Meet The Duo Running An Indoor Farm In The Middle Of Andheri
One morning, while scrolling through Instagram I found myself being transported to an alternate reality. In this world, just like my food heroes, I walked out of my house and into my sprawling farm and started filling the basket I was holding with fresh ripe tomatoes, clippings of basil, cloves of garlic and then, with a deafening sound I was jolted back to reality by my alarm (which by that point had been snoozed at least seven times). As I bolted out of my room to get dressed for work, I couldn’t help but feel a little let down by the sight of the concrete expanse outside my window.
Despite having mastered the agriculture revolution, we humans have accumulated many wrongs along the way and the consequences are right in front of us. Most of us living in the cities have barely ever seen an actual farm where vegetables are grown. We are unaware of what we dump into our bodies. And sadly, most of it is just packaged and processed food. Moreover, our increasingly hectic lifestyles leave no room for a healthy relationship with the food we eat - even though that’s something so fundamental to our wellbeing. However, Bombay-based Sakina Rajkotwala and Joshua Lewis have taken it upon themselves to achieve the impossible by setting up Herbivore Farms - Bombay’s first “hyper-local” farm.
Working out of an old industrial house that has been converted into a climate-controlled indoor farm, Sakina and Joshua have found a way to grow leafy green vegetables right in the heart of the city. “We use zero pesticides. Also, growing in a local urban setup offers the advantage of being to deliver produce at its height of freshness, nutrition and flavor and also with fewer carbon miles”, they tell us.
While Herbivore Farms, as a concept, does sound too good to be true, the duo helps us understand how they thrive within such a chaotic city. Using a method called ‘Kind Cultivation’, Herbivore Farms makes use of hydroponic techniques which can be traced back to the Aztec civilisation. “Using these methods enables us to use 75%-95% less water as compared to traditional field agriculture. And because we grow in vertical systems, we can produce 5x the amount in the same footprint of land.”, they share. Unfortunately, owing to their location, the fresh produce can only be delivered to certain nearby locations in the city.
Inspired from a philosophy of being kind to not just oneself, but the community and the planet as well, Herbivore Farms is a giant step in the pursuit of slow and responsible living. In fact, in early 2017, Herbivore Farms was merely a dream for Sakina and Joshua as they were still conducting in-depth research, setting up a farm infrastructure, and sampling amongst people who were interested. Two years hence, Herbivore Farms is completely sold out! Their Herbivore Harvest Box, that is delivered once every week with fresh produce harvested in the morning, contains 2-3 varieties of leafy greens. Subscribers can be choose from a range of vegetables like 7 types of Lettuce, 3 types of Swiss Chard, and 2 types of Rocket (Wild & Cultivated).
Besides bringing organic farming to our doorstep, Herbivore Farms is an important initiative that’s creating ripples of change and transforming the way Mumbai residents experience the food they eat. “The response from customers who tried our free samples was phenomenal. About 90% of people who took a sample home wrote back to us saying they loved how fresh and flavorful the leaves were and how wanted to know how soon they can start buying. Some even said that we had changed their perception on leafy greens - what they previously associated with tasting “bitter” or “bland” and didn’t enjoy eating but would force themselves to, to try and be healthy”, the duo tells Homegrown.
Having said that, Joshua and Sakina are well aware of the fact that, at the end of the day, “healthy eating” is a luxury not many can afford. But at the same time, they believe that it’s the responsibility of those who can afford it should support the movement and spread awareness too. In their words the choice is simple, “Pay the farmer now or pay the pharma later.” And we couldn’t agree more.
To sign up for a weekly Herbivore Harvest Box, one can sign up here. Note that Herbivore Farms only caters to these areas: Andheri West/East, Juhu, Malad, Goregaon, Juhu, Santacruz, Vileparle, Khar, Bandra, Worli, Lower Parel and South Bombay.
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