Attending the meeting were locals who are also enthusiastic gardeners at Väike-Õismäe Garden, the only community garden in the Haabersti city district. We talked about crisis readiness in our neighbourhood together and came to the conclusion that it is really important. Haabersti is a sizable district; in Väike-Õismäe alone, there are 27,000 people who reside in massive apartment buildings. But flat dwellers are among the most exposed groups during various crises; if the water, heating and electricity are cut off, things get really bad very fast’, said Anne-May Nagel, co-founder of the NGO Crisis Research Centre.

The discussion acknowledged that crisis preparedness is easier to attain when community members prepare together. “First and foremost, community preparedness offers a sense of security through a well-thought-out plan of action. Resilience in the face of any crisis is far easier once the community has been involved and the available resources in terms of skills and reserves mapped out,” said Nagel.

The community meeting is a component of an initiative being developed by the NGO Crisis Research Centre to strengthen the Väike-Õismäe settlement’s ability to offer locally based civil defence.

Photo: meeting with the Väike-Õismäe Garden activists (KRUK, 2024).