India: How The Living Greens is bringing organic farming to urban spaces
The Living Greens has a customer base of over 1,500 people across 25 cities and continues to grow.
By Sherina Poyyail
Social Story
October 6, 2021
Excerpt:
The Living Greens ships the system in pieces, which can be reassembled and self-installed by the customer with the help of the startup’s online support. To date, it has sold between 5,000-6,000 systems.
“The pandemic really catalysed the interest in [our product],” Prateek says.
As people were stuck in their homes after the onset of COVID-19, they began recognising the unutilised space that existed on their terrace and saw the potential to do something with it.
For The Living Greens’ customers, getting fresh organic fruits and vegetables is a great benefit, but adding a green cover to the rooftops also has long-term advantages.
“As you’re covering the rooftops, the building doesn’t get heated up as much. When heat reduces, the electricity consumption also goes down,” Prateek explains.
Cooler buildings, in the long run, also mean cooler cities. “Cities are also surrounded by green areas, and as a result, cities become low-pressure areas, which attract more air-borne pollution,” he says. Growing plants also helps in this regard as they absorb carbon dioxide and release fresh oxygen.
In fact, reducing the supply chain and the distance between farm-to-fork significantly adds to sustainability.
Prateek points out that by increasing urban organic farming, people have the opportunity to eat fresh produce compared to vegetables and fruits bought from the market, which starts losing its freshness over time.
