Greenification
Goals of this Project
Our vision is to provide utmost greenery in Sanjay Amar Colony so as to sustain healthy living in the area. Also, through this project we envision to create an extra source of income for people living there so that they can at least recover their house rent. The income will be generated in the form of surplus vegetables and fruits being produced through Greenification which can be sold in the open markets at high prices. These higher profits will thus become an important source of motivation for the people at SAC to follow the Greenification project.
We are planning to plant the seeds in a plastic water bottle as:-
1. It would reduce cost of plantation
2. The plastic would be reuse in this manner.
We have two options for planting seeds in plastic bottles
Option 1 – Using Wicking fabric
The process will include :
1. Take a 2 lt plastic bottle
2. Cut it in two halves as shown in the figure. Make three holes on the top half.
3. And insert Two wicking fabric half inside the cap so that it can absorb water from bottom
For further details, refer figure 1
The layout will look something like this :-
The bottles will be fixed with the help of a nail
Option 2- Using drip irrigation
Here, the bottles will be placed in vertical manner such that if we add water to the topmost bottle, it gets penetrated to the bottom bottles also.
What kind of seeds to plant?
80% of the plants should contain seeds which are edible and which can be consumed in daily lives of the people. This includes vegetables such as spinach, coriander leaves, methi leaves etc.
Other 20% could contain seed of flowers or any special item such as cherry, tomatoes.
What will be the benefits of this kind of plantation?
1. Greenery is always good. It would provide higher level of oxygen to the people living in the colony and will also improve mental health.
2. It will also improve the skills of people. They will get to know how to grow plants, what are its benefits and how can they beautify their colony by using limited space.
3. It would serve as a source of financial assistance as people would be getting vegetables approximately worth Rs. 250-300 per month for free.
4. The colony would also become much beautiful as Greenification will be a source of beautification.
Where to procure materials at minimum cost from?
1. Seeds can be procured directly from the used material. For example, if we want to grow an apple plant, then we can use the seed present inside the apple to plant an apple tree. This way, we can avoid the cost of procuring seeds.
2. Plastic bottles can be procured either from kabadi wala or we can also use the used bottles from household. We can also ask from the nearby restaurants and the catering walas to arrange plastic bottles for ASHI (if possible).
3. We would need to buy nails from market.
4. Cocopeat can be procured from Hindu temples. Often, people celebrate their joys by breaking coconuts. So, we can collect these coconuts and reduce them down into cocopeat to reduce down the cost.
How it will work with other projects?
We envision to link each and every project that is being undertaken to develop Sanjay Amar Colony. The compost that will be needed for planting seeds can be obtained with the help of our Waste Management project (where we aim to create compost through kitchen waste). Also, the vegetables that will be produced through this project will be used in our Community Kitchen Project (that aims to produce food for all at minimal prices). And this way, Greenification is necessary so as to perform other activities as well.
Cost Estimate
Cost of acquiring one bottle (from kabaddi wala)- Rs. 3
Cost of acquiring 900 bottles - Rs. 2700
*(assuming 100 bottles have been arranged through household)
Cost of compost (250 grams per bottle & assuming cost is Rs. 7 per kg)- Rs. (250*7)= Rs. 1750
Cost of sand (200 grams per bottle & assuming cost is Rs. 4 per kg)- Rs. (200*4)= Rs. 800
Cost of cocopeat (10 grams per bottle & assuming cost is Rs. 100 per 5 kg)- Rs. (100*2)= Rs. 200
Cost of 1000 nails (assuming 1 kg nails for 100 Rs)- Rs. 200
Total cost: 2700+1750+800+200+200= Rs. 5650