Gen Z is shrouded in gadgets. Video games and smartphones have changed the lifestyle of Pakistani youth. It feels no less than a luxury today while recalling living in spacious houses with gardens to play in. Apart from snatching our children’s childhood, this modernism has taken a very common hobby of gardening from this generation. Being scolded by the elders for playing too much in the mud was like a daily routine but nowadays parents get happy when they see their kids doing anything except watching TV and scrolling on mobile.
In the recent floods, the prices of fruits and vegetables were sky high. Only those with kitchen gardens were relaxed as they can spend more on other needs instead of spending a huge chunk on fertilizer-grown vegetables. This made me realize the importance of kitchen gardening. It is not just healthy but economical too. Many NGOs are using this trade for a long to build up the livelihood of the vulnerable and it proved to be a massive success.
A woman is a building stone of a family because she has the power to create, nurture and transform. If a tribal Pakistani woman who is interested in farming with a backyard space can easily earn a respectable livelihood through the skill of kitchen gardening if motivated and provided with the relevant tools. The current economic gap in Pakistan is too hard only for men to fill it. Kitchen gardening is hope for all of us because it can help grow not just a family but Pakistan in the larger context. Pakistan is an agricultural country and every citizen should cultivate something to put their part in it.
We must motivate our children to participate in healthy activities like gardening before the dinosaur of technology swallow us all completely. We should also focus more on horticulture instead of floriculture. Garden is the reflection of heaven on this earth so let’s make our homes and our country heaven.
The writer is an activist, poet, and student of literature. He can be reached at shehrozesultan98@gmail.com
