Neighbourhood
09 AUGUST 2015
NEWS & LIFESTYLE
5
City permaculture Growing your own food at home needn’t take up too much space, even if you live in an urban environment WORDS: CHRIS REID
IMAGES: PIKAPLANT
T
he “urban chicken” movement was big in the early 2000s and saw people trying to reclaim their pastoral roots by keeping hens in their gardens. This trend has since lost its shine, as people have come to realise that keeping livestock is best left to the professionals. Now, however, we’re seeing new and more realistic agricultural aspirations emerging. There is a global social trend towards people finding ways to make themselves self-sufficient and this often begins with growing the food they eat. But for most urban and suburban dwellers, this is easier said than done, as space is typically at a premium. That is why designers are relooking the traditional kitchen garden and introducing objects such as vertical, hanging or tabletop planters. The Pikaplant Tableau planter is a great example of this, having gone from Kickstarter favourite to standout design at Milan Design Week 2015. (Kickstarter is a US-based crowdfunding platform for creative projects, and the Tableau automatic houseplant watering tray was one of its top 50 European design projects.) Locally, this same spirit can be seen in home-gardening projects. Mike Bird from OwnGrown, a Cape Town-based urban garden company, believes that this trend is being driven by people’s desire to “close the loop” on the systems within their home. He maintains that food gardens are an entry point into this, as they help people make practical use of their gardens while reducing waste. This trend will grow in prominence in years to come: people are seeking to make better use of their space, whether out of a desire for sustainability or economy, so brands and designers that are able to speak to this trend are those that will win.
This trend is being driven by people’s desire to ‘close the loop’ on the systems within their home MIKE BIRD, DIRECTOR: OWNGROWN
SEE FOR YOURSELF: Pikaplant pikaplant.com Own Grown 021 447 8978 owngrown.co.za