Case study rooftop farming Kathmandu_Hari Awasthi

Roof Top Farming – RTF- Why pay if
you can grow it on your own!
Who is doing it?
Mr. Hari Awasthi, along with his wife Ms. Bijaya Awasthi has
been practicing farming in their own roof and garden since 18
years now. Mr. Awasthi, cheerfully shares how his interest
gradually got inclined towards growing fruits and vegetables in
own yard when he himself experienced the benefits of roof
top farming (RTF). While Ms. Awasthi, currently an English
teacher at two colleges in Kathmandu, always had fresh
organic vegetables to eat while she grew up in Pokhara and
was always interested in utilizing space in terrace or garden to
grow vegetables on her own. She says, 20 years back, when
she was new in Kathmandu, she was surprised to see how
expensive vegetables were in the market.
What is being done?
Awasthi couple grows almost every seasonal vegetable in their
house and garden and say that they grow more than sufficient
for their family of 5 members. They have planted around more
than 100 pots of various sizes in their terrace and have a small
farm area in their garden. They have grown tomato, tree
tomato, ghiraula ,lauka, simi, bodi, bhyanta, bhindi, cucumber,
akbare khursani ,jimbu, bethe ko saag, corn, guava, papaya,
oranges, muntala, chayote (eiskus), cauliflower, barela, rayo
ko saag, banda, bodi, corn and many more.
They highlight the usefulness of roof top and garden farming
by elaborating how none of the pots remain unplanted
throughout the year. The yield is continuous and they always
have one or the other vegetable in every season. According to
them, for farming in small spaces like their own, hybrid
varieties are easier to grow and more productive. Cost of
seeds and seedlings (around Rs.500/year) is very low
compared to the yield.
Of all the vegetables they have grown so far, they find eggplant (bhyanta) the easiest to grow and cauliflower the
tastiest one.
What are the advantages?
• Organic vegetables that you grow in your own without
using chemical fertilizers are healthier and tastier than the
ones you get in the market.
• Saves money (around Rs. 3000 per month) otherwise spent
on buying vegetables from the market. They never have to
buy more than 10% of the vegetables they eat from the
market.
• Kitchen waste water from washing of vegetables, fruits, rice
and organic wastes can be easily managed and made into
compost
• If possible, one can even sell the compost or the
earthworms produced in the terrace.
• Watering and taking care of the plants in the mornings and
evenings can also be an exercise that has direct health
benefits.
• If properly done, roof top farming adds aesthetic beauty to
the house.
• RTF is a way of contributing in towards building a cleaner
and greener environment at household level.
• RTF also gives opportunity of spending quality time with
family in the mornings/evenings while working with the
plants.
What are the challenges ?
• Fruits and vegetables have to be protected from birds,
monkeys and pest.
• Concrete cement pots can get heated and affect plant
growth.
• Compost bins needs to be protected from pests and birds.
• To start RTF, people need to have knowledge on the
seasonal vegetables, timing of fertilizer application and
compost preparation.
• During rainy season, it can sometimes be troublesome to
clean the mess of soil, water and plants in the roof.
• Seepage problems.
“RTF can be a profitable way of
contributing towards a cleaner and
greener environment at an individual
level.”- Hari Awasthi
“It is not possible to get such healthy and
fresh vegetables from the market even if
you pay a good sum of money for them.”
- Hari Awasthi
What are the suggestions?
 Traditional clay pots “attal” or “ghyampo” are the best to
grow vegetables and fruits. 20-30 of such pots can give
sufficient yields for a single family.
 At start, one can find farming a little tedious and messy
job, but once you start and taste the vegetables and fruits,
you will find it worth it.
 In the present context of increasing urbanization and
decrease of agricultural land, roof top farming is one of the
ways to supply the needs of the growing population.
 Roof top farming also helps to manage organic waste from
households. Since most of the waste Kathmandu KMC
needs to deal with organic in nature, KMC should
encourage such practices by providing subsidies for
compost bins, fertilizers or hardwares (jyawal) needed for
the rooftop farming.