FAMILY BUSINESS GARDENS: AGRICULTURAL

OPTIONS IN REMODELING & MODERNISING TSUNAMI

DEVASTATED TOWNSHIPS IN SRI LANKA

Dr. Thilak T.Ranasinghe

Director of Agriculture (Western Province)
P.O. Box 1561
Colombo
Sri Lanka
Tel:- +94-11-2472360, Fax:- +94-11-2320303
E-mail:- thithura@sltnet.lk/ wpdiragr@sltnet.lk

FROM DISASTER TO ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES

On 26th December 2004, the Boxing Day, “Tsunami Seismic Waves” caused enormous
and incalculable damage from Northern, Eastern, Southern and to Western coast
townships of Sri Lanka.

It is obvious that the most needed and immediate requirement is to alleviate the suffering
of affected people by providing medicine, food, shelter and other basic necessities. Then
we need to begin work on economic reconstruction with sincere intentions. By so doing,
it is essential to provide land, housing, drinking water and the like to resume normal life
of people. Thus, we must think about urban agricultural options to enable those people to
become involved in suitable production opportunities. These types of options facilitate
improvements in mental levels and physical fitness of those affected people.

While relocating homes in less vulnerable areas the Concept of Family Business Garden
(FBG) provide several ways of involvements mainly through appropriate adoption of
“Living Structures” in remodeling homesteads in townships. Living structures, for
instance, initially assist to regain the lost-mental satisfaction and in turn physical fitness
through nutrition. Both aspects then pave the way to attain entrepreneurship goals in
sustainable economic development in townships.

“FAMILY BUSINESS GARDEN” (FBG) – WHAT IS IT?

In inviting to work on urban agriculture, the concept of “Family Business Garden (FBG)”
attempts to convert the simple form of home gardening into a source of family nutrition
supply and mental satisfaction that based on sustainable entrepreneurship goals. The
concept has been in field of the Western Province of Sri Lanka, since the World
Environment Day of 2000,
The concept authenticates that there should be proper mix of aspects of environmental
agriculture and commercial agriculture in the process of urban agricultural development
ventures. The prime strategy of the concept is to integrate Indigenous Technical Know-
how (ITK) with adaptable forms of Scientific Technical Knowledge (STK) available in
different fields of sustainable development.

Pictorial presentation of the Concept of

Family Business Garden

The logo of the Family Business Garden, as bloomed above, depicts the five major
components that work towards localized and systematic changes in urban agriculture as
the profits of bloom not the prophets of doom in the agro-based small and medium scale
entrepreneurship. However, there is no hard and fast rule to adopt all components in the
first attempt and it can start from any component appropriate to the recipient.

1. Family nutrition component advocates cultivating few locally based favorite-

nutritious crops in maximizing vertical space to establish biodiversity and asks to practice
Integrated Pest Management techniques and if possible to include livestock keeping for
high nutritional standards.

2. Technology adoption component canvases to incorporate suitable “mixed technology”

(i.e., proper mix of Scientific Findings and Indigenous Technical Know-how –ITK) to
gain commercial status for the activity and generate year-round sustainable income from
the enterprise. Consider market opportunities for profitable ventures and join marketing
networks.

3. Crop management component emphasizes soil and water wise gardening techniques
by adopting plat nutrient recycling methods for long-term management benefits. Where
environments are very wet and land is available integrated farming that makes uses of
aquaculture, livestock, trees and crop production is stressed.

4. Post-harvest technology and value-addition component highly states that even

though products come from homesteads, processing and quality maintenance process
should be adhered to meet standards in competitive market place. Here, produce and
product diversification is highly stressed.
5. Landscaping and housekeeping component provide dignity for urban farming as well
as idiomatic and elegant look to the own craftsmanship to regain the social status in the
present context. In addition, it improves mental health and capabilities in becoming an
effective manager/manageress in the process of entrepreneurship development.

LIVING STRUCTURES IN TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

On the outset, concept introduced “Cultivation Tower” and “Hydroponics Box

Cultivation” at the exhibition site in Mathugama, Sri Lanka. Later the concept is
methodically demonstrated at District Agricultural Training Centres and Agricultural
Information Centres of the Provincial Department of Agriculture (Western Province).

HYDROPONICS BOXES

From Original Exhibition Demonstration site established at the Kandy-

Site on 5th June 2000 Colombo Main road, Mahara, Kadawatha

The following living structures are being developed and practiced in varying scales
by recipients of the FBG concept.

1.CUTIVATION TOWERS
Self-directed persons came forward and develop cultivation towers in the form of
semi-permanent as well as permanent way in popularizing technology they grasped
and utilizing vertical space of their homesteads.

They adopted different designs and competitive ways so as to originate new outlook
of their homesteads or their Family Business Gardens.

2. CULTIVTION BOTTLES
Cultivation Bottles or “Cultivation mega-bottles” are made out of empty-soft drinks
bottles to utilize limited space and also to provide a wonder outlook form landscapes.
It introduces recycling process of such items that generate problems in garbage
disposal in cities like Colombo. In contrast, it induces urban agricultural interest
among high rising flat dwellers in Colombo and suburbs.

3. CULTIVATION RACKS

“Cultivation racks” can be made out of natural structures such as “Coconut” or

“Areca nut” or ”Jaggerypalm” or “Palmyra” tree-trunks in low-cost manner. It can
also be made with the help of iron, aluminum or any other metal or plastics for long-
term use. It helps to maximize limited horizontal as well as vertical space available
for urban agricultural activities.

4. CULTIVATION FENCES

“Cultivation fences” further help to maximize the space available for agriculture and
create attractive landscape if vegetable is cultivated with flower and ornamental
plants. Furthermore, some housewives use fences for bittergourd cultivation, as stray-
animals do not harm to the crop at all.

5. CULTIVATION WALLS
“Cultivation Wall” is a latest addition
to the concept by creative grassroots level
agents who search for different cultivation
structures to maximize vertical space.
Vegetable crops could easily be
planted as seen in the picture (i.e. tomatoes)
while flower plants are in the ground.

6. CULTIVATION BAGS

Generally, “Standing Cultivation Bags” are used where cultivation is restricted under
waterlogged or ill drain homestead-soils. However, now our recipients adopt
“Hanging Cultivation Bags” to cultivate vegetables by developing the concept
towards more colourful way or decorating cities with recycling materials: i.e., gas-
container bags, polypropylene waste product, so on.

7. CULTIVTION FRAMES 8. CULTIVATION CAGES 9. AD-HOC WAYS

The above living structures have been developed in different socio-economic groups
according to their income levels as well as of their creativeness by adding value to the
urban agricultural enterprise. “Cultivation Frames” made out of coconut branches that
attract low-income communities in sub-urban areas. “Cultivation Cages” adds look
of herbarium in Family Business Gardens in urban-areas. Different ad-hoc ways of
living structures are found in urban, sub-urban and rural areas by using different
waste-materials, in advancing the concept among different communities.

On the whole, the Concept of Family Business Garden thrives through

the action-research work focused on technology development that
executes by grassroots-level extension agents and paraprofessionals.
The field clinics, field tours and field days backed by research-
extension-training dialogues help to solve practical problems
encountered at different situations. It shows that one can develop
additional income ventures and his or her creativeness in this concept.
10. EDIBLE AIR-SCAPES
“Edible Air-scape” is the latest introduction put forward by the Department of
Agriculture (Western) within the Concept of Family Business Garden to
accommodate teenagers and youth in urban agricultural activities. It decorates mini-
homesteads with flowers cum food crops (vegetables, fruits, medicinal plants, etc) by
vertically erected wooden or iron structure. This structure can be circular, rectangle
or oval in shape and decided by the owner of the FBG.

OUTLOOK ON URBAN LIFE

Political leaders as well as NGOS work at local as well as internationl level

appreciate advancements of living structure promotion work in technology
development process of the concept of FBG in urban agriculture. That facilitates to
popularize the concept slowly and progressively within sustainable development
goals of the nation.

The Provincial Minister of

Agriculture (Western Provincial
Council), Sri Lanka along with
another Lady Council Member
take initiatives to promote the
concept of FBG at grass roots
level in the Colombo District
(September 2004).

Delegates from International

Centre for Sustainable Cities
(ICSC) got interest to visit
demonstration sites of FBG
in familiarizing different
strategies of the concept
August 2004).

Since 21st September 2004, the Department of

Agriculture (Western Province) attempts to
communicate the message of FBG across wider
communities in Colombo, Gampaha and Kalutara
districts with the help of “Poster Campaign”.

The poster used in this campaign is shown here and it

depicts presently popular living structures and invite
urban people to join hand in hand with urban agriculture.

The concept of FBG based on theoretical framework could be adopted in different

form and scale as there is no blue print or inbuilt model in it.

All in all, the concept of FBG addresses the physical as well as

mental fitness of urban populations. Do not let your family miss this
concept and do work on fitness of edible and income generating land
cum air scape in your homestead.

In this vein, one can convert his or her mean of the development of Family Business
Garden into end in itself through proper conscientisation process of human
development. As such, donor agencies that have a will to promote urban agricultural
development movements are informed this way to come forward in assisting to
transform the crises of urbanization into sources of profitable entrepreneurship.

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