Bountiful Bristol launch a new way to connect and coordinate growing and sharing projects

Rachel from Bountiful Bristol shares how Karrot, a transparent and democratic platform, can help Bristol citizens coordinate local growing and food-sharing initiatives.

As spring starts to stir, we have some exciting news to share! Over the winter, we’ve been exploring a platform designed specifically for people who want to coordinate growing and food-sharing activities on a local, autonomous, and voluntary basis.

Introducing Karrot!

Karrot is a user-friendly platform that prioritises transparency, democracy, and participation. We’ve set up a Bountiful Bristol group on Karrot, and we’d love for you to join us there. Sign up now.

Each project within the wider Bountiful Bristol network — whether it’s a community growing space, a food-sharing initiative, or another grassroots project — can have its own dedicated space on Karrot for communication and coordination. You can also discover and connect with others around you through the interactive map of growers and food projects.

Please note that Bountiful Bristol will not be coordinating activity on Karrot. We simply want to offer a vision that brings people together to form their own local relationships and collaborations.

Some of you may already feel part of Bountiful Bristol, while others have established growing and sharing partnerships independently. Either way, Karrot could be a valuable tool for your work. We’re not here to put a label on what you do — we just want to share a resource that might help you connect, collaborate, and thrive!

Why not just use WhatsApp?

While WhatsApp can be convenient, it also has its challenges — it can feel intrusive and overwhelming. Karrot offers an alternative: a more structured, democratic, and boundaried way of organising.

Join our online session: Exploring Karrot

To help introduce you to the platform and explore its potential together, we’re hosting an online session. It works similarly to other collaboration tools; it’s just about getting to know it!

SIGN UP NOW for our ONLINE ‘Exploring Karrot’ event on Monday 17 March!

Getting Started with Karrot

• Request to join the group: Bountiful Bristol

• We will approve you

• Find your growing space or food project under ‘Places’

• Add this ‘place’ as a favourite by clicking the star

• Explore the platform and jot down any questions (check out Karrot Documentation for guidance)

• Add Karrot to your home screen (click sharing option, then ‘Add to Home Screen’)

• Sign up for our online ‘Exploring Karrot’ event on Monday 17 March.

• Spread the word! Invite others in your group to join.
  

We can’t wait to explore this tool together and see how it might support our growing and food-sharing communities. Let’s build connections, collaborate, and make Bristol even more bountiful!

To stay updated on future events, job opportunities and news, don’t forget to sign up for the monthly Bristol Good Food Update at bristolgoodfood.org/newsletter.