It's a warm day in April when I visit the Farm:shop in Dalston, London. Outside, the street is busy and noisy, with cars, buses and people. But when I walk into the shop, I find a very different part of London: a peaceful, calm and green space.
Farm:shop in Dalston is a farm, it's a shop, it's a café and it's a school. The shop has got a small garden, where they grow lots of vegetables, herbs and mushrooms. There are more plants and fruit inside the shop – on the floor, on shelves and growing up the walls! There are also large tanks of fish and even chickens on the roof!
You can eat food from the shop at the café and you can learn about farming and gardening at special classes. Upstairs, on the third floor, there is a meeting room for local businesses. You can have a party here or you can hire a desk and work here.
Susan Turner visits the shop once or twice a week. 'I love the fresh food,' she says, 'and I like visiting the chickens on the roof! There are always new things in the shop. Today I'm buying carrots, potatoes and some eggs.'
Pierre Dupont is enjoying a cup of coffee and a piece of homemade cake in the café. 'I'm a writer,' he says, 'but it's difficult and boring to stay at home all day. I come here in the afternoons and I use a desk upstairs in the meeting room. Sometimes I help in the shop. There are always interesting people here.'
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