‘Ditch fancy gadgets and go green’ was the message of ‘Green My Mumbai’ workshop at The HIVE, Khar
The downpour of last week not only announced the official arrival of monsoon but also inspired green thumbs to get busy with gardening. Amongst the many workshops happening across the city urging Mumbaikars to go green, the ‘Green My Mumbai’ workshop, which took place at The HIVE, last Sunday, caught our attention for its uniqueness.
Merging upcycling with gardening
The workshop was conducted by SUN-iKheti, a joint effort between SUN (Start Upcycling Now) and iKheti, aiming to encourage people to live sustainable lifestyles through urban farming, composting and converting plastic and glass bottles into home décor and utility items.
The session started with decorating glass bottles (the bottoms of which were pre-cut) using colours and fashioning them into table lamps by attaching them to the LED lights manufactured by SUN. The participants let their creative streak show when colouring the bottles—the pigmented colours helped give a psychedelic look to the glass bottle lamp once lighted.
The upside-down planter
Keeping in mind indoor air pollution and taking the upcycling idea a bit further, the duo of Natasha D’costa, founder of SUN, and Priyanka Amar, founder of iKheti, demonstrated how a simple glass or plastic bottle can be turned into an upside-down planter for indoor plants.
Using materials that are readily available such as plastic mesh and an absorbent fabric, plants that are known to reduce toxicity levels in the air can be planted with ease. While hand-holding participants on how to go about it, Priyanka also gave them a list of NASA-recommended plants best suited for indoor planting. These included Spider Grass, Areca Palm, Philodendron and the most commonly available, Money Plant. Philodendron, for instance, can reduce toxic compounds such as xylene while Palm rids the air of formaldehyde, benzene and carbon monoxide.
South Mumbai resident Madan Chhabria, who was one of the participants at the workshop, posed with his Spider Grass planter, saying, “I’m really happy with this upside-down planter and I’m even more excited to try it at home.”
A sustainable partnership:
Natasha D’costa, the founder of SUN is an interior designer, landscape artist and environmentalist while Priyanka Amar, the founder of iKheti, is eco-preneur, urban farmer and environmentalist. To get details about their initiatives and workshops, visit startupcyclingnow.com or www.ikheti.co.in
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 "The upside down planter made with upcycling a glass bottle. The planter has philodendron, which helps purify the air.")
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