We are happy to present this report based on the research conducted as part of the Urban Agriculture Fellowship-2021 by Geetanjali Gurlhosur.
Geetanjali conducted this research over a period of roughly two months in Mumbai. By employing both community interaction and review of existing literature, this report presents a comprehensive overview of farming and allied activities in urban and periurban areas of Mumbai. It discusses the different aspects of urban agriculture in the context of Mumabi, including indoor farming, indigenous and migrant food producers, women in waste management, rearing for milk in Aarey, fisherfolk in Mumbai, aquaculture, alternate and entreprenurial farming, and so on.
About the author
Geetanjali Gurlhosur is a young freelance journalist, social researcher and documentary filmmaker. She is currently working on PRC’s research project on urban and semi-urban farming in Mumbai. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Media Studies from Symbiosis Centre for Media and Communication, Pune, and a Master’s degree in Peace and Conflict Studies from the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Guwahati. She has worked as a multimedia journalist with Indian Express and Hindustan Times in the past. Also an activist, Geetanjali enjoys reading, writing poetry and prose, doing photography and having conversations on conflict, gender, sexuality and menstrual health. Her Master’s thesis, completed in 2020, was on ‘Choice, Agency and Resistance: Lives of Female Sex Workers of Budhwar Peth’. She looks forward to doing more research in the field of gender, sexuality, menstrual health, development and justice.
About the series
For decades, urban and peri-urban agriculture has been a well-integrated part of many Indian cities. It provides a systemic alternative to urban scarcity and severe ecological footprint and makes cities and urban communities more resilient and self-reliant. In most cities, this issue is also closely linked with the condition of rivers and proposed developments on the river banks.
People’s Resource Centre (PRC) has documented existing practices and emerging trends in urban and periurban farming in Indian cities. This series is an attempt to further expand the ongoing research and bring attention to the urban farming practices in other Indian cities.
The reports as part of this series are based on the detailed and comprehensive studies undertaken in different Indian cities, including Mumbai, Pune, Indore, Ranchi, Patna and Bodhgaya. The research work for these reports was conducted as part of the Urban Agriculture Research Fellowship.
These studies explored the expanse of urban agriculture in respective cities through interactions with urban farmers, terrace gardeners and communities living on the river banks and coastal areas.
The idea behind the series is to disseminate knowledge about the prevalence of urban farming and allied activities and their significance for the city’s ecosystem. We sincerely hope that these reports will serve as a starting point for further research in these cities and inspire fellow practitioners, independent researchers, and other civil society organisations to come together for deeper discussions and creative strategy for action.
Yet to read.