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assive consumption of chemically treated fruits and vegetables, coupled with increasing illness because of the consumption of chemically treated products, has had an impact on people’s eating habits with many now choosing to consume organic food they produce themselves.

With a healthy and cost-efficient lifestyle being their ultimate goal, these people do not view limited planting space as an obstacle to growing organic vegetables. They are even determined to exploit small spots in their own homes.

Asri Wijayanti, 38, decided to start her own farm on the balcony of her apartment in 2014. Moving twice in the past three years has not broken her determination to continue having her own “farm.”

Asri, a freelance consultant in disaster management and communication, said she could now plant 20 different vegetables in her 3-square-meter balcony, some by using hydroponic planting techniques. Vegetables like kale, lettuce, spinach and longevity spinach decorate her balcony, which is located on the 20th floor of an apartment building in Kuningan, South Jakarta.

“The balcony of my current apartment in Kuningan is bigger than the two balconies at my previous apartments. I also choose my current apartment because it has more exposure to sunlight than the previous ones,” she told The Jakarta Post in a recent interview.

Asri’s decision to start her own “farm” is not only because of her interest in farming, but also because of her doubt about the quality of vegetables available in stores.

“I know the quality of the vegetables I eat because I cultivate them myself. This way, I can make sure that all of them are free from pesticides,” she said.

By having her own farm, Asri, whose passion for farming was inherited from her parents, said she could also save some money since she did not have to buy vegetables at the market.

Similarly with Asri, Sita Pujianto started farming on the balcony of her home in Joglo, West Jakarta, in 2013. She said her balcony “farm” had reduced her daily expenses, benefitting her financially. The lecturer at Bina Nusantara University now plants more than 20 different vegetables, including bitter melon, lettuce, Chinese cabbage and kale on her small “farm.”

“One of the reasons to have my own farm is because organic vegetables in stores are expensive. So, I decided to have my own farm after joining the Jakarta Berkebun community,” the 39-year-old mother of two told the Post. She was referring to the Jakarta chapter of Indonesia Berkebun, a nationwide urban farming community.

“Now, I also sell juices and green smoothies using the crops from my farm.”

Sita said limited space should not be a reason for people to not have their own farm. She added that it was important for people who wanted to start farming at their own residences to learn directly from the farming experts.

“They have to know the proper way to cultivate plants or avoid pests. They can join a gardening community to learn about these things,” she said, adding that people needed to have a willingness to start farming.

The head of the agriculture division at the Jakarta Fisheries, Agriculture and Food Security agency, Diah Meidiantie, said the agency’s urban farming program, launched in 2016, was also aimed at individuals such as Asri and Sita, and was not only targeting community groups.

“The main target of the program is to find figures among the residents who care about farming practices,” she said.

Since the launch of the program, Diah added that a number of community groups and individuals had contacted the agency to ask for seeds, which were provided freely by the agency.

She said residents just need to submit copies of their identities and family cards to obtain seeds from the agency’s farms spread out across different locations, such as in Cengkareng, West Jakarta, Cibubur, East Jakarta and Lebak Bulus, South Jakarta. (rdi)