In the midst of buzzing classrooms at the Government Higher Secondary School in Sholinganallur, a row of neatly arranged plants thrives in grow bags, slightly elevated from the ground. These are no ordinary plants; the fresh produce from this school garden goes directly into the mid-day meal preparations, providing nourishment to the students.
Amidst Chennai’s concrete sprawl, children, especially from marginalised backgrounds, may have little exposure to abundant greenery. However, a unique initiative is changing that, improving access to organic produce while fostering environmental awareness and a love for nature. Here, students plant seeds, watching in awe as they grow into saplings. Through this hands-on experience, they learn valuable lessons in conservation.
In the government school in Sholinganallur, an abandoned, waterlogged plot of land has transformed into a thriving vegetable garden.
Since 2020, the Chennai Urban Farming Initiative (CUFI), a flagship programme of the Chennai Resilience Centre (CRC), has converted underutilised urban spaces across the city into organic edible oases. To increase access to nutritious food while building resilience to climate-related risks such as urban heat, CUFI has been implemented in 10 schools and 140 anganwadi centres across Chennai, while they have plans to expand to other schools and anganwadi centres. The initiative is funded by Water as Leverage (an initiative of the Netherlands Government) and supported by Okapi Research and Advisory and Sempulam Sustainable Solutions.
In 2025, CRC partnered with Project Inai to create a thriving garden at this school. Beyond growing crops, the initiative has nurtured patience, responsibility, environmental awareness, and community engagement.
A collaborative effort
Project Inai, envisioned by architects Ranjitha Grace A and Viswanathan Sridhar following an urban boot camp in 2024, transforms neglected urban spaces into vibrant, community-driven green areas. With funding from the Wipro Foundation through Care Earth Trust and technical support from Urban Thottam, a brand under CRC’s CUFI programme, they set out to bring this vision to life through Veroondri Foundation and In.sane Labs.
The first step was to gain the trust of the school community. “Students often sit in the corridor, which becomes unusable during heavy rains or peak summer heat. By extending the roof and creating a semi-open space, we provided shelter and a place where children could sit, learn, and engage. We painted the school walls with murals, creating a more inviting environment. This initial investment helped build trust and enthusiasm,” says Ranjitha.
The plot was originally a waterlogged point. “With the expertise of the Urban Thottam team, we raised the height of the plot by 1.5 feet. We also installed fencing and mesh to prevent rodents from disturbing the garden,” adds Ranjitha.
The school garden has nearly 100 plants growing in the space, including varieties of spinach such as siru keerai, mola keerai, palak, and arai keerai, as well as vegetables like ladies’ finger, tomatoes, radish, and beans like avarakkai (broad beans).
In just 45 days, the garden produced 34 kilograms of vegetables, which were used to prepare mid-day meals at the school. “This farm-to-table approach provides not only nutrition but is also a lesson in sustainability,” notes Ranjitha.
There’s an adequate water supply to the garden, and a drip irrigation system is installed. “As a result, the garden uses only four litres of water per hour,” she adds. Someone must manually open the system, which adds a layer of human connection and routine.
The Project Inai team has also been involving the students in the garden’s upkeep. “It fosters a sense of responsibility, ownership and pride in them. For a sustainable upkeep, we have handed over the garden to the environmental club of the school, and we are now equipping them with knowledge and other assistance,” notes Ranjitha.
Evidence of impact
Apart from building resilient food systems through these schools, the CUFI initiative provides livelihood opportunities to vulnerable groups.
“I earn ₹500–750 if I work in the school garden for around three hours or more, and I visit once a week. This income has reduced my dependency on my husband. I can take care of my needs now, and that gives me confidence,” says B Geetha, from Madras Mali, an initiative of Urban Thottam that trains women from self-help groups in organic gardening.
These women are involved in the upkeep of the school gardens in Chennai and also help students learn about plants. “Students enthusiastically take part in gardening and ask questions curiously. They find the harvest period very interesting, as they have seen the plants grow from when they were saplings or seeds,” adds Geetha.
Read more: Cultivating resilience: Lessons from my organic kitchen garden
“Rooftop gardens are often not viable in schools due to safety concerns. Creating green spaces at ground level, where they are visible and monitored, what urbanists call ‘eyes on the street’, improves campus safety,” notes Ranjitha.
Challenges and learnings
Coordinating such a multi-faceted project has not been without its challenges. Accessing the right expertise was crucial. “For instance, it was Urban Thottam who identified the need to elevate the land and install rodent-proof fencing. Without such insights, the garden may not have survived the monsoon,” says Ranjitha.
A key learning has been the importance of community involvement. “Sustainable solutions must emerge from within the community, using available resources rather than external inputs. It is not about seeking reasons to avoid action, but rather looking for opportunities to act,” she adds.
Janani Venkitesh, a member of the Residents of Kasturba Nagar Association (ROKA), who has visited the Sholinganallur school to learn the impact, says, “I like how they engage the students, especially during the harvest. Seeing vegetables growing around them helps the students to understand how difficult it is to grow them and how satisfying it is to have that produce on their plate.”
Exploring the potential for Chennai’s apartment complexes
When lessons from such models are adopted for roof gardening in Chennai’s apartments, they could see a significant drop in temperature in the rooms below the garden and act as a method of heat mitigation.
While the open garden approach works for the schools, a rooftop garden, especially in apartment complexes, can help in mitigating heat. “Our initial studies in a homeless shelter show that the rooms below a 1,000 sq ft green roof can have a significant drop in temperature (2 to 7 degrees drop in summer), highlighting the broader environmental potential of such initiatives,” points out Ramchandran, Program Manager from CRC.
But working with an apartment community comes with its own challenges. Janani, who also has a garden in her apartment and works with various communities, says that she has observed that a lot of people in the apartments have an interest in setting up a garden, but they hesitate due to a lack of knowledge/expertise and the efforts needed for maintenance.
If manpower for maintenance is the key issue, Janani suggests that the Madras Mali initiative could provide a solution. “It will provide a source of livelihood for the women from self-help groups and also help in knowledge exchange among apartment owners keen to learn about gardening,” she notes.
The people in the apartment complexes of Chennai also have a myth that they require a large area to set up a garden. “Our recent survey indicates that a lack of knowledge and perceived lack of space are major barriers,” notes Ramchandran.
Another concern among residents in apartment complexes is the structural safety due to the weight load and the water seepage. Ayesha Ajmal, Communication Manager from Okapi Research and Advisory, notes that in many cases, residents have used grow bags placed on raised platforms or stands, allowing for good drainage and weight distribution.
Ramachandran further adds that advanced waterproofing solutions are available now that also offer the benefits of a cool roof, reducing heat inside the house. If residents are concerned about potential water leakage, these options can be explored as a preventive measure. They ensure that gardening doesn’t compromise roof integrity.
He encourages the apartments to build solar systems eight feet above the terrace floor, as the plants grow very well under the solar panels, and you can still use the terrace for walks or get-togethers.
The reporter reached out to school education officials for an update on the initiative, but hasn’t received a response. We will update the story if we get a response from them.
Have you noticed an unused space in your neighbourhood and want to turn it into a lush green space? Project Inai encourages you to identify such locations, engage in dialogue with architects and urban development practitioners, and co-create solutions that prioritise circularity and self-sufficiency. You can reach out to ranjitha.a@res.christuniversity.in for further queries. You can also reach out to Urban Thottam here.