Le potager partagé
The Shared Garden
Two teenagers from neighborhoods that don't usually mix end up organizing a shared community garden together.
- cooperation
- environment
Tap an underlined word to see its meaning.
What you'll encounter
- Grammar
- passé composé
- pendant que/alors que
- relative clauses with qui/que/où
- Vocabulary
- gardening and neighborhood vocabulary
- cooperation vocabulary
- Skills
- following two characters' perspectives in parallel
- understanding cooperation as a resolution type
Blockhaus et Danga sont deux quartiers d’Abidjan, dans la zone de Cocody, séparés par un terrain vague. Les deux quartiers ne se parlent pas beaucoup, surtout par habitude plus que par vrai conflit.
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Blockhaus and Danga are two neighborhoods in Abidjan, in the Cocody district, separated by an empty lot. The two neighborhoods don't talk to each other much, mostly out of habit more than real conflict.
Le terrain vague fait à peu près la taille d’un terrain de football. Des herbes hautes poussent entre de vieux pneus et des bouteilles en plastique. Personne ne s’occupe de ce terrain depuis des années, et les enfants du quartier ont même peur d’aller jouer là, à cause des rats.
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The empty lot is roughly the size of a football field. Tall weeds grow between old tires and plastic bottles. Nobody has taken care of it in years, and the neighborhood children are even afraid to play there, because of the rats.
Issa habite à Blockhaus. Il remarque depuis des mois que le terrain vague est plein de déchets et de mauvaises herbes. Un samedi, il décide d’aller ramasser quelques sacs de déchets sur ce terrain, seul.
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Issa lives in Blockhaus. He has noticed for months that the empty lot is full of trash and weeds. One Saturday, he decides to go pick up a few bags of trash there, alone.
Au même moment, de l’autre côté du terrain, Aminata, qui habite à Danga, a eu exactement la même idée. Les deux adolescents arrivent à quelques minutes d’intervalle, chacun avec un sac de déchets à la main.
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At the same time, on the other side of the lot, Aminata, who lives in Danga, has had the exact same idea. The two teenagers arrive within a few minutes of each other, each holding a trash bag.
« Qu’est-ce que tu fais là ? » demande Aminata, un peu surprise. « Je nettoie », répond Issa. « Ce terrain me dérange depuis longtemps. Et toi ? » « Pareil », dit-elle. « Je passe ici tous les jours. »
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"What are you doing here?" asks Aminata, a little surprised. "I'm cleaning up," answers Issa. "This lot has bothered me for a long time. And you?" "Same thing," she says. "I walk by here every day."
Les deux se regardent, un peu . Leurs quartiers ne se mélangent pas beaucoup d’habitude, mais là, tout de suite, ils ont tous les deux le même sac de déchets en main, et la même raison d’être là.
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The two of them look at each other, a little awkwardly. Their neighborhoods usually don't mix much, but right now, they both have the same trash bag in hand, and the same reason for being there.
Après une heure à ramasser des déchets ensemble, Issa dit une idée à voix haute : « On peut faire quelque chose d’utile avec ce terrain, au lieu de juste le nettoyer. Comme un potager, peut-être, pour tout le quartier. »
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After an hour of picking up trash together, Issa says an idea out loud: "We can do something useful with this lot, instead of just cleaning it. Like a garden, maybe, for the whole neighborhood."
Aminata aime l’idée tout de suite. « Ma grand-mère a des graines de son village », dit-elle. « Des tomates, des piments, du maïs. Elle va être contente de nous donner des graines, je pense. »
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Aminata likes the idea right away. "My grandmother has seeds from her village," she says. "Tomatoes, peppers, corn. She's going to be happy to give us some, I think."
Les semaines suivantes, Issa et Aminata organisent plusieurs réunions, d’abord juste entre eux, puis avec d’autres jeunes des deux quartiers. Certains adultes sont au début.
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The following weeks, Issa and Aminata organize several meetings, first just between themselves, then with other young people from both neighborhoods. Some adults are skeptical at first.
« Blockhaus et Danga, qui travaillent ensemble sur un potager ? » demande un voisin plus âgé, . « On va voir combien de temps ça dure. » Mais Issa et Aminata continuent quand même, sans se .
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"Blockhaus and Danga, working together on a garden?" asks an older neighbor, doubtful. "We'll see how long that lasts." But Issa and Aminata keep going anyway, undiscouraged.
Ils divisent les tâches : Issa s’occupe de contacter la mairie pour obtenir la permission d’utiliser le terrain, pendant qu’Aminata organise les adolescents en petites équipes pour l’arrosage et la plantation.
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They divide the tasks: Issa takes care of contacting the city hall for permission to use the lot, while Aminata organizes the teenagers into small teams for watering and planting.
Petit à petit, le terrain change. Les déchets disparaissent, la terre est , et de petites plantes apparaissent en rangées droites. Des adolescents des deux quartiers viennent régulièrement, après l’école.
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Little by little, the lot changes. The trash disappears, the ground is turned over, and small plants appear in straight rows. Teenagers from both neighborhoods come regularly, after school.
Un soir, en arrosant les plants de tomates, Issa admet à Aminata : « Avant, je n’ai pas beaucoup aimé les gens de Danga. Je ne sais pas pourquoi, en fait. »
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One evening, while watering the tomato plants, Issa admits to Aminata: "Before, I didn't like people from Danga very much. I don't know why, actually."
« J’ai pensé la même chose de Blockhaus », répond Aminata en riant. « Je crois qu’on n’a simplement jamais eu de raison de se parler avant. »
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"I thought the same thing about Blockhaus," Aminata answers, laughing. "I guess we just never had a reason to talk to each other before."
Deux mois plus tard, le potager produit ses premières tomates et ses premiers piments. Tout le quartier, les deux côtés ensemble, organise un petit repas avec la récolte, directement dans le potager.
Show English
Two months later, the garden produces its first tomatoes and peppers. The whole neighborhood, both sides together, organizes a small meal with the harvest, right there in the garden.
Des tables et des chaises sont installées entre les rangées de légumes. Les enfants courent partout, et une grand-mère de Danga apporte une sauce épicée pour accompagner les tomates fraîches. Pour la première fois depuis longtemps, les deux quartiers mangent ensemble, dans la même cour.
Show English
Tables and chairs are set up between the rows of vegetables. Children run everywhere, and a grandmother from Danga brings a spicy sauce to go with the fresh tomatoes. For the first time in a long while, the two neighborhoods eat together, in the same yard.
Le voisin sceptique d’avant vient aussi, et goûte une tomate cultivée dans le potager partagé. « Pas mauvais », admet-il, souriant malgré lui. Issa et Aminata se regardent, fiers de ce qu’ils ont construit ensemble.
Show English
The skeptical neighbor from before comes too, and tastes a tomato grown in the shared garden. "Not bad," he admits, smiling despite himself. Issa and Aminata look at each other, proud of what they've built together.
Show full English translation
Blockhaus and Danga are two neighborhoods in Abidjan, in the Cocody district, separated by an empty lot. The two neighborhoods don't talk to each other much, mostly out of habit more than real conflict.
The empty lot is roughly the size of a football field. Tall weeds grow between old tires and plastic bottles. Nobody has taken care of it in years, and the neighborhood children are even afraid to play there, because of the rats.
Issa lives in Blockhaus. He has noticed for months that the empty lot is full of trash and weeds. One Saturday, he decides to go pick up a few bags of trash there, alone.
At the same time, on the other side of the lot, Aminata, who lives in Danga, has had the exact same idea. The two teenagers arrive within a few minutes of each other, each holding a trash bag.
"What are you doing here?" asks Aminata, a little surprised. "I'm cleaning up," answers Issa. "This lot has bothered me for a long time. And you?" "Same thing," she says. "I walk by here every day."
The two of them look at each other, a little awkwardly. Their neighborhoods usually don't mix much, but right now, they both have the same trash bag in hand, and the same reason for being there.
After an hour of picking up trash together, Issa says an idea out loud: "We can do something useful with this lot, instead of just cleaning it. Like a garden, maybe, for the whole neighborhood."
Aminata likes the idea right away. "My grandmother has seeds from her village," she says. "Tomatoes, peppers, corn. She's going to be happy to give us some, I think."
The following weeks, Issa and Aminata organize several meetings, first just between themselves, then with other young people from both neighborhoods. Some adults are skeptical at first.
"Blockhaus and Danga, working together on a garden?" asks an older neighbor, doubtful. "We'll see how long that lasts." But Issa and Aminata keep going anyway, undiscouraged.
They divide the tasks: Issa takes care of contacting the city hall for permission to use the lot, while Aminata organizes the teenagers into small teams for watering and planting.
Little by little, the lot changes. The trash disappears, the ground is turned over, and small plants appear in straight rows. Teenagers from both neighborhoods come regularly, after school.
One evening, while watering the tomato plants, Issa admits to Aminata: "Before, I didn't like people from Danga very much. I don't know why, actually."
"I thought the same thing about Blockhaus," Aminata answers, laughing. "I guess we just never had a reason to talk to each other before."
Two months later, the garden produces its first tomatoes and peppers. The whole neighborhood, both sides together, organizes a small meal with the harvest, right there in the garden.
Tables and chairs are set up between the rows of vegetables. Children run everywhere, and a grandmother from Danga brings a spicy sauce to go with the fresh tomatoes. For the first time in a long while, the two neighborhoods eat together, in the same yard.
The skeptical neighbor from before comes too, and tastes a tomato grown in the shared garden. "Not bad," he admits, smiling despite himself. Issa and Aminata look at each other, proud of what they've built together.
Words to know
- gênés
- — awkward
- sceptiques
- — skeptical
- dubitatif
- — doubtful
- décourager
- — get discouraged
- retournée
- — turned over