India: Urban farming gains popularity in Bengaluru: Can it become an urban foodscape
Many Bengalureans are discovering the allure of urban agriculture, taking pleasure in getting their hands dirty, for many reasons
By Preeti Zachariah
The Hindi
November 22, 2023
Excerpt:
Brijinder Kathuria remembers being conflicted between growing more organic food or planting more forests for a long time. “A lot of deforestation happens because people chop off forest land to farm,” says the Bengaluru-based Brijinder, a passionate eco-enthusiast who works in the technology sector. Then, he stumbled upon permaculture farming, a way of creating synergetic, sustainable agriculture systems that closely resemble natural ecosystems—in short, you’re making food forests.
“That hit the sweet spot,” says the former hotelier, who went on to cultivate a food forest with perennial plants like bananas, coffee, coconut and jackfruit on his 5000 sq ft plot, enough to sustain himself for anywhere between 1.5 to 2 months, he says. “Freshly plucked food takes taste to a new level,” says the former hotelier, who admits to always being drawn to fresh food and ingredients.
