Delhi is among the largest and most populous cities globally. It’s a place where skyscrapers dominate the skyline, and a silent agricultural revolution is unfolding on rooftops. At the center of this change isLiving Greens, a grassroots initiative founded by Prateek Tiwari that brings together displaced farmers and city dwellers in a partnership for food, sovereignty, and ecological renewal through rooftop farming.
Living Greens, originally based in Jaipur but operating in Delhi, realized that cities are expanding and becoming more disconnected from the systems that support them. In response, Tiwari launched a project that enables residents across Delhi-NCR (National Capital Region) to turn their rooftops and balconies into thriving kitchen gardens. Living Greens has installed rooftop farming systems in over4,000 locations across 25 cities, cultivating approximately 250,000 square feet of rooftop space. With increasing efforts from community-based organizations like the Living Greens, it shows that urban agriculture systems, including rooftops and peri-urban areas, can meet up to 30% of seasonal vegetable demand in local contexts, demonstrating meaningful supplemental food supply potential.
A change in the way we look at farmers
These past few years have been quite difficult for farmers. India enacted three farm laws in September 2020, known as theFarm Law 2020, which many farmers were dissatisfied with and led to a large-scale backlash, causing it to be repealed in 2021. These laws state that although the government claimed that theMinimum Support Price (MSP) procurement would continue, the laws did not legally guarantee MSPs. Farmers have been concerned that trading outside the existing APMC“Mandi” system and the removal of state controls, including fees, would weaken the traditional procurement buffer over time, leaving them“at the mercy of corporations” with no price floor. Even after the law was repealed, they continue to struggle for their rights, and several individuals have fallen victim to suicide. For example, in Punjab, the outstandingKisan Credit Card debt has climbed sharply (now over ₹57,500 crore) even as the number of active borrowers slightly declined, implying a heavier per-farmer burden.
While several farmers face economic struggles, Living Green provides both financial and ecological advantages; they add greenery to cities fighting severe pollution and offer an alternative source of income for displaced farmers. As villages on Delhi’s outskirts are absorbed into peri-urban sprawl, many small farmers have lost land, income, and identity. Rooftop farming initiatives re-engage these individuals as mentors, compost technicians, and garden caretakers. Many have found regular income as rooftop farming trainers; others have joined hands in growing seedlings or producing bio-fertilizers. Urban Farming provides numerous benefits, including the potential to boost economic opportunities in densely populated cities. Many microentrepreneurs can start small-scale farms, generate local jobs, and encourage community involvement. Farmers’ markets and community-supported agriculture are becoming more popular, directly linking producers with consumers.
Living Green’s model is founded on community-based activism and individual participation. The procedure for rooftop farming begins with a home visit and soil consultation, followed by installation of customized planters, composting units, and drip irrigation systems. The organization offers skills and stewardship; many of the displaced farmers are trained to become rooftop garden mentors. They visit sites weekly, teaching families how to grow spinach, fenugreek, tomatoes, chilies, and herbs like Tulsi and coriander without chemicals or artificial inputs. This one-on-one coaching is central to Living Green’s vision. How can we recreate the same fertile land in areas that have become urbanized? “SaysTiwari. In a city where most residents source vegetables from supermarkets or untraceable mandi (market) supply chains, learning to compost kitchen waste or harvest morning greens becomes an act of empowerment. Parents instruct children on the origins of their food. Neighbors exchange locally grown produce. Neglected skills such as pruning basil and soil regeneration become communal knowledge again.
With a growing stigma around farming in India, these roles do more than generate wages; they restore dignity to agriculture in a context where agricultural labor is often devalued. Rather than leaving the farm to work in the city, farmers bring the farm into the city. Their expertise becomes central to urban sustainability. Farmers are creating a top-down approach; their initiative fosters resilience by building relationships, emphasizing the lived knowledge of rural farmers while welcoming urban households into a shared ecology of care.
Ecological Footprints and Systemic Change
Beyond individual gardens, Living Greens shows how distributed food systems can help cities shift from consumers to producers. Each rooftop garden offsets a portion of a household’s vegetable consumption, reduces dependency on fossil-fueled supply chains, and cuts organic waste from entering landfills. For the last decade, Delhi has been having record-breaking heatwaves, air pollution, and water shortages as part of its daily life. Rooftop gardens serve as micro-climates, lowering rooftop temperatures, filtering particulate matter, and reducing surface runoff. During the 2023 heatwave, several Living Greens clients reported that indoor temperatures dropped2–3°C beneath shaded roof gardens. These endeavors are not the result of state-level planning but are driven by civil society and citizen initiatives. The gardens of Living Greens illustrate a future where cities enhance their capacity to withstand crises, not merely through resource accumulation, but also by revitalizing their connection to living systems.
There is a temptation to view rooftop farming as a novelty or a lifestyle trend, especially in middle-class contexts. But Living Greens work resists that narrative. It regrounds urban farming in the needs of ordinary people; farmers looking for dignified work, households seeking healthier food, and communities preparing for climate disruption. It bridges the rural-urban divide not just geographically, but socially and economically.
Teaser image credit: Living Greens’ Facebook page.