Operation Santa Claus: elderly Hongkongers find new purpose on rooftop farms
Farm the City is charity founded in 2018 by three farming enthusiasts to share benefits of connecting with nature with city dwellers, especially elderly residents
On a sunny weekday, Hongkonger Lai Yee-man, 70, pulled weeds from a plot of leafy vegetables, shielding her face from the sun with a large white hat.
But Lai was not on a typical farm; she was on the rooftop of a shopping centre in the middle of an urban neighbourhood.
“When Hong Kong people come here, they are surprised to see the vegetables. They say ‘Oh wow, that’s how eggplants are grown!’ Some kids have never seen these things being grown,” said Lai, pointing to bell peppers, dragon fruit, pineapples and figs.
With funding from the annual fundraising campaign Operation Santa Claus (OSC), more elderly people will soon join Lai on the rooftop farm at Metroplaza in Kwai Fong, where large wooden planters burst with vegetables and herbs, from pak choi and squash to cherry tomatoes, lemongrass and rosemary.
The project is the brainchild of Farm the City, a charity founded in 2018 by three enthusiasts who enjoyed farming in the New Territories and wanted to share the benefits of connecting with nature with city dwellers, especially elderly residents.
Realising that Hong Kong, despite its dense urban landscape, had plenty of unused rooftop space, they persuaded Metroplaza to let them transform its roof into a farm.