Tomato vines suspended above conference tables, lemon and passion fruit trees as partitions for meeting spaces, and bean sprouts growing under benches. Tokyo-based Pasona Group has transformed the farm-to-table idea into a farm-to-desk concept. A video of the firm’s urban farm at their Tokyo office, which has been doing the rounds on social media, shows how it has opened up valuable office space to include a farm with over 200 species of fruits and vegetables, and even patches of rice. Inspired by the idea, a number of Indian firms have started similar urban-green initiatives on campus. A look at some of the more interesting offices with their own patches of green.
In-house innovations
K Raheja Corp, Mumbai
Wha t started as a stress-busting activity for employees six years ago is now a full-fledged organic farm on K Raheja Corp’s business park, Mindspace. With the workforce spending long hours indoors working to match different time zones, this space was just what they needed to refresh and unwind during office breaks. Pankaj Gupta, Head, Asset Management and Facilities, says, “When the management held a test run with a week-long workshop, over 5,000 employees participated. Now, thrilled by the success of the farming initiative, many employees have set up gardens at home. We have now scaled up to include clients as well.”
The 3,500 sq.ft. urban farm at the Airoli campus started off with employees experimenting with simple, easy-to-grow vegetables like spinach, amaranthus, and radish. Drums upcycled into pots now brim with seasonal veggies like cucumber, sweet peas, spinach, brinjal, tomato and cabbage. Even rice, wheat, sugarcane and mustard have found place at the farm.
The produce — roughly 60-65 kg per business park — is donated to a few orphanages in the area and also given to the support staff working on the campus. “All amenities, including seeds, pots, containers and recycled water, are provided, and the entire project has been set up by volunteers using unused materials on site,” adds Gupta.
The concept has also been scaled to their business parks Commerzone in Pune and Mindspace in Hyderabad. They now plan to take the concept to schools and have collaborated with a municipal school in Navi Mumbai that has around 800 children.
Scaling up
Manyata Embassy Business
Park, Bengaluru
It was during a weekly operational review at the Manyata Embassy Business Park that their Horticulture Manager, Kiran, came up with the idea of setting up an organic farm on campus. One of the first in India to have set up such a facility, the farm is part of their ‘Urban Green’ project. Rather than step out for a smoke, employees now water and de-weed their patches during their occasional office breaks. “The popularity of hobby gardening is increasing and our employees are passionate about creating bountiful, healthy gardens. Some even come in on the weekends to tend to their patches. Starting a garden is fairly straightforward and we will provide expert horticulturists to help them,” says Alexander Susai, Head – Operations, Embassy Services Pvt. Ltd.
Sprawled across 110 acres, the business park has allocated 15 acres for the farms. From lush green patches of leafy vegetables like fenugreek, spinach and coriander, to tiny plots of tomatoes, chillies, lady’s finger, brinjal and baby corn, the farms have 5,000 employees passionately tending to their green patches. Each employee is allotted up to two plots, and they can choose to take the harvest back home or sell it at a market organised by Manyata.
Over 2.8 million litres of waste water are recycled every day and a number of irrigation systems are also available. Setting up raised garden beds and hydroponic farming for the physically challenged and elderly are on the cards.
Collective responsibility
Hyundai Motor India
Limited (HMIL), Chenna i
The 536-acre campus is laden with flower and fruit trees, interspersed with well-manicured lawns and houses — an exclusive ‘green zone’ also known as the ‘farm house’ that houses a wide variety of plants, vegetables and flowers.
The Apprentice and Trainee Centre, and Learning and Development (L&D) Department have set up micro gardens around their work place. The patch at the Trainee Centre was set up this January and grows tomatoes, brinjal, chillies, mint, coriander, drumstick and keeva nalli . The L&D department has a terrace garden where beans, okra, ridge gourd, bitter gourd and tomatoes are grown. The produce is shared among the employees, many of whom have also set up kitchen and terrace gardens at home with the company’s assistance. Vegetables from a larger patch of the farm were supplied to a Korean restaurant earlier. This initiative has given employees something new to bond over. A great stress buster, gardening at work is a new hobby many employees are enjoying, says a spokesperson at HMIL.
Chennai, 31/03/2017 : An urban farm at The Grid - a co-working space in RA puram has a garden at the terrace. Photo : S. R. Raghunathan
The Grid, Chennai
A co-working space created by Justine de Penning that is set to open its doors this month, The Grid has a green patch where members are free to plant their own herbs and vegetables. De Penning says the goal of the green space is to design an inviting corner that provides the tools to create an urban garden, and to encourage the community to collectively work towards rehabilitating our ecosystem. It is also about educating and enabling people with the skills and tools to replicate these practices in their own homes. Choosing plants that are best suited for our climate, they will start off with several different types of spinach, tulsi , basil, sage, coriander, lemon grass and aloe vera, among others. The seeds are, for the large part, locally sourced, with a few imported ones that are closest to ‘organic’ rated. “Everything we eat at The Grid (except eggshells and lime peels), including the coffee bean grains, is used for compost, which is then combined with a natural enzyme from Auroville called EM,” explains de Penning.
