Shibi, a native of Ramanattukara has become the talk of the town as he grows around 100 kilos of organic vegetables every month in grow bags on the terrace of his house. A photographer by profession, Shibi has chosen the terrace of his studio ‘Magic Shooting Floor’ to try out his skills in organic farming. He has been running the studio at the Ramanattukara airport road for the past 10 years. However, it was only three years ago that he turned to terrace farming.
Shibi thought about doing organic farming on the terrace when he noticed that water from the overhead tank was overflowing. He started with some tomatoes and then began growing vegetables like ladyfinger, green chillies and egg plants. Now, Shibi harvests around 70 kilos of fresh and organic tomatoes from his terrace in a month. Moreover, he is able to harvest more than 100 kilos of various vegetables from the grow bags on his terrace.
When his terrace framing began flourishing, Shibi installed a rain water harvesting facility too on the terrace. The vegetables are organic and are not doused in harmful chemical fertilizers or pesticides. Shibi spends around Rs 4000 per month for the maintenance and other expenses of his terrace garden. However, he says it is a small amount compared to the excellent harvest and income that he gets in return.
