Proposed project an entry in the Mahindra Spark the Rise Project Championship.

Project Implementation Examples

The idea of School Garden was conceptualized and set up at Loyola Composite Pre-University college with the help of one organization, that funded this project. An Eco-Club was formed, comprising of 16-18 students from 8th and 9th standards, to maintain the terrace garden and this was a huge success. These students have displayed initiative and enthusiasm in maintaining the garden on their own and are very involved that they reach out with questions and related problems they face. These students have been supported by their teachers and have been able to harvest 3 kilos of greens within 30 days of starting the project. Vegetables harvested from this project have been directly diverted to their mid-day meal preparation, which is an achievement in itself. This has fostered a green community within the school today.

The second school which has its own garden is B M English School located in Hennur, Bengaluru. The high school students of the ICSE division were introduced to gardening through a workshop and ever since have played an active role in maintaining their garden and are part of the “Green Club” in school. The vegetables grown are sold to their teachers and it is observed that their knowledge of plants, seeds etc. have increased tremendously and are able to identify them with ease.

See the project proposal here.

“Our research was conducted with 35 farming families across eight sites.”

Team: John Brett, Jessica Cook, Dr. Debbi Main, Kate Oviatt

Excerpt:

Of the 35 farm families interviewed, only one reported growing crops primarily for personal consumption. Most indicated that they may consume a little of their produce, but reported that they buy most of their food. Farm families that grow crops exclusively for personal consumption are likely to have other means of employment and, therefore, spend less time working in the field–which is probably why we didn’t run into more subsistence farmers in the field. Once crops are harvested, the majority are sold through one or more of the many distribution options available to Delhi farmers.

We identified three primary types of distribution options: direct to consumer, direct to vendor, and market sales. Direct to consumer and direct to vendor (vendors coming directly to the farm to pick-up crops) were not widely used distribution strategies, and less than a third of farmers mentioned either of these. The majority of Delhi farmers sell their produce at various markets in the city, the most popular for this group being Chandri Chowk and Azadpur Sabzi (check out ‘Images from Vegetable Wholesale Market’ below). Farmers who grow roses or marigolds often take their harvest to Chandri Chowk, a market known for selling Hindu ceremonial items. Many farmers sell their produce themselves at the markets, while others reported selling it to a vendor/distributor who then sells to the consumer. Most farmers used at least two distribution options, but a few reported using up to three or four.

Read the complete blog posting here.

Bangalore produces over 2000 to 3000 tonnes of waste everyday. The centralized government composting plant can handle only 500 tonnes per day. The rest reaches dumps that are illegal.

In just five years the Daily Dump team has helped over 4,500 customers in Bengaluru to compost household waste in terracotta pots, and these customers keep around 5,522kg of organic waste out of landfills every day. What is remarkable about Poonam Bir Kasturi’s waste management process is its simplicity, and the cleverly designed terracotta pots add a touch of earthiness to it.

Poonam Bir Kasturi with her terracotta pots.

Bengaluru’s Poonam Bir Kasturi, a former student of the National Institute of Design, has one obsession: that of managing kitchen waste. She is the brain behind Daily Dump, that turns our daily garbage into nutrient waste. Since waste management is not “sexy enough” for most people, she has designed attractive and innovative terracotta pots in which the waste can be managed.

See the article about Poonam here.

See the Daily Dump website here.

Neighbourhood composting on the streets of India

Composting for apartments/flats in India

Composting at home in India

Bangaloreans are starting a movement to grow organic food for their families.

By Mari Marcel Thekaekara |
New Internationalist
Nov 25, 2011

Excerpt:

Before it hit the headlines in the mid nineties, as a high-tech international ‘IT city’, which Bangalored jobs from all around the globe, Bangalore was known as ‘India’s garden city’, a pensioner’s paradise. It was a charming little town, sleepy and laid back. Everyone took pride in their gardens. Even now, apart from the terrible infrastructure because the city couldn’t cope with the huge influx of people who flooded in to run the IT centres, the old parts of Bangalore town are still charming. Quiet, safe neighbourhoods filled with trees, flowers, cottages, tiled roofs, and nice old houses: generally a far nicer city than Mumbai, Delhi or Kolkata.

The centre of Bangalore has tree lined avenues and people fight to save their trees from widening roads and gigantic flyovers. Sadly, it’s often, a losing battle. In late January, February and March you see bluey-purple Jacaranda, interspersed with golden laburnum. May is a blaze of scarlet Gul Mohur. Each season has something new to offer. The old parts are changing rapidly though, because land prices have gone sky high. The result of the Bangalore boom is that huge tracts of agricultural lands and fertile farm lands have been gobbled up to grow the city.

Read the complete article here.

“The importance and requirement for urban agriculture will only grow in the coming years as transportation costs keep increasing,” says AK Das, senior assistant director, National Horticulture Board.

By Nidhi Nath Srinivas and Pk Krishna Kumar
Economic Times India
18 Nov. 2011

Excerpt:

NEW DELHI | KOCHI: Delhi-based homemaker Shaifali Chikermane had had enough of vegetables laced with deadly chemicals and deceptive sheen. So she decided to take matters into her own hands. Literally so, because just a few months later she has a spread of 25 pots with garlic, onion, green spinach, red spinach, peas, cauliflower, chillies, ginger and herbs growing on the terrace of her 800 sq ft flat.

Chikermane belongs to an expanding tribe of city dwellers across the country who have taken to growing vegetables and reducing dependence on the marketplace. These urban farmers are using every inch of available space for growing fresh vegetables that are salubrious for household budgets as well, especially in these times of raging food inflation.

“Influenced by a friend who does organic farming, I started by making compost out of raw fruit, vegetables, paper and hay in a water bucket,” says Chikermane, 39. “Within three weeks, I had my compost. Carrying the large pots up four floors was a challenge, but I saw it as part of the game.”

Read the complete article here.

How will South Asia cities be fed?

By Kranti Prakash
Bihar, India
Email: kranti_prakash@hotmail.com

How will South Asia cities be fed? – Is an important question demanding attention due to rapidly growing urban population of the sub-continent. Urban and peri-urban organic agriculture is one set of activities resulting in grater food production, improved livelihood opportunities for urbanites and the enhanced environmental qualities of cities. During last decade in south Asian countries people have been experiencing rural growth rate of 17% but urban growth rate of 30% more than 6 thousand cities are in South Asia. Nearly 50000 villages have merged into cities due to urbanization. Millions of farmers had to abandon their age old practice of farming. Prices of fruits and vegetables are growing manifold.

In term of a comprehensive, citizen-driven approach to agriculture in an urban setting, the example of Mumbai stands out first and foremost in India. Perhaps due to the fact that it is the most highly urbanised “concrete jungle” of the sub-continent combined with a lack of space for waste disposal the right type of environment has emerged for the creative cultivation of plants and waste reduction through compost development in a dense urban environment. Some of the key actors of Mumbai in UA – particularly Dr. R.T. Doshi and Kisan Mehta of Prakruti – will be introduced later in this report. The most comprehensive scholarly study of UA with respect to a specific Indian metropolis concerns the forward-looking policies and experiments undertaken in Commissioner. The city is known for progressive UA policies with respect to urban horticulture, forestry and solid waste initiatives.

There is a great deal of information on a few key areas of UA in India, particularly composting, which consists of aerobic composting and vermicomposting (i.e. using worms) and the cultivation of the worms themselves (vermiculture), horticulture and aquaculture. Calcutta is known internationally for urban and peri-urban waste fed aquaculture in the extensive wetland areas near the city. These areas are under threat of redevelopment which, depending on the outcome, may have serious repercussions for food-security, livelihoods, waste management and environmental quality in the Primate City of West Bengal. Since the advances in dairying in peri-urban areas have made international headlines over the past several years and are therefore quite well documented, this report simply highlights some of the main case studies and literature related to that topic.

Comparatively less is known about animal husbandry, apart from dairying, in urban and peri-urban areas of India. Certainly, the raising of livestock in cities of the subcontinent is a well-known fact but little appears to be associated with the mainstream literature on UA. I have included relevant examples and contact persons in these sub-sections.

Finally, a section entitled “other” is a repository of disparate information concerning lesser-explored aspects of UA including sericulture (silkworm rearing), apiculture (bee-keeping and honey production), the raising of medicinal herbs and plants and the cultivation of ornamental plants, trees and shrubs.

Aristotle apparently referred to earthworms as the “intestines of the earth”. Though composting of organic waste can take place without worms, a practice known as aerobic composting the presence of these small creatures – particularly certain varieties – greatly expedites composting and improves the conversion of waste into nutrient-rich soil conditioner. However, there may be hazards associated with worm composting and the added expense may not make the resulting product commercially viable. The development and implementation of both types of composting is well documented in India, and the use of composting has attracted a great deal of attention from those outside the South Asian region.

Bangaluru based Technical Manager Jagdish Shree, whose entry into organic terrace gardening more than two years ago was, well organic! Having set up a rain water harvesting (RWH) system at his independent house in Banashankri. He grows organic vegetables likes beans and carrots. Shri got further impetus to expand his terrace garden experiment! He learnt to make his own terrace garden containers with deal wood (recycled packing material) and a metal frame, that he now uses on his terrace. The initial investment he made for the pots, boxes, compost and said was around Rs. 5000. Now he spends anywhere between Rs. 100-200 every three months. Shri is next looking to make his garden as self-sustaining as possible and minimise the inputs needed from outside such as soil and fertiliser.

He also does not want to increase the water consumption significantly for the garden. He has just started experiementing with growing fruits like guava, pomegranate and sapota. At a personal level, Shri believes his experiment with organic terrace gardening is yielding a lot of insights into a mini eco-system and the time spent in the garden is one of the most relaxing times for him in the day. He usually immerses himself in his garden over weekends and evenings after he returns from work. His wife Vani helps him out with the planning and sowing of seeds, while his four-year-old daughter enjoys the occasional watering of plants if allowed to! His 12-year-old son, on the other hand, is more neutral towards this exercise, says Shri. Here are some pointers from the man himself, for those interested in setting up their own organic terrace garden: Start small with a few pots for vegetables like greens, chillies and tomatoes. Then slowly expand the garden based on your experience and confidence.

• Start small with a few pots for vegetables like greens, chillies and tomatoes. Then slowly expand the garden based on your experience and confidence.

• More importantly – ask yourself what the real purpose of organic gardening is for you – Is it a measure of ROI (cost of inputs to market value of output), value of time spent in the garden versus doing some other ‘productive job’? And what is the purpose of growing the plants – is it to provide us with food, feed the various insects (so called “pests”) to propagate themselves or something else? Shri quotes Woody Tasch, founder of Slow Money (a US-based company): “Each head of broccoli that I grow costs me at least ten times what I could purchase an equivalent head for at the supermarket (or a lower multiple of an equivalent head at the health food store). In terms of economic rationality, my time working in the garden is wasted: I am investing thousands of dollars’ worth of time to produce vegetables with a market value of hundreds of dollars.

To a “ground zero” way of thinking, there is no such thing as an “equivalent” head of broccoli available from any purveyor, and what is incalculably valuable is the satisfaction that comes with the good work that is connected to the land. If it is not rooted in respite from good work, leisure becomes as cheap as the cheap food that makes it possible. If it is fresh, organic, and the product of my own nurturing over a few-month period, then broccoli is something more than just a product to be valued in terms of its market price and the market value of my labour”.

In the National Capital Region (Delhi-NCR), is a good for urban organic farming, because river Yamuna banks and barron land of railways tracks are very useful. Daily use vegetables likes tomato, carrot, cabbage, cauliflower, peas cucumber, chilli, okra, aubergine, pumpkin etc.

Reap What You Sow -Eat What You Grow! 10th-12th December 2011, Mumbai

From Urban Leaves:

The aim of hosting this seminar is to give faces to names, learn some amazing gardening secrets from experienced practitioners, interact and meet all those like minded people across the country with whom we have been sharing our joys of harvests, sharing tips on composting, sowing and reaping up till now on e–groups and networking sites.

We hope this seminar will act as a catalyst to the growth in urban gardens which began last year with the first ever urban farming seminar in Bangalore. The seminar has therefore been designed keeping in mind the needs of urban gardeners.

We hope to have loads of interaction and fun, group discussion and a happy heart to take back sweet memories and a song in our heart as we begin working on our urban gardens once we are back at home.

Link to Urban Leaves here.

By Siddartha
194 photos

“My guess is that for a terrace garden with about 200 sq ft of 1 foot deep, good quality composted raised bed with the best designs et al put together – you should with easy effort reap more than half a kg of edible matter every day. Definitely possible in winter, other seasons might be little less.”

Red bricks line the raised beds filled with compost, no soil.

Link to photos here.

“We have a produce of more than 100 litres of milk daily and distribute it not only in this area but also adjoining ones,” says Darogha Yadav, manager of the cattle shed behind Inorbit.

By Rahul Devulapalli
Times of India
Oct 14, 2011

Excerpt:

HYDERABAD: In the backyard of IT hub of Hi-Tec City is another flourishing industry, that of cattle farming. There are an estimated 30 big and small cattle sheds in Madhapur area alone and several more in adjoining areas. The owners, now big realtors and businessmen, are unwilling to use this land for anything else apart from rearing their cows and buffaloes. Owned largely by the local Yadav community, these cattle sheds are almost invisible as they are tucked away from the hustle and bustle of Hi-Tec City.

But sometimes, when a herd of buffaloes sits nonchalantly in the middle of the traffic, one does get the hint of the existence of these pockets located in close quarters.

A stone’s throw away from In Orbit mall, home to Louis Vuittons and Tommy Hilfigers, is one of the largest cattle sheds in the area with over 50 cows lazily munching on grass here. Not too far away is another cattle shed on the main road, rubbing shoulders with electronic goods showroom and high-end apartments. Owners of these sheds maintain that the development spree in this part of Hyderabad did not blind them. “We have never thought of disposing of this land or give it for development. I do not think I would want to leave this in the future as it is more of a tradition than a business for us,” says M Srinivas Yadav, speaking hurriedly as he leaves to tend to the cattle in his shed.

Read the complete article here.

Urban Leaves: community farms in Mumbai

Urban Leaves Documentary
Reap what you sow, Eat what you grow,
Film made by Suma Josson.
(Must see! Mike)

Dedication by the filmmaker Suma Josson:
August 28th was my mother’s birthday. It is 2 months since she passed away. Daughter of a farmer she was a kitchen gardener growing her own vegetables and fruits wherever she moved. She carried the garden within her and the garden contained her energy. I know up there she is tending and watering a garden filled with the light of regeneration and hope. Let’s turn more earth organic in 2011.

Articles from the India Times celebrating Kitchen Garden Day

Mumbai goes green on the terrace

By Anahita Mukherji
India Times
Aug 28, 2011

Excerpt:

MUMBAI: Planning to turn farmer? There’s no need to leave the city. Join the growing tribe of urban farmers, who grow their own food in every nook and cranny available to them in space-starved cities.

“If everyone took to terrace farming, Mumbai would have acres of farmland, enough to make the city partially self-sustainable,” says Preeti Patil, one of the founders of Urban Leaves, an organisation whose philosophy is “Reap what you sow, eat what you grow”.

Patil certainly knows a thing or two about terrace farming. A catering officer, in charge of the Mumbai Port Trust departmental canteen, Patil and her team helped convert the port trust terrace, once a dump yard for broken equipment, into a lush green farm. Now, everything from rice and coconuts to papaya and brinjal grow there in abundance. Patil also grows vegetables in her balcony.

Read the complete article here.

Grow your own greens at home

By Nirmala Govindarajan
Times of India
Aug 27, 2011

Excerpt:

And the joy of kitchen gardening is far reaching – software professionals too, are kicked about getting their hands dirty to eat healthy. “I grow veggies on my terrace,” confirms software professional Laxminarayan S, adding, “It is important for people in urban areas to do so – it helps increase the green cover too. In fact, we used to grow veggies in our backyard when we were young. Now, because we have the money, we want someone else to grow our food for us.”

Jyothi too, grows her own veggies. “Right now, my kitchen garden has lady finger, tomatoes, onions, mint and greens,” she says.

And writer Vinita Suryanarayan too is particular about feeding her 5-year-old daughter chemical free food. “I stock up organically grown toor dal, raagi and vegetables from NGOs that grow these foods. And I don’t believe there’s any excuse for people to say they can’t find the time to look for organically grown food,” says Vinita.

Read the complete article here.

Also see Urban Leaves here.

Garden by the Bay – Purvita’s terrace garden

By Anuradha Shankar
Urban Leaves in India
Aug 9, 2011

Excerpt:

Little did I know that the house itself was on the terrace of the building, and I had to climb five floors to get there! It had been a long time since I had climbed five sets of stairs, but as I huffed and puffed my way up, I couldn’t help admiring the old wooden staircase and the beautiful entrances that adorned the houses. I was welcomed by Purvita with a big smile, and we at once hit it off, even though this was the first time we had met!

Purvita has been volunteering with the Urban Leaves team for more than a year now. She not only has a beautiful terrace garden but also is leading the Community Food garden at Nana Nani Park.

Read the complete article here.

25 grow bags will be given to each household

The New Indian Express
Aug 01, 2011

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The State Horticulture Mission-Kerala is embarking on an ambitious mission, that of extending vegetable farming to as many households and areas as possible.

The project would see the launch of rooftop vegetable farming in nearly 15,000 households under the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation and municipalities under it. It would be formally inaugurated on Tuesday.

A peri-urban (referring to peripheral areas of the city) vegetable initiative on a cluster basis, it has been envisaged against the backdrop of the reality that urbanisation is taking us away from agriculture and the younger generation is totally ignorant of the same.

It aims at comprehensive vegetable cultivation both in the city and the rural areas.

“The project is a dream-come-true for SHM-Kerala. We have been working on it for nearly three years. We have been submitting proposals to the Centre to launch the innovative concept of vegetable farming clusters. In fact, when? Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee allocated Rs 300 crore in the 2011-12 Budget for setting up the vegetable clusters, we were proud about the fact that the nucleus was our proposal,” said Dr K Prathapan, director, SHM-Kerala.

Nearly Rs 12 crore has been sanctioned for the project, which would see 25 grow bags being given to a household with the saplings of five kinds of vegetables – amaranthus (‘cheera’), long beans (‘payar’), bitter gourd (‘paavakka’), lady’s finger (‘venda’) and snake gourd (‘padavalam’). Each beneficiary would receive seeds/saplings and gardening tools/equipment free of cost.

“The project is being carried out in the Corporation areas and municipalities too on account of the fact that the city limits are getting extended. This initiative is being undertaken integrating the proposed projects of the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation and the District Panchayat,” Prathapan added.

The selection of households has been done in coordination with the Federation of Residents’ Associations Thiruvananthapuram (FRAT). “The bags will be distributed through residents’ associations to each household by FRAT,” said FRAT president Vennikkulam George Varghese and secretary N Babu in a statement issued here.

Interested people should convey the same to the residents’ association heads who, in turn, would give the list to FRAT office-bearers through the zonal office-bearers.

Meanwhile, it is learnt that SHM-Kerala is planning to extend the same to schools, farmers’ group and other associations in the coming days.

Link here.

Vriksha Nursery Blog
July 10, 2011

Excerpt:

Looking outside the windows of outbound trains in Mumbai have always been disturbing hoards of slum dwellers all along the track mooning you, open gutters heaps of garbage, swines, rats … and nestled among all this are the farms that produce roughly 40% of Mumbai’s spinach, fenugreek, coriander and other local greens. Plants like radishes, bananas, paddy are also cultivated on these farms.

The railway officials, though, have a reply. V M Malegaonkar, chief public relations officer of Central Railway, said, “We hand over the land for cultivation to prevent encroachment. However, we do not keep a check on quality or the kind of water being used for cultivation. Our primary goal is to ensure that these vacant pieces of land belonging to railway are not encroached upon.” It has been decided to allow growing vegetables along the tracks to save it from encroachers. Though the scheme for availing the land for growing vegetables is open to all, we prefer railway employees avail the offer,” a senior Western Railway official said.

This cant be happening, how can these guys be foolish enough to allow these farms to exist. All outbound trains run on diesel engines, the emissions of which have loads of harmful chemicals … ever notice a waxy layer on the spinach leaves you buy from your local bhaji wala … harmful chemicals.

Read the complete article here.

The efforts of a handful of residents has transformed a small patch of land at the Nana Nani Park at Girgaum Chowpatty into a flourishing community garden

By Shilpa Sachdev
The Times of India, Mumbai
July 16, 2011

A year back the Nana Nani Park at Girgaum Chowpatty was just a regular place where senior citizens would come for a walk in the morning, an evening jog or for some fresh air. But today, a collective of the residents in this part of South Mumbai are running their own community garden in this park. An idea that germinated a year back is now ripe with a variety of vegetation grown using organic farming techniques.

Purvita Kapadia and Ubai Husein, the core volunteers of Urban Leaves Group are the front-runners in putting up this garden together. Kapadia says, “We got land and financial support from the authorities (Nana Nani Foundation) in November 2010. The first step was to make the Amrut Mitti (AM), which takes 90-120 days to get ready.” Amrut Mitti is a nutrient rich soil made of dry leaves (soaked in Amrut Jal ) and top soil arranged in thin alternate layers in a raised bed. Amrit Jal, which acts like a catalyst for faster decomposition by providing microbes, is a solution of 1kg cow dung, 1 ltr cow urine and 50 gms jaggery in 10 ltrs water. This is kept for three days and used on fourth day when microbial activity is at its peak. After 30 days of composting this heap, a mixture of seeds of different varieties sown in this heap for greening, cutting and recycling back into the Mitti further enriches the soil to give it all nutrients.

Kapadia adds, “The idea was to prepare as much Amrut Mitti as possible before the monsoon, so as to grow all the vegetables for the season. We did not want to compromise on the soil. Making Mitti in the rains is not feasible as dry leaves are not easily available and also the compost may get compacted due to too much water and not decompose under desired aerobic conditions.”

As you enter the garden, you see different beds of plantation arranged across the place. Amrut Mitti is made in rectangular raised beds where the seeds or saplings are sown. Saplings can also be grown at home and transplanted into the garden.

Considering that the garden has not even completed a year of existence, it was splendid to see the variety of vegetation already flourishing. Bhindi, karela, baingan, turmeric, lemongrass, alu leaves and nicely growing stalks of corn and pumpkin creepers – it fills the heart with joy to see vegetables grown with one’s own hands. Neeta Amin, a volunteer says, “For the first time we realised we can also make our own mitti. The experience is very fulfilling.”

A bunch of 8-10 volunteers meets thrice a week to work on this little green space and tend to it. Purvita says, “Tuesday is the major activity day where we take up some important task (initially the process of making amrit mitti, building the trellis for creepers to climb, sowing saplings in the freshly made mitti).” Manisha Haji, another volunteer, shares her experience, “I am extremely happy to learn about growing our own vegetables. I came with an idea just to see how it is being done but it has been five months and I haven’t missed a single Tuesday.”

The concept of urban farming is very interesting. One gets to experience the nature of the soil and eventually learns what works best to be grown according to the varying season. Kapadia shares, “Every plant has its own natural demands of an atmosphere where it can grow effortlessly. Like karela, cucumber, all gourds, bhindi, corn grow very well during the rainy season. While yam, ginger, haldi are sowed in rains which have a life cycle of 10 months before harvesting. There is also companion planting where you can grow two or more plants in the same bed (corn with bhindi, tomatoes with pudina, celery with spinach). Also, when you transfer a sapling to new location, it experiences a bit of shock so woodash is used as an antiseptic and also provide instant nutrients to the plant. Farming is an extensive subject; there are endless things to learn.” Members also exchange seeds and saplings to add more colour and effort to the garden. Neetaben contributed the sitaphal plant, which is now radiant in its full glory.

Neetaben says, “There is a stark difference in vegetables you grow organically and the ones available in the market. The beauty is when you grow your own vegetables, you can immediately pluck them and cook so the food tastes really fresh. Also, the taste is a little sweeter. Palak, bhindi, karela not only cook fast but you get the actual taste, which is a little different.”

Himmatbhai Mehta, another senior volunteer member, who actually initiated and invited Urban Leaves to start an urban garden for senior citizens at the park says, “This is also a good activity for senior citizens to spend time together in a fruitful manner. Also people who want to grow but don’t have place at home can come and work in the garden. We have plans to grow medicinal plants and also plant trees according to the 27 Nakshatras – each nakshatra is identified with its own tree. Although, this will take its own time.”

Kapadia adds, “Since members don’t have enough place at home, we are also contemplating the concept of ‘ownership of a bed’ where a volunteer will adopt a bed and take the responsibility of looking after the bed – what to grow and when to harvest. It is a win-win idea as the bed will be taken care of and the volunteer will feel one with the task and be more accountable. The focus will be larger.”

The group is also getting ready to beef up the stock of vegetables for the upcoming World Kitchen Garden day celebrations on August 28 this year. The event will be celebrated with a harvest of fresh vegetables and a potluck lunch with the same. A barbeque is also a possibility if the monsoons permit.

While the harvest has been plentiful right from the first batch, each plant has only a definite capacity. Kapadia explains, “Each plant has a life span and one has to learn to let go.”

Putting up a community garden is not as easy as it looks. The success surely depends upon the dedication and commitment of the volunteers and the ones at Nana Nani Park in Girgaum have done a superlative job so far! Visit the garden and you are sure to come back with a rewarding experience!

Link here.

The beginning of a kitchen terrace garden

By Anu Shankar
Urban Leaves
July 10, 2011

Excerpt:

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Kitchen Gardens? Chances are, you would conjure up an image of an independent house surrounded by a patch of land, a section of which is filled with veggies. At least, that’s how it was for me. I remembered one of my uncle’s houses, where we had a bit of land behind, where my grandfather enthusiastically planted carrots and cabbages. It was terribly exciting for a city girl like me who had never seen vegetables being grown before, and I spent almost every minute of my holiday peering at the plants and seeing if they had grown yet!

I see the same reaction in Samhith every time we visit the Urban Leaves terrace farm at MNP. Yet, the idea of having a kitchen garden in a concrete jungle like Mumbai still seemed a distant dream. While we started our own little one in small plastic containers on our window sills, I wondered how I could possibly make it larger in the small space that we had. However, all it took was a visit to Vipul Sanghavi’s house in Sion to see that where there is a will, there is a way.

Read the complete article here.

The Garden City Farmers

Nirmala Govindarajan,
The Times of India
Jun 4, 2011

Software professional S Laxminarayan, too, joined hand with the Garden City Farmers as treasurer to help increase the green cover of the city. “I am a mechanical engineer, and when I first met Dr Viswanath three years ago, I started out by fabricating boxes to grow greens. Now, our intention is to reach out to a wide spectrum of people in Bangalore who can help increase the green cover — the middle class population, children in government schools and in time, slum dwellers too, so they can grow veggies in the limited space in and around their homes,” says Laxminarayan adding, “We’re also exploring the possibility of growing organic veggies like tomatoes, brinjals and creepers instead of ornamental plants in public parks.

The government has appointed one mali per park. He lives with his family there and can actually cultivate these veggies and consume them too. Children playing at these parks will get to see some real farming, and over time organic vegetables grown in parks can be sold by the government to consumers! ”

Read the complete article here.

With bursting populations and high food prices, the food security of urban dwellers is approaching a crossroads

By Nisha Kumar Kulkarni
Beyond Profit
May 19, 2011

Excerpts:

Sustainability, however, remains a challenge for urban agriculture, as does its scalability.

“People throw around the word ‘sustainable’ a lot in our field,” says Peters. “Urban agriculture is absolutely sustainable in the sense that it does not require the inputs of fossil fuels or chemical fertilizers.”

But Peters goes on to acknowledge the constraints of the model. “It is unlikely that urban agriculture can ‘sustain’ an entire city population like Mumbai’s. We do the majority of our urban gardening on rooftops and terraces. Other cities that have more land mass may be able to pull it off. Ninety percent of Havana’s fresh produce comes from local urban farms and gardens, for example.”

“People in Mumbai have been extremely receptive to the urban gardening movement,” says Peters. “We want to work with a cross-section of Mumbai residents. We want every window grate to be growing something edible. We want people to think of growing food before they think of growing ornamental plants. We want to look out and see green, edible landscapes.” To date, Fresh & Local is working towards that goal steadily: in less than a year, it has held numerous workshops at the Bombay Hub for more than 180 people interested in urban agriculture and gardening.

Read the complete article here.

Nearly 200,000 farmers have committed suicide in India over the last 10 years

But the mainstream media hardly reflects this.

Nero’s Guests is a story about India’s agrarian crisis and the growing inequality seen through the work of the Rural Affairs Editor of Hindu newspaper, P Sainath.

Through sustained coverage of the farm crisis, Sainath and his colleagues created the national agenda, compelling a government in denial to take notice and act.

Through his writings and lectures, Sainath makes us confront the India we don’t want to see, and provokes us to think about who ‘Nero’s Guests’ are in today’s world.

See the film’s website here.

Across Mumbai, Pune and Bengaluru, a movement is taking roots: citydwellers growing food on terraces, balconies and wall spaces.

By Sunaina Kumar
Tehelka Magazine
Apr 2, 2011

Excerpt:

There is nothing unusual about the Bandra street — cramped, grimy, choked by traffic — that Adrienne Thadani lives in. Up above, though, on the terrace of Thadani’s building, the cheerily painted walls offer the perfect setting to her rooftop garden. Here grow crisp lettuce, cucumber, spinach, okra and ripe red cherry tomatoes. The fresh fruits and vegetables here look sprightly, as if a testimony to the audacity of hope.

Thadani is an Indian American who moved to India to pursue art and ended up growing vegetables in her spare time. She is now a professional urban farmer and founder of Fresh and Local, an NGO that promotes city farming. It also conducts workshops in the city to teach amateurs, with over 100 people participating in the past six months.

The grow-your-own-food movement is popular in the US, Europe and Japan. In India, the rise of the ethical consumer has coincided with the growth in urban farming. Across Mumbai, Pune and Bengaluru, a movement is taking roots: citydwellers growing food on terraces, balconies and wall spaces. Pune’s Film and Television Institute of India campus recently converted a part of its land to a vegetable patch to provide to the hostel mess.

Read the complete article here.

The children were first shown how to loosen the soil and clearing it of stones

Organic Conversations blog
Dec. 2010

Excerpts:

For the last couple of weeks, some of us at the Bangalore Terrace Gardens (BTG) group had been discussing the possibility of community farming with children and today we finally made a start.

It was interesting to watch the children in such a setting. They were keen to help, yet unsure of how to proceed. As one mother shared, ‘ They are so eager to help then why are they being so hesitant to step on the soil or make furrows, etc?” And as we realised, it holds an important learning for us – that the disconnect between today’s children and the earth around them is so real that unless we make efforts like this to familiarise them with it, they will fail to see any connection at all.

Once the seeds were sown and watered, the children were off to see the calf and cows, climb the lovely badami mango tree and just run around and play. Before leaving we relished a lovely snack on banana leaves thanks to Mrs Amaranth. The children were requested to write/draw and share their thoughts about what they had done today. Now we look forward to coming back in 2 weeks to see the little green spikes!

For some of us, an experience like this is the closest we will get to discovering the joy of connecting with the earth as the narrow confines of our urban homes offers such little space for us to do this on an everyday basis.

Read the complete article here.