Interkontinentale Gärten 2.0

The Intercontinental Gardens are a cultural courtyard garden and a neighborhood gathering space in the heart of Offenbach. Together with local volunteers, we are creating a green urban oasis — a place for gardening, learning, cooking, and simply spending time together.

In the courtyard, a mobile kitchen, community celebrations, workshops, and open learning formats are taking shape. Activities range from exploring herbal knowledge, urban climate, and biodiversity to reading, drawing, writing, and sharing meals. Some formats are developed with long-term partner groups, including Honjok and its working group on resilience against loneliness, inclusive caretaker teams from MainArbeit, and students. Other activities are open to everyone, welcoming people of different ages and backgrounds, with a strong focus on accessibility and participation.

At the end of April, we moved into our new location. Since then, we have been settling in: arranging materials, building garden beds, planting, and slowly bringing the space to life. As soon as the kitchen is ready, we will celebrate the opening with our first public gathering at Aliceplatz — the true beginning of the year for us.

We see the cultural courtyard garden as a form of social infrastructure: a place that creates encounters, counters loneliness, and encourages collective shaping of urban space. As a prototype, the garden explores how unused inner courtyards can become places for cultural learning, exchange, and everyday togetherness.

The project was initiated by Jihae An and Heiner Blum. Partner organisations include HfG Offenbach (experimental spatial concepts), the Culture/Construction/Environment/Youth/Employment Office, the Youth Court and the Children & Youth Parliament, as well as SCAPE°, Gemeinnützige Baugesellschaft mbH Offenbach and NGOs focusing on climate, sustainability and inclusion.