JOIN USAs the city’s green cover continues to decrease with every passing day, two youngsters are transforming homes into green spaces through their venture, Urban Container Gardens.
Amit Kumar and Saran Srinivasan create terrace and vertical gardens in empty spaces using only waste and recycled materials. They use waste plastic bottles to create plant holders which they stack over each other on wooden frames to create visually appealing vertical gardens.
They secure all their materials from scrap dealers. They buy flowering plants from the Horticulture department and germinate seeds in a small in-house nursery. Thereafter, they fix the bottles with plants on the frames created from discarded wood. The gardens are created after designing them according to the available space.
Kumar, a native of Varanasi, had to drop out of school due to financial constraints. Fortunately, a local non-government organisation helped him complete his education. A volunteer at the organisation taught him various gardening techniques, using which he was able to create a few vertical gardens in his hometown.
He arrived in Bengaluru with the support of Ashoka Youth Venture Programme, a social project that aims to empower young innovators and changemakers. The programme offers mentorship, training and support for their projects.
In Bengaluru, Kumar met Srinivasan during the programme. Kumar was pursuing his studies and working as an office assistant and newspaper delivery boy to make ends meet. Together, they formed ‘Urban Container Gardens’ and have already completed a few terrace gardens in the city. They are getting more requests for the same.
“I have already completed a few projects in Bengaluru. Amit returned to Varanasi and undertakes similar projects in his city. We design gardens for homes and commercial spaces. Flowering plants are used in vertical gardens while vegetable plants are used in terrace gardening and other areas. Each project takes us from 2-3 days to complete. All our materials are recycled ware,” says Srinivasan, who is pursuing his Bachelors in Business Administration.
DH News Service