Preeti Patil uses her kitchen to sustain her garden, and her garden to sustain her kitchen.

Urban areas, unlike in a healthy ecosystem where nutrients are largely recycled, are like non-producing consumers with insatiable appetites. How do we feed this without disrupting the ecosystem upon which it depends? The Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai spends Rs 1.5 crore per day for the collection, transportation and disposal of approximately 7,500 metric tones of garbage. Preeti Patil, canteen manager of the Mumbai Port Trust, shows us that city farming may be our only hope.

City Farming Defined

City farming or urban agriculture is food production that occurs within the confines of a city; that is, in areas such as backyards, rooftops or even unused public spaces. It puts vacant urban land to productive use by making discarded items, such as containers, empty tins, plastic bags or Styrofoam boxes, the fields on which crops can be grown.

The Mumbai Port Trust (MPT) kitchen is a fine example of why city dwellers should practise city farming. As the single largest landowners in the Mumbai metropolitan area, the MPT has 22,000 employees, 6,000 of whom are catered to by the central kitchen. In 2002, Preeti realised that her kitchen was generating an average of 18-20 kilograms of organic waste, all of which was discarded. Determined to do something about the situation, she participated in a training programme at the International Institute of City Farming.

Learning The Ropes

It was at the Institute that Preeti learnt the methods needed to create her own urban garden. She obtained sugarcane bagasse (the remaining stalks left after juicing) from a local 'gannawala' who was happy to get rid of his waste, and soaked it in water for 24 hours. At the port, the most easily available containers for use for her garden were oil drums in which she made holes for aeration. The bagasse was mixed with soil and biodegradable waste from her kitchen, and a sapling was planted. Today, Preeti's rooftop garden boasts a wide selection of plants, ranging from mango and 'bhindi' to 'ajwain'.

Recently, in an attempt to refine her farming methods, Preeti got in touch with Deepak Suchde, an expert in organic farming and soil management. Since soil is difficult to obtain in the city, Suchde taught her how to farm without the need for outside soil.

The Progress So Far...

Today, everything in Preeti's kitchen serves a purpose; all her kitchen peels go into creating soil for her garden, saplings are planted in empty milk plastic bags and even the dust swept off the kitchen floor is put into the plants since it carries microbes that help in soil degradation. Soon, Preeti hopes to completely close the nutrient loop by using her kitchen to sustain her garden and her garden to sustain her kitchen. Her current project focuses on, uses only biodegradable waste. He picked an unwashed milk bag, since the bacteria from the milk are teaching children how to bring city farming ideals and methods into their own homes.

An Easy Way To Make A Nutrient-Rich Soil

This method by Deepak Suchde essential for soil decomposition. Biodegradable kitchen waste (vegetable peels, etc) was put into the bag, which was then compressed to make it airtight. This bag was kept out of sunlight for 30 days; when opened, the soil was found to be of far greater quality than that available in the market.

Grow Your Own FoodFinding containers: Any container will do; Clay or cement pots are ideal, but plastic bags or wooden crates lined with black plastic can also be used. Holes should be made in the container to allow for proper aeration. Saucers may be kept below the pots or they can be elevated on bricks to allow the water to drain freely.

CHOOSING A LOCATION : A location that gets up to six hours of sunlight is needed. This makes window sills or balconies ideal locations for your plants.

Selecting the plants: Use your imagination! People have even grown mangoes and maize on terrace gardens! Potting your plant: Plant the sapling about 3.5 cm below the surface. Water daily and push a fistful of biodegradable kitchen waste below the surface of the plant.

Benefits of City Farming

City farming eases poverty by generating an income while providing food security for urban dwellers.

It closes the nutrient loop by minimising waste - excess biodegradable waste is composted and used as organic fertiliser, which means less garbage and more food.

It reduces the volume of produce transported from rural to urban areas; this in turn means less fuel consumed by transport vehicles and less protective packaging wasted on the produce. It increases the number of green spaces in the city, thus is instrumental in improving air quality.

The rooftop gardens serve as oases for humans, birds and insects alike, bringing life into our concrete jungle.

Educate your children about waste management; go to their schools and urge the officials to include a session on city farming. For information on educational models, contact CERE (The Centre for Environmental Research and Education) at cere_india@yahoo.co.in For more information on soil management, go to www.prayogpariwar.net