Landfill turned into urban farm to feed the poor

AN urban farm developed on a former landfill site in northern Thailand boosted food security and livelihoods of poor families during the coronavirus pandemic, and can be a model for unused spaces in other cities, urban experts said.

The farm in Chiang Mai took shape during a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus last year, when many of the city’s residents lost their tourism-dependent jobs.

Supawut Boonmahathanakorn, a community architect who works on housing solutions for Chiang Mai’s homeless and informal settlers, approached authorities with a plan to convert the unused landfill into an urban farm to support the poor.

“We had previously mapped the city’s unused spaces with an idea to plant trees to mitigate air pollution, ” he explained.

“The landfill, which had been used for 20 years, was one of those spaces.

“Poor families spend more than half their earnings on food so when their incomes dried up, they were struggling to feed their families.

“This farm has been a lifeline for them, ” he said, pointing to neat rows of corn and morning glory.

Coronavirus lockdowns worldwide have pushed more city dwellers to grow fruit and vegetables in the backyards and terraces of their homes, and forced authorities to consider urban farming as a means to boost food security.

In Chiang Mai, after authorities approved the farm plan, an appeal on social media resulted in donations of plants, seedlings and manure from residents, Supawut said. — Reuters