Michael and Evelyn Forcado from the Philippines have turned their city rooftop into a hydroponic micro-farm.
From up high, Doha can look like a dusty geometric sea of beige villa tops. But the Forcado’s green shrubby roof sits defiantly on the skyline.
Michael says he was inspired to grow vegetables by the film “The Martian” (2015). “If Matt Damon was able to grow vegetables on Mars, I believed we could grow some in the desert” he says half-jokingly.
Qatar has one of the world’s harshest climates, with temperatures reaching 50 degrees Celsius and only 1.8 percent arable land (World Bank).
Hydroponics is a soilless horticultural technique in which a plant’s roots dangle in a water solution for nourishment. The method can be used almost anywhere that has ample light.
