner; and on the other, they wanted to exchange knowledge and best practice undertaken by each organisation, and to develop capacity building processes and training potential. This aimed to increase the impact of the urban gardens for the benefit of the community.

As a network of urban gardening projects, ORME offers a significant contribution to the City of Turin and to the member associations. For the Municipality, ORME is a new valuable social partner for the governance of urban garden initiatives, the maintenance of public spaces and the codesign of policies and projects addressing urban green areas.

For the members, ORME allows institutional representation of the organisations and encourages knowledge exchange and collaboration.

ORME focuses on:

• advocacy and codesign with the administration and other stakeholders;

• networking and exchange of practices at local and international level;

• raising citizens' awareness and promoting engagement in urban gardening;

• systemic empowerment and sharing of resources among the members.

The direct beneficiaries of ORME are:

• the organisations that are members of ORME and those that will join in the future;

• the Public Administration and the local stakeholders, which can take advantage of the active dialogue and expert advice of ORME, as a prominent actor in the fields of horticulture, promotion of well-being and public health through green spaces and sustainable food systems.

• urban networks and local associations which are active in various fields (e.g., neighbourhood committees, social housing, training and employment agencies, etc.)

• And, of course, the citizens.

This variety allows ORME to design ambitious projects and strategic partnerships.

Contact email address: ormetorinesi@gmail.com