How this Rooftop Grew 20,000 lbs of Food

[@kajalsingh9554]

This is one hugely important component of how humans beat depression, addiction, loneliness. Great work, and congratulations to all who are involved in this project.

[@MrRafagigapr]

i think just living in California negates all these benefits tenfold

[@wombat7961]

@@MrRafagigapr capitalism, individualism, etc is what creates the problem listed above so definitely anyone who lives around cities or metropolitan, high traffic states like california. i live in oakland, never heard of this place and likely will not see more like it. Oh ok this is the building with Amazons whole foods store underneath it. Its a luxury apartment.

[@ryanabernathy4144]

@@MrRafagigapr California is also the state that is doing stuff like this concept. In fact, Cali is also one of the states that is more off grid friendly than most states.

[@haideesebastian5185]

Simply amazing!

[@gardenmind4515]

It'll take a long time for the snail and slugs to find your veggies! What a great project!

[@jerryfeist318]

I hadn't thought of that 😂

[@buhu446]

lol that's a brilliant understanding of our ecosystem 😂

[@AimYTYT]

slug: this is some bullshit

[@olivere5497]

When small they can get carried on shoe tread or in bags of mulch or the plummage of sparrows or pigeons.

[@matthewanipen2418]

Even the annoying critters serve a purpose and contribute to a balance. I'm sure they have an answer to that too!

[@bombadil776]

Your stories have the best messages.

[@djudju8047]

Impressive work by these rooftop farmers.

[@Im-just-Stardust]

There are many big problems in this world, but the solutions are immense too.

[@lets7121]

@@Im-just-Stardust definitely not a solution to the big problems in the world.

[@Ifyouarehurtnointentwasapplied]

​@@lets7121exactly 💯👏✌️👍

[@lucaskp16]

yeah but for this to be a reality and not just money burn feel good about it like this. you need to be able to make a profit on it. and ofc people working on it are not gonna be paid as health care workers just because sound nice. they will be paid depending on how much stuff they are able to grow and sell.

[@priscilas24]

The only problem is that humans are only focused in profits making money etc so they forget sustaintability, development in green and healthy ways everything evolves around money people get sick that's money

[@WorldWideGardeningWizard]

Love this! It cools and stores energy as food, creating green spaces, cleaning the air! Imagine how the city looks from above covered in these beautiful green roofs!

[@lets7121]

@@WorldWideGardeningWizard too bad we don’t live above the city.

[@pongop]

Solarpunk future here we come!

[@priscilas24]

Wizard that's an amazing project we are already began to construct sustaintable cities in dubai too

[@avgFloridian]

It's nice to see another tactic to get around the current method of remote industrial food production that isn't working.

[@froschreiniger2639]

I dont think its a replacement. Large scale corn production for example is very hard to beat in efficiency. But it is a good supplement. Produce huge quantities of corn and grain on the industrial fields, and grow the veggies and herbs fresh for consuption at location.

[@W4iteFlame]

That is something I wish to see more of

[@sparetire3]

Amazing video, if all cities could embrace this our world would be a better place.

[@BuildNewTowns]

👏👏

[@mahmudabrori9116]

This is what we need, not just in urban area, even in every neighborhood of a town. Food insecurity is a real issue, and this movement is one of the best way to solve it.

[@charliez7130]

The amount of usable space on rooftop carparks along is staggering

[@brqxton8974]

to be fair, the united states produces enough food to feed every citizen 2x over, we need to first manage our food waste and properly learn how to distribute our excess to those who need it

[@mahmudabrori9116]

@@brqxton8974 yes, that's a fact. I'm not US citizen, and what I mean is, this sustainable farming movement should be applied in a global scale. I'm from Indonesia, and almost every major cities here is near with main crop producer, but also there are some area that food insecurity is a real issue, and yes, the distribution not so well since we are in archipelago. So my point is, "grow your own food as best as you can in your own neighborhood" movement is a really good idea, and it should be in a global scale.

[@hientrinhle6160]

At first thumbnail I though it China😅.

[@miraichan5292]

In neighorhood area, you better buy a land and make a farm on ground than build structure that can hold that much weight on roof top. People build this kind of project because transportation cost is higher than farming in urban area.

[@christinerenee5616]

Can you imagine if every new flat-roofed building was required to have a roof like this? It could change everything.

[@ceili]

Yep, locally grown, efficient use of space. Not enough people/entrepreneurs and businesses out there to utilise all that unused space

[@Dirt-Fermer]

Don’t make it a requirement. Make it a tax deduction

[@Dirt-Fermer]

@@ceili safe from most thieves to

[@Kitsune_Shirotsuki]

​@@Dirt-Fermer unless the thief is a traitor, like usually

[@lets7121]

@@ceili definitely enough people. and we don't want to turn the rooftops into businesses. just Grow food and shARE IT.

[@mavenpickdesigns]

As a designer, I find this really inspiring. I’ve proposed a lot of designs that incorporate green roofing, but unfortunately, some clients aren’t interested in that option, and I totally respect their choices. Still, I’m committed to advocating for these innovative solutions to tackle heat. Green roofs can really help with heat absorption, improve biodiversity and air quality, and even create jobs in the community. Plus, they can provide access to fresh, healthy organic foods. I’m all in for the green movement!

[@ziad_jkhan]

I've been working on rooftop garden designs as well lately but with more impactful goals in mind. Feel free to let me me know if your're curious and I'll elaborate further 😀

[@mavenpickdesigns]

@@ziad_jkhan hi, do you have a yt channel where we cab check out some of your work? I’d love to support movement like this!

[@kahtyman7293]

is there other kind of vegetables than organic?

[@kkiuoi]

​@@kahtyman7293Of course there is , you can gene manipulate and use not organic nutrients etc. 1 example: Europe, food grown in fully hydroponic system can not be sold as organic, even if it was in a way organic.

[@WiZang13]

Thank you for this episode! I pass by this building all the time, and I never understood how it worked. I love your content, and especially your visual explanations through art. You are very talented.

[@JelliinaCup]

OOOOOO That's the thinnest soil garden I've seen yet! That glassboard timelapse showing the irrigation was so cool!

[@kevinsabharwal1822]

If they implemented this in nyc this would improve the quality of life and bring a much needed Renaissance to the city.

[@benjaminfahrer108]

Brooklyn Grange is rocking it in NYC check them out!

[@greatgongo3772]

I get so excited every time I see one of these videos. There genuinely isn’t any other channel that I get as excited about as this one. Thank you so much!

[@TurboLoveTrain]

Thankyou for sharing this Andrew--these people are simply wonderful.

[@wotanmituns33]

As solarpunk as it gets! 👏

[@TurboLoveTrain]

When permaculture and community farms is the counter culture... what a world.

[@Dirt-Fermer]

@@TurboLoveTrain it shouldn’t be counter, it should be worked into the culture by just doing it on your property and it will spread

[@lets7121]

as greenwashing as it gets. these apartment complex owners do these types of these to make them look green and moral. this is not solar punk. solar punk would be the tenants saying we want to garden the roof and doing that together, even if the owners said no. this is just another form of capitalist greenwashing.

[@lets7121]

@@wotanmituns33 not solarpunk. Not even punk. It’s a yuppie venture.

[@dazey8706]

​@@lets7121 i guess were just so far removed from community and humane resource distribution that even this "yuppie venture" goes completely against our current welfare conditions. we'll take what we can get atp

[@thatguychris5654]

Great concept! But here are a few issues not addressed: - If you take food out, you will have to haul nutrients in to replace it. Composting scraps helps keep some stuff on site, but the rest is gone. - The city pollution surrounding crops might not be the best idea. - There's no rain catchment, so most of the water is treated city water. - If power gets interrupted, you aren't hauling anything in or out. - I hope they have at least some worms up there. Not sure since they do thermal composting. Perhaps adding rabbit hutches will more wisely make use of the scraps, feeding people healthy meat while fertilizing the soil.

[@rosemarymcbride3419]

idk if oakland does city wide compost collection but i could imagine that would be a good source of input for projects like this

[@brokentwilight3136]

I think they use the same method as most farms, either organic or industrial fertilizer

[@PlaystationMasterPS3]

@@rosemarymcbride3419 citywide composting is a good idea, have compost going out and the finished product coming in. being in a city means you can outsource things to a larger scale. once there's enough green roof farms oakland should look into that

[@sexywarriorwomen]

@@brokentwilight3136they said it was organic in the video

[@JoshuaRes]

I had similar (unpopular) thoughts. Conceptually I love this, practically I am unsure.

[@abbybrothers9888]

I love these people. Can’t wait to show this to so many people.

[@screechza]

the amazing part is they provide the blueprint on how to do this. Now, this is what I call as a movement. Amazing video as always, my man.

[@itsgonnabeanaurfromme]

It's not hard to figure out how to do it if you have an engineer and architect

[@CitiesForTheFuture2030]

Wow - I'm blown away! This is awesome... this is what cities should be like. This is very inspiring. Thank you. Question: as long as the roof can support the weight, isn't it better to use containers or self contained raised garden beds? One thing not mentioned: who owns the building (residential or commercial office?) - I'm sure employees can reduce work stress & increase productivity by helping out during work breaks, or just sit in amongst nature throughout the day. The green roof at Thammasat University in Bangkok feeds the campus plus community. Both these projects shines a light on quality urban living for all, irrespective of income level (good food is for everyone). Much blessings to all involved. I hope this catches on in every community in every city.

[@Gongall]

I have a counter question, why do you think containers or self contained beds would be preferable? I guess I am also asking what you mean by this, are you talking about raised beds?

[@CitiesForTheFuture2030]

@@Gongall in order to replicate soil structure they basically had to reconstruct the whole roof to allow for drainage, prevent leakes & support the extra weight. Self contained raised beds are, well, self contained - no need for the roof reconstruction- perhaps simpler to get up & running. Perhaps also making planting & harvesting easier. The roof would still need to be reinforced to bear the extra weight though.

[@benjaminfahrer108]

@@CitiesForTheFuture2030 The building was designed to be one big raised bed so it was all engineered to work together. If in raised beds we would need more costs for decking- walkways as well as the building of containers which adds a hug cost. all these containers still need to drain off the roof so then are contained to drain. We did a number of planter projects and at this scale it makes more sense to make a monolithic roof

[@aaronjgranados5698]

Amazing inspiration. Love to see the change!

[@andysPARK]

Very impressive, well done.

[@julietteyork6293]

So impressive

[@shadeedmuhammad8107]

Yeah Allen you did it again!!!!!! Great showing. Peace to you homie and much love

[@kevindolan2755]

This actually made me spontaneously start crying. I’m so glad someone is doing this ❤️ 🙏

[@essieamorin9976]

Wow! Amazing.

[@litwin707]

The garden is AMAZING!! It’s so wonderful to see your dreams realized, Ben & Rupa; congratulations!!! 🌱

[@lakwatserongadvisor]

Wow, I can’t imagine that it’s possible to make the rooftop a productive agricultural place. That’s very and amazing idea. Thank you for sharing and surely more will make this in their rooftop. Such a wonderful and fruitful rooftop.❤️❤️❤️

[@obi-wankenobi4301]

I’ve done several college projects on rooftop and community gardens (with a focus on urban food deserts) because I’m in love with this solution! It’s great to finally see someone use that idea and do something to bring it to life!

[@ziad_jkhan]

I've been working on rooftop designs lately but with the goal of transcending trade and the monetary system that's currently holding us back. If that made you curious then feel free to let me know and I'll gladly elaborate.

[@obi-wankenobi4301]

@@ziad_jkhan Please do 🤔

[@ziad_jkhan]

​@@obi-wankenobi4301 Humania Town - Does that tell you anything?

[@obi-wankenobi4301]

@@ziad_jkhan Just found your 3D model- it’s very utopian, and I like the way you integrated solar energy, aquaponics, and food forests! Great work

[@ziad_jkhan]

@@obi-wankenobi4301 It won't solve all our problems but can certainly help us solve our biggest problems, notably basic-need scarcity, addiction, dominance and lack of connection. I'm open to collaboration if that interests you and there's a link in the comments if you'd like to find out more already.

[@jensps]

Thank you for sharing the wisdom of these wonderful people!

[@oraculofantasy]

How do you find all this amazing projects!!! I got amazed with the one located in the South of Spain, thanks for all the inspiration ❤

[@Kingfarmm]

It takes a community of dedicated professionals, volunteers, and participants to make initiatives like this a success. Every effort, no matter how small, contributes to building a path toward recovery and well-being.

[@clivesmith9377]

Every company in every country should do that by Law. Free fruit and vegetables for everyone! 😊🥳❤

[@ayde92829]

This is a perfect system. I hope you expand. I'm excited for a future with more systems like this in it.

[@FarmLifeDaily-r2k]

Great clip! The content is both engaging and informative, thank you for sharing!

[@dwedwards]

AWESOME!!!! WE NEED MORE OF THIS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY IN EVERY CITY!!!!!

[@FoxyfloofJumps]

I love this. It keeps the building cooler in summer, warmer in winter, helps keep the cost of food down, helps downsize the need for food transport. It helps reduce water runoff and erosion, it even helps build communities.

[@matheus8530]

We need more of these, it is BEYOND amazing

[@ComplicatedCupcake]

Wonderful garden! I love this idea and see it grow worldwide!

[@sakeenahhart113]

I love it appreciated much . Wishing you all the best and for the community. I'm learning a lot ❤

[@chopsoy7570]

It's understated just how much structural engineering it takes to put a whole farm on top of a building, let alone a building in an earthquake-prone area right next to a fault line.

[@OldFarmerVlog]

Wonderful!!

[@honeyv540]

I love how this happening in my town. There's always negative news about Oakland but there are wonderful organizations trying to make a difference. ❤

[@jonathonalsop2120]

Beautiful. Love that there's the flowers along the pathways, and a natives section. This isn't some hippie out there thing, as Rupa said, this needs to be replicated everywhere. It needs to be common.

[@evaprendergast2394]

It’s also important to remember there is a value proposition (if society chooses to recognize it) - eating healthily has been proven to prevent or reduce severity of chronic illness. So the reduction in cost of treatment of such medical issues as a result of healthy eating would more than offset the cost of operating urban farms such as this.

[@judeervinsen2648]

These people are amazing! Very inspiring way to maximize space and help the community

[@garciavashchino1]

I've always thought, why don't roof tops for all buildings have either Solar/Farms/Greens/Parking... This video answered it... and it always went over my head... you have to plan the building around it. This probably kills my idea since the cost might be much higher than the owner/renters want to pay. I wonder if there is another way... Maybe the Solar since it's lighter... anyway...

[@hugo5149]

Probably only hydroponics, nutrient film technique pipes, very light weight and very little water used per area. For example, another technique in hydroponics, raft systems wouldn't be possible either since it would be hundreds of pounds every square feet.

[@neetfreek9921]

Guessing your best chance of replicating this is to make it a gimmicky selling point for new apartment complexes. Probably the only way to justify the investment without subsidies.

[@toddberkely6791]

my dad is doing constant maintainance on a badly built house. reality is eventually it becomes cheaper to build from new than to work around previous designs.

[@Carefree_Collantes2256]

I have my own rooftop garden☺With ornamental plants and some veggies.. and i love it for real coz the sunlight is more accesable in there than in the ground..😊

[@gustavorubio5112]

Awesome, there is hope for the present and future, thanks for sharing this information.

[@colleeneggertson2117]

Wonderful. YWCA in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada has a rooftop garden and last I heard they donated the produce to people with food insecurity.

[@aryaman05]

How does this project economically sustain itself, was hoping to hear details of that ?

[@NateLee-nc6tb]

A spark of light in a time that seems so dark.

[@kastenolsen9577]

Way to go people!!! Andrew, need more places like this.

[@priscilas24]

That's such an amazing project that can benefits the comunity local, to be united and focused in eating well and sharing to those who don't have enough food I can't count in how many aspects these rooftop farming will be helping people just beautiful work 😊

[@KatinaBentleyRGR]

Great work! Thank you for creating this video.

[@swati_sachi_lofi]

This is really marvellous 💟💛💖💗.

[@GLOBETROTTER8490]

This is incredible marvellous in-between I didn't see any grass or hay growing as we see on ground in our farms great keep posting 🙏🇮🇳

[@georgeluis8650]

Whenever I think about farming, it brings back memories of how my family managed to survive after losing our farm to Hurricane Florence in September 2018 here in North Carolina, thanks to a monthly influx of $36,000.

[@ArianaWendy-w1t]

Great post friend

[@ArianaWendy-w1t]

QThat's a major hit and must have been heartbreaking

[@ChrissyCieriBennett]

How do you get so much in that period of time????

[@OliviaMichele-sz6gt]

That's an outrageous figure for a month. What do you do?

[@georgeluis8650]

Big thanks to Rebecca Hern Mayer

[@johnannan2506]

KEEP ON DOING WHAT YOURE DOING!! It is just brilliant!

[@digdarshansingh7793]

AWESOME EXAMPLE OF SOIL ENGG..IDEA WORKS & WORKS FOR FUTURE URBAN PAPULATION NEED❤

[@PorchGardeningWithPassion]

This is an incredibly great idea! 👊🏻🌻👊🏻

[@jocloperez]

I've been eagerly waiting for a new video, and this one is absolutely incredible. Your content always inspires me, and it's giving me hope, easing my misanthropy just a little bit. I truly hope that one day, we can all move beyond our egocentrism and start living in healthy, connected communities. As Rupa Marya beautifully put it, 'Health is not an attribute of an individual; it's a reflection of a system working in mutual benefit.'

[@wildlifegardenssydney7492]

Wow this is such an incredible project. So thoroughly thought out. Fulfilling so many multifaceted needs. Congratulations on all those involved for their tremendous efforts. Excellent presentation from those involved. If every new building had a rooftop like this. The cities of the world would be so much more liveable and pleasant. Special mention ❤🦜🦅🕊to the wildlife attracting plants and pollinator plants , herbs and medicines. Singapore housed all their people and created so much green space and plants and community gardens and community spaces and nature walks. Almost everyone uses public transport. This project has similarities and the rooftop garden engineering is outstanding . Bringing sustainability, organic food, to those in need and mitigating the heat island effect outstanding!

[@armybabes2303]

Excellent and impressive work. I hope many urban lifestyle adapt this sustainable food resources that requires hardwork. You guys movement is really inspiring. All love!

[@missy3609]

This is amazing! I hope more rooftop farms become the norm.

[@SkyLandFarmm]

Absolutely loved this video! The information was super helpful and well-presented. Can't wait to see what's next! Great work! 🌟🚜

[@hjordistorfa]

This is just Exelent and Practial..truely Impressive Congratulation everyone Great idé and work.. Hoping this idé gos around the world.. Thank you all Greetings from Skandinavia 💞🇮🇸👍💞

[@searchingfortruth619]

More rooftop everything!!! So underrated.

[@WiejskieInspiracjePL]

Good idea, well done...

[@ahmedabakar5166]

Great 👍🏿 From Chad Africa 🇷🇴🌍

[@catty2067]

In India lot of housewives grow their veggies on rooftop. We even have a local TV channel that shares this kind of veggie gardens to encourage others. Women in this show shares their experiences.

[@NorthFLWormWorks]

Using this method to transfer heat from roof shingles to vegetable produce while also cooling the house area down beneath is a great concept I hope to be apart of for southern and heat stricken environments. Let alone the pest resistance from new elevation, the water absorbtion(less roofing maintenance from mold or water build up) and also heat damage aswell all while saving money growing food. This is something we can implement for family house hold. Not a market style but a barrier bed if you will to have some crops while maintaining an energy efficient home cooling method naturally. Just pinning this here since I don’t have a good journal yet haha awesome video!!! 🤙🤙🤙

[@erlindaaguirre9788]

Very nice idea I want to share to all my countrymen.

[@RyanFontayne]

Thanks for sharing this wonderful project 💚👍

[@kevinchao89]

I love working and hanging out on this beautiful roof! Some people that see it through video ask if it's a virtual background, and it's so butiful and cool!

[@SamirVIE]

Amazing and impressive work!

[@vividdaydream1516]

Every rooftop should have this!

[@Tekeu_Saith]

Same feeling like The Division 2 1st settlement. Where they live on the rooftop. they thriving living there. Seeing this, makes me more faithful to humanity in the future.

[@mvadu]

Impressive project.. 2:00 how much does that additional engineering and construction adds to a typical cost of the building (in x% added cost).

[@Matty002]

glad they thought about planting some native plants to help the local pollinating insects, including native bees, which are the ones in trouble

[@shakirabells6955]

Me to i love gardening vegetables and flowers the problem here in my places its to hot since we having climate change wow this is amazing idea is so fresh i love ypur garden just so beautiful

[@techcastyt]

Amazing concept!

[@VCE4]

A very cool initiative Hope we will see more stuff like this

[@philiq18]

I gotta say, I'm more impressed by the handdrawn cross-section on their system. Great to see more rooftops being adapted to grow food.

[@genebodjtb]

it also reduces the cooling cost for the penthouse dwellers

[@KAK_PAN]

The accuracy between my dream and its project is great.

[@YogeshMane-kz2lm]

Brother U R work is beautiful U R very good man 👏🙏🙏🙏

[@pongop]

Wow! Amazing and inspiring! Everything is so well said. So many great quotes in there!

[@feestuart2499]

I like this so many are going hungry needlessly. Thanks for sharing

[@GabbyCito]

Beautiful. Thank you!

[@LaVern57]

I’ve seen this type of farm in New York on T.V. and it was absolutely amazing

[@FireWoodOfficial]

This system might actually see some additional benefits from co mingling some solar arrays. Partial shade on plants throughout the day and energy generation are a win win.

[@TurboLongi]

What a brilliant idea! We need more of this worldwide

[@kayclifton9064]

Aloha, this should be taught in the public schools for fresh food for children's lunches at every grade level. Teach a child to be a farmer and then everyone wins.

[@Beetle_box]

Great idea but wet soil can also pack some weight so ensure you consult wisely to make sure the roof can handle the weight of the plants plus soil/planting media before you decide to embark on such a journey...great idea..also for those that might decide to add a shade, ensure its well secured to avoid it being ripped of by the wind from the roof coz it might be a safety hazard

[@RaymondSackenheim]

As for urban ag, what pollutants do you need to worry about when farming on rooftops as opposed to the ground? According to Bill Mollisons classic permaculture book certain crops (root vs. Leafy or fruits) are better suited for urban ag.

[@loafoffloof3420]

Rooftop farmers, the city farmers of the future!? What an awesome use of the empty space seen often on so many city rooftops

[@ToukiMS]

This is beyond awesome 🎉