Nearly 144 anganwadis and 16 government schools have their own vegetable gardens through CRC’s initiative that aims to provide nutritious food to children.
In an effort to sustain urban farming among city residents and turn it into an income-generating opportunity for women, Chennai Resilience Centre (CRC), a voluntary organisation, has trained women Self Help Group (SHG) members to help set up and maintain home gardens in Chennai.
Taking forward its campaign to transform concrete spaces in residential neighbourhoods into green spaces, the CRC along with Okapi Research and Advisory has trained about 250 women SHG members from Tamil Nadu Urban Livelihoods Mission as gardening professionals.
“When we launched the campaign to help residents grow vegetable gardens, we found that there were gaps and challenges, be it lack of knowledge about gardening or time constraint. ‘Madras Mali’ initiative will connect women SHG members with households seeking professional gardening support. We are also partnering with residents’ welfare associations and Sempulam Sustainable solutions,” said Krishna Mohan, Chief Resilience Officer, CRC.
Some of them have converted their training into a source of income. M.Krishnaveni, SHG member of TNULM, said “We were taught to cultivate and maintain plants based on weather conditions, organic farming practices, how to increase yield and market produce. We even learnt about making grow bags from banana sheaths. I am looking for work for atleast a fortnight and earn a minimum of ₹10,000.”
She recalled her joy when plants thrived after being shifted to terrace garden in a city house.
Nearly 144 anganwadis and 16 government schools have their own vegetable gardens through CRC’s initiative that aims to provide nutritious food to children. The ‘Madras Mali’ campaign targets to scale up the efforts and encourage residents to raise vegetable gardens.
“We found that temperature level drop by up to seven degree Celsius in houses that have green terraces. The programme will help reduce the urban heat island effect and support urban food security and women’s empowerment. While focus is more on south Chennai, it would be expanded to other areas too,” said Mr. Mohan.
Published – August 20, 2025 12:09 am IST
