Bangalore Creative Circus Garden

Project size: 800 sqft

Bangalore Creative Circus, Yeshwanthpur, Bangalore, Karnataka

July 2020 to January 2021, with ongoing periodic maintenance

Key design features: Food forest, garden beds, greywater pond, fruit trees, volunteer-based implementation

Project team: Jananee Mohan (Design lead); Nikhil Rodrigues, Sanjana Radhakrishnan, Mandeep Singh, Himanshu Arteev, Kiri Meili

Elevation: 926 metres above sea level

Annual rainfall: 900mm / 35 inches

Climate: Tropical savanna

Bioregion: N/A (urban context)

Soil type: Sandy loam with construction rubble

Design phase

This project involved the design and implementation of a permaculture demonstration garden at Bangalore Creative Circus, an urban living lab for regenerative systems, communities and cultures. The garden was envisioned as part of a larger space showcasing sustainable approaches to food, water, and energy. The 800sqft space was conceived as a living example of how permaculture principles can be applied to grow food in both urban and rural contexts.

Ananas developed the design for an urban community food forest with garden beds, that integrates greywater reuse, rainwater harvesting, soil-building practices, composting, and passive irrigation. The project also included elements such as a nursery, seedbank, and interpretive signboards to communicate permaculture principles and techniques for growing food using household waste streams.

Initial visits, design marking and procurement

Implementation guidance through volunteer days

Implementation took place through a series of community volunteer days between September 2020 and January 2021, encouraging hands-on learning and collective participation in building the garden. Over time, the space has matured into a dense and productive landscape, with saplings such as drumstick growing into large trees, and many trees now bearing fruit. The café at BCC sources some of its ingredients directly from the garden. A follow-up visit and volunteer day in May 2025 supported ongoing maintenance and care of the site.