While the idea of urban agriculture or urban gardening may seem like something novel with fairly new origins, similar community gardening programmes and community allotments were introduced as far back as the Great Depression. However, more recently the practice of urban farming and ‘farming in the sky’ has been steadily mushrooming across cities around the world. Ever the global city Johannesburg is getting in on the action. Green rooftops and other urban farming initiatives are slowly cropping up in Johannesburg’s inner city, with the aims of nurturing a closer relationship between city-dwellers and nature, promoting healthy eating and creating more green spaces in the urban jungle. All of this can be invisible to many of the city’s residents – and that’s what Green Minds Tours wants to change. Green Minds unearths these hidden eco-spaces and gives visitors a chance to redefine the city of gold as the green city.

The tour kicks off in the Maboneng precinct outside the newly refurbished Cosmopolitan Hotel, a once renowned gentlemen’s club. Today the building houses a restaurant, a bar, gallery and retail spaces. The courtyard is why we are here. This is the site of a budding green space punctuated by a handful of sculptures. The garden offers a moment of contemplative pause in a space often-times defined by a feverish mechanical energy. Once our guide has introduced us to the concept of urban farming, the history of the Cosmopolitan and outlined the itinerary for the day, we head out to Observatory, a nearby suburb.

A mere 10 minutes later we arrive at Siyakhana Farm in Bezuidenhout Park. What is now the Wits Siyakhana Initiative has a long and green history that started with a farm during the early days of the city’s gold rush. Today the space is part of a Wits (University of the Witwatersrand) run initiative that engages individuals and organisations across the country to promote among other things health, improve food security and enhance environments. The farm’s resident herbalist Bab’ Sihle is on hand to teach visitors about the medicinal qualities of some of the herbs being grown on the property. We get to have a taste of the tea that Bab’ Sihle brews using some herbs on the plot. This is part of a Q&A session with Bab’ Sihle about the health benefits of herbs and remedying common ailments.

The Siyakhana Food Garden, the initiative’s flagship project, is easily one of the most successful urban food gardens in the wider Johannesburg metropole. Besides its far-reaching social development successes, the programme empowers small-scale farmers and gardeners with a host of skills relating to sustainable agriculture and wellness. These are just some of the countless and incredible things that make Siyakhana an important and leading incubator of knowledge relating to food security, urban agriculture and agro-ecology.

After seeing the seeds of change being sowed by Siyakhana we head back to Maboneng to visit the Living Room, a rooftop bar described as an urban oasis. Before we arrive, we take a small detour to The Canteen at Arts on Main to check out how this initial green space has given birth to the green trend in Maboneng. After this short digression we arrive at The Living Room. The sprawling green wall installations are the first thing one notices on arrival. The leafy balcony provides panoramic views of the city, making it an idyllic backdrop for drinks and lunch, and the perfect way to end the tour.