More than 5,000 Beijing homes are to receive free vegetable seeds as part of a charity plan to encourage more people to follow sustainable lifestyles.

Residents will be able to plant the seeds on balconies or in communal spaces, while experts from Beijing University of Agriculture will tour communities offering advice on how to grow their own food.

"By growing vegetables, people will be closer to nature," said Duan Tao, secretary-general of the Sino-Ocean Charity Foundation, which aims to reduce the carbon emissions from people traveling to supermarkets to buy their produce.

The planting campaign, which started on Monday, is the second organized by the foundation and is aimed at covering 5,000 families across 100 communities. Last year, 3,600 households took part.

Residents in apartments or high-rise buildings who can only grow on balconies will get seedlings to suit their needs, such as cherry tomatoes and pumpkins.

Following several high-profile food safety scares, most of the families who have received the free starter kits have been happy to accept.

Feng Ziming, who lives in Nanluoguxiang in Dongcheng district, tore down his 3-square-meter honeycomb briquette shed on Monday and is now using the area to grow tomatoes, pumpkins and green peppers.

"In about three months I will be able to eat vegetables I grew myself," said the 60-year-old. "It's rewarding and healthier. What's more important is that I found something to do after retirement."

He said more than 40 families living nearby have also renovated or removed sheds to make way for vegetable gardens.

China Daily

(China Daily 05/12/2011 page)