Isang car park sa Sydney, Australia ang ginawang farm ng isang dating chef kung saan inaalagaan niya ang 40 iba't ibang species ng herbs at microgreens na ginawa niyang negosyo.
Sa ulat ng Reuters, sinabi ni Noah Verin na taong 2020 nang simulan niya ang kaniyang negosyong Urban Green Sydney.
"I always knew that when people heard the story, of the fact that there's a farm in a basement in Barangaroo growing food, that that would like strike people, you know, I knew it would leave an impact. And yeah, happy to say that that has been the case," sabi ni Verin, na may environmental science degree.
Sa carpark nakatanim ang iba't ibang herbs at microgreens, o young seedlings ng mga edible vegetable. Mayroon itong mga ilaw at mga fan para sa ventilation.
Target ni Verin sa maging carbon neutral ang kaniyang kompanya pagsapit ng 2026, sa pamamagitan ng kaniyang four-prong approach na kinabibilangan ng energy use, growing medium, packaging at deliveries.
"So when we started the business we used 36 watt lights, now we use 18 watt. So it's already been a 50 per cent increase in efficiency. The medium we use is coconut coir which is basically a bi-product of the coconut industry, so once you get the juice from the coconuts, all the water, the husks are then ground to make a really good plant medium. So it's a totally renewable resource," paliwanag niya.
Ipinagmamalaki ni Verin ang packaging ng kaniyang produkto at paraan ng pagdeliber nito sa kaniyang mga kliyente.
Sa halip kasi na gumamit ng van sa paghahatid ng kaniyang produkto, bisikleta ang gamit niya na kinabitan ng pinasadyang maliit na trailer.
Isa sa mga kliyente ni Verin ang restaurant na Botswana Butchery sa Martin Place. Suportado ng head chef ng restaurant na si Logan Campbell ang ginagawa ng Urban Green.
"Well one of the biggest reasons is obviously it's much more local than a farm miles and miles away. But more importantly the product is actually a lot fresher, so in my perspective once you've cut the stems off those herbs they start to degrade, all the natural nutrients and sugars start to degrade," ano Campbell.
"Noah's (Verin) product comes in still alive, still in its pot and also he doesn't use a lot of plastics or any throw away products like that so it's all very sustainable which I like," dagdag niya.
Ayon kay Verin, ngayong nakikita na potensiyal ng vertical farming na maging sagot sa food crisis, dapat naman daw pagtuunan ng pansin kung papaano ito magiging "sustainable."
Umaasa rin siya na marami pang car park farms ang maitatayo, at magtatanim ng mga kagaya ng chilies at strawberries. --Reuters/FRJ, GMA News
