Rooftop Urban Farming Project in Helwan

Helwan is one of the low-income districts in the capital city of Cairo, with dense urban fabric and minimal green or open spaces. The rooftops of buildings are often cluttered in old trash¹. In 2018, a Cairo based company Schaduf initiated an urban agriculture project in Helwan and its surrounding informal settlements, with the aim of enhancing not only the environmental quality of the neighborhood but also for socio-economic benefits².

The project consisted of the establishment of 500 urban farms on roofs as well as training services for the community in order to facilitate the urban gardening process³. The plantation technique was based on hydroponics, a method that enables above ground plantation, requires minimal water and no soil and is applicable in the case of rooftop gardening⁴. The most commonly used plants were Molokhia, a local spinach widely cultivated in Egypt, as well as lettuce and other leafy greens⁵. Each family was provided with 2 roof garden setups, that is, a total of 420 plants. Each setup cost close to $700; however, families were only expected to contribute around $20⁶.

Training services for this project were provided to 850 families, most of which included girls between the ages of 9 and 15. Training also equipped residents with the knowledge on how to set up the mechanism for successful seed germination; once matured, the residents were able to harvest twice a month⁷.

The project was managed by Schaduf, whereas 95% of the funding was provided by Drosos, a Swiss Foundation. Schaduf is a private local company that focuses on urban gardens and green roofs in the city of Cairo. Founded in 2011 by brothers Sherif and Tarek Hosny, Schaduf aims to develop ‘green solutions’ for low-income communities, helping them grow their rooftop gardens and farms for personal consumption or for commercial purposes⁸. In order to sustain this model, the company utilizes hydroponics for plantation and facilitates the provision of microcredits to families in Cairo to set up their projects⁹.