On a roof of only 950 square feet in Jashore, a housewife named Farhana Yasmin has arranged more than a hundred plants. Her rooftop farm now inspires local women.
A childhood dream
Farhana Yasmin is a middle-class housewife who dreamed from childhood of living among plants. Her family did not have a house with a concrete roof, so she waited. When their small house was finished four years ago, she began collecting seedlings and every kind of farming activity, and the small space is now full of plants.
She said she always wanted to plant a tree and watch it grow, and that plants give oxygen; when she feels low, she sits on a stool and looks at them. To her, they are like children.
Citrus, fruit and income
Her roof has oranges, lime and pomelo, jamun and wax apple, among others. She wishes she could afford another piece of land to plant more, and hopes others will be inspired. She received no real help from anyone, but it has not stopped her, and it now brings money too: this season she sold 5,500 taka worth of pomegranates and 3,000 taka worth of plants.
A family's favourite place
Her husband, Syed Akram Hossain, a busy businessman, now tends the plants morning and evening; he says the roof lifts his mood and gives pure fruit, and everyone with a roof should plant something. Their daughter Afsana Yasmin helps her mother when she can.
Neighbours waiting
For neighbouring women, the roof shows a way forward. Several housewives nearby said they are waiting to start rooftop farming as soon as they have a house with a concrete roof.
Source: Shykh Seraj, Chhad Krishi. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.
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