Few would consider the fifth floor of their concrete apartment building an ideal place to start growing their own produce, but for members of The Windowfarms Project, nothing could be farther from the truth. The Project’s website, WindowFarms.org, is packed with kits, step-by-step DIY instructions, and tons of shared experiences showing city dwellers, who haven’t a garden plot of their own, how to turn a sunny window into a productive farm. And since the assemblies are indoors, food can be produced year-round. The mission of The Windowfarms Project is to promote responsible eco-friendly living in the urban space by enabling individuals to grow their own food and to them share their knowledge and experiences through a web-based platform.
An important aspect to realize is that The Windowfarms Project is not selling a product, per se. There are kits available for people without the tools or DIY experience to design and built an assembly of their own, but most of what you will find are plans that other participants have created, problems they ran into, solutions offered by others, and so on. You will not find any special deals or advertisements, because the creators aren’t looking to make a profit; they are attempting to inspire progress. The Windowfarms Project presents their intent for member participation as a 6 part process:
Join our.windowfarms.org
Download DIY instructions
Build a window farm of your own
Improve/Troubleshoot your assembly while posting problems and ideas on the project website
Test solutions and ideas with others in the online community
Contribute to improving designs and instructions to further the work of the Windowfarms Project.
While the Windowfarms Project is a relatively simple idea (how to grow vegetables and herbs in your kitchen window), the underlying message is a significant one: Don’t wait for someone else to figure how to save the environment, get your hands dirty and do your part.
