An unlikely patch of green in a grey mega city

Sufia Akhter Jahan is passionate about her garden. Vegetables, fruits and herbs, she knows when each variety is thirsty or needs attention. She talks to the plants, sometimes gently strokes them to encourage growth. From dawn to dusk Jahan is ready to give time, with the plants treated almost as offspring. It's not only that her garden brings profit. It satisfies her desire for growing her own food. It soothes her soul.

The most remarkable aspect of her garden is its location: on the rooftop of an otherwise unremarkable building at Eskaton Gardens Officers Quarters in the midst of hectic Dhaka.

"When I moved in here seven years ago I felt I needed to do something and rooftop gardening came first to mind," says the wife of the current Bangladeshi Ambassador to Vietnam. "I've been fond of farming since childhood."

Pumpkin, white radish or red spinach: with her husband regularly abroad, Jahan set to work establishing at least 50 plant varieties on the rooftop. There's even a minor goose farm up there.

It's strange to find such an unexpected patch of green in the concrete mega city. People commonly note that Dhaka is becoming tree-less, with constant new construction in every gap, on every land parcel. Somehow the city has to make room for up to half a million new faces annually. It's in this urban grey that sits Jahan's well-tended patch of green.

"This roof is not only great for produce but the neighbours love to be surrounded by the greenery", says Jahan. She is an entrepreneur, for the garden produce turns a good profit, who believes rooftop gardens can improve life quality in urban environments. 

Besides, from the most-often disused roof space, Jahan is able to supplement the nutritional demands of family members and pass enjoyable hours. What better mental relaxation could there be?

The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation has been supportive of rooftop gardening for decades. Urban and peri-urban horticulture projects have been implemented in similarly dense city environments such as Cairo in Egypt. The idea is to promote fresh vegetable consumption by even poor families, while earning a stable income and decreasing or eliminating pesticide use at the same time.

Almost 25 years back I started a campaign for rooftop gardening on Bangladesh Television. Many unemployed youth, homemakers and other professionals participated. These days it has a proven track record of success.

The government can yet cooperate with rooftop growers through the provision of tables, stands, containers and other inputs such as seeds, soil, fertilisers, irrigation systems and small gardening tools. Rooftop gardens can make Dhaka's concrete buildings agriculturally and commercially productive, and importantly, provide a healthier environment for families, neighbours and city dwellers.

Jahan likewise believes in the benefit of the activity to the mega city. "I think the whole of Dhaka can be changed by rooftop gardening," she says.