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JUMPSTART
JUMPSTART
WHAT ARE YOUR BIGGEST
CHALLENGES?
We wanted to show
people that it is
possible to grow
your own delicious
and nutritious fruit,
vegetables and
herbs, right in the
heart of the city.
WHAT DO YOU LOVE MOST ABOUT THIS
BUSINESS?
One of our biggest challenges
initially was the mindset that there
is a lack of space in Hong Kong to
grow food. Many people would
agree that urban farming is a great
idea in other countries, but that it is
impossible in Hong Kong. However,
once you know what a suitable
space looks like, you can see them
everywhere.
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There is something about growing
and eating your home grown food
that is truly satisfying. With children
especially, you can see they are
curious about the natural world. As
we were delivering one workshop,
we saw a little girl disappear behind
the audience. When the session
ended, we found she had taken off
her shoes, lifted one leg up onto a
sack of soil almost as tall as she was
and was rubbing her bare foot in the
soil “just to see what it felt like”. At
the heart of it, TTG is not just work,
it’s lots of fun too!
WHO ARE YOUR GO-TO BUSINESS
MENTORS IN HK?
Growing Edible Urban Landscapes
INTERVIEW WITH
TIME TO GROW
TELL US ABOUT YOUR BUSINESS
Established in 2012, Time To Grow (TTG) is a responsible enterprise
dedicated to promoting urban farming in Hong Kong. Through our bespoke
farm installation services and educational workshops, we want to turn
the city’s unused spaces into an edible urban landscape and reconnect
city-dwellers with the food they eat. Our goal is not just to promote urban
farming in Hong Kong, but to encourage conscious lifestyle choices that
take into account our relationship to the environment and our community.
WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO LAUNCH THIS
BUSINESS?
We met at a gathering of people
interested in social enterprise, where
we also connected with Ah Pad, one
of the pioneers of Hong Kong’s organic
food movement. Although organic
Food Entrepreneurs of HK
farming has been taking place in Hong
Kong for decades, it is mostly confined
to the New Territories. We wanted
to show people that it is possible to
grow your own delicious and nutritious
fruit, vegetables and herbs, right in the
heart of the city.
HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO SET UP
YOUR BUSINESS?
Our first project was on the terrace
of The Peak Galleria in the summer
of 2012, which was a lucky break
for us just a few months after TTG
had been established. It was a
great learning experience and such
an iconic location gave us a lot of
credibility; but I would say that it
has taken at least 18 months for us
to really get going. Earlier this year,
we launched a rooftop farm on the
Bank of America Tower in Central, in
partnership with Jones Lang LaSalle
and Bank of America Merrill Lynch;
and since then we’ve been getting a
lot more attention.
WHERE DO YOU SOURCE YOUR SEEDS
AND BOXES FROM?
We source all of our organic seeds, soil
and equipment from local suppliers.
While we don’t have a single mentor,
we have been fortunate to have been
supported by many experts in different
fields. We’ve also been part of SOW
Asia’s i2i programme and we’re
members of The Good Lab, which has
given us access to advisers and other
entrepreneurs in the same boat.
WHO DOES YOUR MARKETING?
Our PR is done in-house and through
our partners like JLL. Our branding
and website were designed by
Gardens&co. - they are fantastic!
HOW DO YOU PROMOTE YOUR
BUSINESS?
Facebook, email, giving presentations
and talks that introduce what we do,
networking and posting on websites
like Ecozine.
www.timetogrow.hk
NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES
We have 4 employees.
Food Entrepreneurs of HK