By Arpana Adhikari
Kathmandu, May 13: The prolonged COVID-19 lockdown enforced in the wake of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has brought most activities to a standstill, but for many this pandemic has certainly helped to revive their hobbies.
Of the many interests which are drawing people in this time of lockdown, rooftop gardening seems to be one of the popular ones among the Kathmandu residents.
With plenty of time on their hands, this lockdown surely helped blooming several terrace gardens in Kathmandu.
The Kathmanduties are resorting to planting saplings on their terrace, either to beat the boredom or to make the best use of leisure time.
A terrace garden of Sarala KC, a 34-year-old teacher of Gongabu, had been left unattended due to her busy schedule. But the lockdown has provided her an opportunity to revive her terrace farming.
KC said she had been doing terrace gardening since last four years but after she joined the job, she had no time to take care of her garden.
She had been planning to plant some saplings since last five months, but didn’t get the time until now, she told The Rising Nepal.
“I finally got the time to revive my garden and sowed seeds of vegetables from the very beginning of the lockdown. So now my rooftop garden is lush with different vegetable plants, while at the same time pumpkin, tomatoes, coriander and mint are ready to reap,” said KC.
Ram Chaulagain, a banker who took to gardening during the lockdown, talks excitedly about the pleasure he gets from having vegetables grown on the top of his home in Kalanki.
Chaulagain said his family is now enjoying organically grown vegetables at his own terrace.
“I had all free time and was looking for something creative to do. Then I got the idea to use my terrace to cultivate a small kitchen garden,” said Chaulagain.
He shared he followed YouTube tutorial to grow vegetables in his terrace by using old containers to grow the vegetables and using kitchen waste as compost.
He said his liking for gardening takes up most of his free time for watering and tending to these plants. “I have been growing beans, pumpkin, tomatoes, onion, garlic, coriander and chilies,” said Chaulagain.
Like Chaulagain and KC, Sabina Gurung of Jorpati also converted her terrace into an organic farming zone a month ago and is reaping fruits of her hard work.
Gurung said anybody can make their terrace just as fertile. “You could just start small, with herbs and some green leafy vegies, tomatoes, garlic and onion,” she told The Rising Nepal.
There are number of Facebook pages called Kausi Kheti (rooftop Revolution) and Horticulture Kathmandu Groups, among others, where the residents of Kathmandu and some other cities are sharing the picture of fruits and veggies they have grown in terrace garden during this lockdown.
If one goes through these pages, they can understand the satisfaction of ripening fruits and vegetables from own garden.
Researches have also shown that growing fruits, vegetables and other plants can make us happier and relieve tension. Working with dirt and plants can be fun.
To promote urban greenery, ensure food security and urban waste management in the time of lockdown, GUTHI, an NGO, has recently provided two episodes of online training on terrace farming, vermicomposting, waste

segregation, nursery management and plant pruning and protection measures.
According to Prakash Amatya, Technical Advisor of GUTHI, more than 8,000 people took part in the training conducted online.
“Our motive is to make Kathmandu green and healthy and ease the management of degradable waste at every household,” said Amatya.
“For which, the rooftop farming or kitchen gardening is the best option. Hence we are encouraging the city dwellers to put some efforts on their own for their own benefits,” he added.
Cities like Kathmandu are over-crowded with buildings and it is hard to grow trees, flowers and vegetables in the land, so terrace kitchen garden could prove viable alternative to supplement vegetable supply in the valley.
According to him there are large number of people in the Kathmandu Valley who grow vegetables on their rooftop and this lockdown has added a number of residents to this group.