Hackney Guidebook to be realeased early 2015 cc Helena Smith

Inside Hackney, a free pocket guidebook, which documents all the best things Hackney has to offer, from pottery classes to authentic Vietnamese cuisine, has launched a bid for crowd funding on Indigogo Today.

Helena Smith, Inside Hackney creator and author of the Eat Hackney blog (www.eathackney.com) said: “I like the idea that I don’t actually have to travel to find world cuisine and a multitude of nationalities – it’s a world tour of Hackney.”

“There have been lots of great and positive changes in the area, and I’d like to reflect these, but also explore restaurants, cafes and organisations with deeper roots in the borough.”

A new guidebook to be launched about Hackney CC Lucie Galand

Having already raised money through sponsorship by Loughborough University and Hackney Council. Inside Hackney has set up the crowd fund to raise money to cover the rest of the £10,000 print costs and the work of the freelance contributors.

As a reward for the public’s contributions, Inside Hackney has teamed up with local businesses to offer gifts including wooden spoons hand-carved in Hackney, a hair and make-up styling class, and a home design consultation, which will be available to donors when the crowd fund has been achieved.

The guidebook will include features on the people of Hackney, and information on local art, history, cinema, and sections on community will promote volunteering and communal initiatives.

Smith, who is also a travel writer and photographer, said: “I’d like to give guidance on how people can use specific skills and interests to volunteer and deepen their involvement in the borough.”

Volunteer and submerse herself in the borough is exactly what Smith does, working for North London Action for the Homeless (NLAH), picking up gardening and cooking tips.

In 2013 Smith wrote, photographed, designed, marketed and distributed the Eat Hackney cookbook. The cookbook is in the process of raising money for local food charities Hackney Migrant Centre and North London Action for the Homeless (NLAH).

Inside Hackney will be published in January 2015, and will have a print run of 50,000.

To donate to the Inside Hackney guidebook, which will be printed locally and on environmentally friendly paper, click here.

To read ELL’s coverage of the Eat Hackney launch click here.