| The Moss Cider Project | |
|---|---|
| Formation | 2010 |
| Type | Neighbourhood volunteer group |
| Purpose/focus | Making cider from locally grown apples |
| Location | Moss Side, Manchester |
| Region served | Within the M60 |
| Website | themossciderproject.org |
The Moss Cider Project is a voluntary initiative or local group, founded in 2010, by 29 year old Dan Hasler, a graphic designer, in the Moss Side area of Manchester. The purpose is to harvest, or 'scrump', unwanted fruit, from parks, or given by neighbours, in Moss Side and its surrounding areas, so that it can be mashed and made into cider.[1]
Hasler, who is a local project manager for the Manchester-based charity, Action for Sustainable Living (AfSL), got the idea from thinking about the prospective demolition of the Moss Side Stagecoach bus garage, planned for March 2011, imagining how gardens and orchards, as well as houses, could be integrated into any redevelopment.[1]
On Saturday 25th September 2010, a group of neighbours & volunteers gathered to 'mash-up' locally 'scrumped' apples. Having made over 40 litres of apple juice, of which 35 is being turned into cider, the group are already planning the next crop, to be achieved with the help of grafting more fruit trees and, maybe, growing enough in future to sell at the Manchester Christmas markets. It is planned that leftover pulp will be donated as compost for local allotments.[2]
At the 'mash-up' event, Jo Wilkes, of AfSL, told BBC reporters, "...it is a fantastic scheme which is changing the perception of the area", and continued, "...I love living here and making the alleyways into community spaces and gardens is the sort of thing that we support, especially in Moss Side"[2]