Turning terrace into thriving farm in urban Bangladesh
“The rooftop of his house resembles a mini forest”. “It is now a source of oxygen and key entertainment during my leisure time,” he adds.
By Shafik Russell
UNB
Feb 12, 2021
Excerpt:
When Jahangir started his own terrace garden after retirement in 2017, he planted a handful of vegetables. But the urge to stay indoors and eat healthy during the peak of the pandemic last year prompted him to expand his garden.
Also read: Rooftop Gardening: Way to Release Stress and Promote health during pandemic
“Covid-19 and the consequent restrictions imposed by the government actually forced me to think about self-sustained living. Now I grow even leafy vegetables like spinach and beet, apart from bottle gourd, bitter gourd and pumpkin, on my terrace,” Jahangir says.
“I have also planted saplings of various fruit-bearing trees like mango and jackfruit. But for the time being, the vegetables are enough to feed both me and my family. It also saves me from stepping out frequently to buy fresh vegetables,” he adds.
Jahangir is not the only urban resident to take to cultivation of fresh produce on his rooftop. Buckling down at home during the pandemic, many people across the cities have turned to rooftop gardening — some to beat the boredom, others to make the best use of leisure time.
Tofazzal Hossain, a resident of Matuail in Dhaka, says the pandemic has actually given him the chance to revive his terrace farming. “Though I started cultivating a few vegetables on my rooftop before Covid, I could devote more time only during the lockdown,” he says.
