With the exponential growth in the population of the state it is expected to reach 10 billion by 2050 increasing the need of food production by 70%!! We would need more food in the next 50 years than grown in the last 10000 years!! How are we going to cope up with this problem of food shortage which is expected to last for generations? Also the demand to increase the food production has persuaded farmers to use lethal chemical to ‘milk’ every square inch of their arable lands. Residues of such toxins not only stick to the skin of the vegetables but also are absorbed in their flesh. And in India the data says that the Minimum Residual Level (MRL) is already quite high exceeding the MRL of USA by 5 to 10 times!
A Jaipur-based startup organization, ‘The living Green Organics Pvt. Ltd.’ is providing a perfect solution to cope up with this emerging problem with an urban farming alternative including techniques that are totally pesticide free and organic.
The founder and C.E.O. Prateek Tiwari who is an agricultural engineer and a MBA from IIFM presents a vision to convert every building in India into a green building and score the largest number of urban carbon credits in the world. “I had two options,” he says, “either I kept my safe job and let the world take care of itself, or I could do something to improve it.” Green roofs offer various ecological significant purposes: it helps in rain water management as rainwater can be stored by the substrates, it mitigates the urban heat effect that is a major concern these days in the cities also it increases recreational spaces for the community. Prateek says, “There are many organizations that educate citizens in different cities to grow food. However, we are the first for-profit company doing this.” Apart from the green roofs for organic gardening ‘The Living Green’ also provides customizable greenhouses, organic kitchens, organic kitchen gardening, herbs stands, leafy stands, consultancy for organic farming, medicinal plant stand etc. You can harvest freshly grown organic vegetables for your family or for commercial purpose, you get 100% buyback gurantee of harvested vegetables and 100% on-line and on-site maintenance support by this company. Also you can grow a variety of seasonal vegetables like for summer leafy veggies like mint, spinach, gourds including lauki, tinda, torai and other- ladyfinger, tomato, brinjal as well in winters cauliflower, cabbage, green peas or other exotic leaf like celery, parsely, red lettuce etc. In a place like Jaipur where the supplies of water for vegetables and fruits was less and even the quality was quite degraded,“the rooftop spaces were highly unutilized” in such places. They use only 20 liters of water to grow 1 kg of vegetable such a small fraction of water used in normal farming shows that this company is also coming up with models that help in water conservation.
With the team of only 19 people Preteek is breaking even most of the months in such a short term from starting the company. ‘The Living Greens’ has now expanded its green roots and has opened its franchise in Delhi, Indore and Jodhpur and is planning to reach in another 10 cities and also establishing new links with the local vendors. Giving GREEN LUNGS solution to the buildings ‘The living Green’ gives a option to use just a fraction of the precious floor space and utilize the reduced wall space to turn them into indoor living green walls and floors. Such walls not only provide fresh oxygen to breath but also absorb air-borne VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) that cause sick buildings syndrome. The company has also come up with the idea of vertical gardens, creating a unique system in which the special containers are combined with a system that recycles water in a loop.
Everything with the maintenance charges of only 1000-1500 rupees per month!
Isn’t it worth spending a very little amount of capital on the rooftop gardening and maintenance and play a significant role in the well-beings of individuals? And you can even use them to generate revenues!
The supply of fresh vegetables and herbs to local outlets or hotels nearby through rooftop gardening has significantly minimized carbon footprint. Prateek tells “I receive many mails from young people who say they don’t want to join multinational companies and love the idea of being able to work in their hometown doing something related with the environment”. The idea of such agri-business startup are gaining large acceptance. It’s time that agriculture in urban areas is promoted, it’s no longer an rural affair! We have to getup and put your hands in the soil from where you come from!