There is a huge food and nutrition gap that exists today in the world and this gap is expected to grow as population continues to rise and world’s resources continue to get exploited. Hence growing one’s own food is fast becoming a necessity than just a hobby.

Culturally in India we have always grown a part of our own food in our backyards. Even today in villages families depend a lot on the produce from their own backyards. But in the last few years due to rapid urbanization the art of growing one’s own food is being forgotten as urban spaces are assumed unfit for growing fruits and vegetables. But the truth is with proper planning, design and care a lot of vegetables and fruits can be grown even in small spaces in urban areas.

We empower families and communities by passing on knowledge, tools and resources to grow a part of their own food in an organic and sustainable manner at their own homes. Achieving self sufficiency in food production is the real empowerment of society and we help them achieve that to the best extent possible. We organize Training and Workshop on Organic Terrace Gardening and also give consultation on request.

Here is the list of services provided by us.

Workshop on Organic Terrace Gardening

We conduct workshops for small groups (12-15 people) to get them introduced to Organic Terrace Gardening. The workshop includes interactive class room sessions, demonstrations, terrace garden tour, question answer sessions, tea and refreshments. We organize these workshops from time to time. We also organize workshops on requests for a sizable group of people. This is an indicative content of our Workshop on Organic Terrace Gardening.

Motivation behind growing your own food.
Where can you grow vegetables.
What can you grow in small spaces.
Basics of Organic Terrace Gardening design and maintenance.
Inputs to your vegetable garden and sustainability.
Major gardening activities.
Benefits of growing your own food.
Cost Factor.
Organic Terrace Garden Tour.

Because of geographical, time and other constraints it may be difficult for you to attend our workshops. In such a case we have an online video course offering. Please do check it out.

Training on different aspects of Organic Terrace Gardening

Training are just like workshops, but they are generally on a specific topic. And moreover you also get to do hands on work. For example there can be a training on Amrut Jal. There you would learn why and how you should be using Amrut Jal along with learning what Amrut Jal is. You’ll also be guided to make Amrut Jal during the training.
Training on different topics are held from time to time. Some of the training can also be held on request. Some of the training that we organize are as follows.

Preparing Potting Soil and Soil Maintenance.
Natural ways of pest management.
Amrut Jal, Jiwamrit and Panchagavya preparation and usage.
Watering and Plant Management.
Kitchen waste composting and Vermi-Composting.

Our book Organic Urban farming, The Indian Way covers all aspects of growing your own food and comes with almost fifty pictures for illustration. It is a great resource for those who can not physically attend the trainings and workshops.

Short Course on Urban Farming and Organic Terrace Gardening

Courses are a combination of workshop, training which is designed to make you gain direct experience. We carry out 2 week and 4 week courses, during which you grow your own plants and learn to take care of them. As you do all the major gardening activities yourself with our guidance, you not only understand how to do stuff you also understand why you should be doing them. This helps you to gain direct experience and expertise.

This program is carried out at our garden. But on request we can carry it out in schools, colleges and corporate office premises having open space for gardening.

An Organic Terrace Garden or an urban farm is easy to setup and run; Provided you have got proper guidance. Else simple failures can easily demotivate you. Moreover you may end up overspending because of lack of experience. And that is where we come in. With years of expertise in this field we’ll be able to design, plan and help you execute your own terrace vegetable garden. And we’ll also help you run it till you become comfortable of running it on your own. We’ll also give you access to our tools and resources which will make things much easier for you.

We also have an online video course for organic terrace gardening which you can take from the comfort of your home. This course is a comprehensive course titled ‘Organic Container Gardening, The Indian Way’ and will help you to grow your own fresh organic food at home starting from the very basic.

Consultation for Creating and Maintaining your own Organic Terrace Garden

Education

Growing your own food is an essential life skill that everyone must posses. And it is especially true for the times we live in. Hence we believe that seeding the knowledge of food growing, recycling and sustainability in schools is a must. Children will become the earth keepers long after we are gone. We work with children of different ages and can tailor the curriculum to cater to your objectives and requirements.

What People Are Saying About Us

Navneet AroraHome Maker
The summer course on Urban Farming organised by Prabal and Shweta was just what I needed. Though I am an enthusiastic amateur kitchen gardener, I was beginning to feel tired due to poor yield and crops lost to pests as I was against using any chemicals. Learning tried and tested methods from Prabal's and Shweta's own experience as successful organic gardeners filled the gap in my understanding. I feel I now understand the entire process of soil preparation, composting, crop rotation etc much better. I am back into gardening with renewed vigour and am looking forward to a bumper harvest this season.
Pulak PatnaikNetwork Engineer
Messenger of Greens, that's what I would call Prabal who has shown me the path to terrace gardening. He has gone on from being a friend and a terrific painter to become a guide and showed me the how to grow my own vegetables in my own house. An IT guy and a painter who is now spreading awareness about the need of urban population to go green and grow green is doing a terrific job through this website. Cheers and I hope more people follow this path not just to help nature, but to help themselves.
Abhishek JenaEntrepreneur
I recently stepped into organic urban farming in pursuit of having fresh homegrown vegetables. And this was made simple and exciting, thanks to organicterrace.in and its founder Mr Prabal Mallick. The site not only has detailed explanation of growing plants, but also helps in every step of the growing stage, giving you insight on the maintenance process meanwhile familiarizing one with behavior of different plants. So far my experience has been excellent. I started off with eggplants which came out to be really delicious and now I have tomatoes, ginger, lemon, herbs, beans and garlic growing in my terrace garden. Now I am more confident on growing more fruits and vegetables; All thanks to organicterrace.in and the guidance of Prabal Bhai.
G JagadishFormer LIC Officer
The "Organic Urban Farming Crash Course" organised by Sri.Prabal Mallik, Founder, Organic Terrace and Ms.Shweta Agarwal, Director, Paz Farming has come to my fortunes at the right time when I was in need of it the most.

I knew that my desire was ripe to start my own terrace vegetable garden but was unsure of how to start one. I came to the program with almost zero gardening experience. Thanks to Prabal Babu and Madam Shweta for making the aspirants like me learn most of the latest skills in organic terrace gardening. Now with this 21-day course I feel that I am thoroughly equipped having bestowed with the right knowledge, skills, abilities and confidence to start a successful "terrace garden" and "open land farming" as well.

My sincere thanks with whole lot of appreciations go to the duo for a splendid academic exposure clubbed with hand-holding guidance.
I wish OT n PF all success in their future endeavors.
Shweta NarulaNarula Restaurant, Bhubaneswar
The reliability of and emphasis on organic fertilizers such as compost, green manure as an alternative to synthetic fertilizers and pesticides is the need of the hour. With increasing number of diseases and ill health of people, consumption of organically grown fruits and vegetables will contribute largely towards well being of all. Prabal's workshop on organic urban farming is an ideal platform to learn and utilize the methods of preparing organic materials, residues, nutrients and recycling them. Very interesting and knowledge enhancing workshop. Must do.
Nikky PujariChicago, Illinois
The Organic Terrace blog is well researched, simple to follow and written by someone who is not just passionate about growing organic vegetables but very experienced in all of its facets. I followed instructions on tomato growing and immediately saw results - 13 big, red, sun-ripened organically grown tomatoes on a 10 inch container..wish I could attend the workshop too. Love the blog!
VanshitaStudent at KIIT International School
Our generation really needs to understand and appreciate the skill of growing one's own food. It is important for each of us to have the knowledge and skill to do so. Urban Farming course with Shweta Di and Prabal sir was of the eye opener experiences of my life. Not only did I understand the actual importance, but also got to know that urban farming is not so tedious if done correctly. I would suggest every student of my age to take up these courses in order to become independent and responsible in life. If we grow what we need it will be a two fold benefit. First there would be minimum or no wastage and second we'll consume minimum chemicals. Being self sufficient has always been a goal in my life and this course has helped me to take a huge step towards my goal. Both Prabal sir and Shweta Di are very helpful and interactive which made the experience and learning interesting and fruitful.