For city dwellers cooped up in flats and desperately looking for a patch of greenery inside the space-crunching homes and offices, there is help at hand.
A Kerala-based company has manufactured a coir-based vertical garden which can be located in a balcony, terrace, drawing room and even in the kitchen. It can also be moved to lawns and gardens.
"We are launching the vertical garden for the first time, and in that sense we are its pioneer in the country," said K J Scaria, managing director of Sofine Decors, which showcased the innovative product at Coir Kerala 2014 expo at Alappuzha.
The vertical garden is an iron structure on which a coir fibre sheet is placed. Coir fibre baskets with latex are then fixed on it and held together by iron baskets. The coir baskets contain pith compost for the growth and sustenance of plants.
The iron structure has removable nylon wheels with a brake, which can be customised for keeping it inside the house or taken outside, dependingly.
"It is based on the kitchen garden concept and is particularly suitable for individual homes, flats and offices in towns and urban centres where space is a problem. Further, the use of coir pith compost ensures minimum use of water and flowers and decorative plants can grow easily," Scaria said.
Vertical gardens can be manufactured for varying sizes, depending on a buyer's choice and requirement.
The garden costs Rs 1,000 per sft that includes plants and flower pots. It is also available with or without plants, and is 100 per cent eco-friendly and easily biodegradable. Vertical gardens are both with and without wheels, and the entire system can be shifted anywhere.
"We are especially targeting big towns and cities in the northern and western parts of India, where vertical residential units and offices have become a way of life, leaving little space for greenery," he said.
Based out of Cherthala in Alappuzha, the company specialises in manufacturing plant climbers, fibre trays, fibre baskets, coco pots, nursery pots and wall planters - all made of coir.
The company has buyers from the US, Canada, Germany, Egypt and Nigeria, he said. It has also come out with another innovative coir product - Coco Root Trainer - which is beneficial for rubber, tea, coffee and cocoa plantations.
