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opposite our tent. on Flickr.

Wed, 01 May 2013 15:59:09 +1200

"*************** “We are all one. Birds, plants, animals, minerals —- we are all..."

Wed, 01 May 2013 15:55:57 +1200

“***************
“We are all one. Birds, plants, animals, minerals —- we are all different manifestations of the same essential energy. Our way ahead, our searches and dreams are the molecular experience of the life experience of everything that makes up our planet. By caring for it, we will help each other grow.”
**************”

- Alejandro Lerner.

***An INCREDIBLE INSPIRATION for what you can do with your...

Wed, 01 May 2013 15:44:00 +1200

***An INCREDIBLE INSPIRATION for what you can do with your life…***

ONE humble, Indian man has single-handedly planted and cultivated 1,360 ACRES of forest —- all on his own!

Over 30 years, this amazing man quietly and determinedly created an entire rainforest on what was an arid sandbar, without any desire for fame or credit… A truly awe-inspiring commitment of selflessness and unconditional love for all creatures and Earth.
The world is lucky (and needs!) to still have individuals like this around. x

Read on:::

Jadav “Molai” Payeng started his project 30 years ago when he was still a teenager. Then, in 1979, flood waters washed a large number of snakes ashore on the local sandbar in Jorhat, some 350 km from Guwahati. When the waters receded, Payeng (who was 16 at the time) noticed the reptiles had died due to a lack of forestry.

“The snakes died in the heat, without any tree cover. I sat down and wept over their lifeless forms. It was carnage. I alerted the forest department and asked them if they could grow trees there. They said nothing would grow there. Instead, they asked me to try growing bamboo. It was painful, but I did it. There was nobody to help me. Nobody was interested,” said Payeng, who is now 47, to The Times of India.

Payeng chose to live on the sandbar, starting a life of isolation as he began work to create a new forest. Planting the seeds by hand, watering the plants in the morning and evening, and pruning them when required, he cultivated a huge natural reserve. After a few years, the sandbar was transformed into a bamboo thicket.

“I then decided to grow proper trees. I collected and planted them. I also transported red ants from my village, and was stung many times. Red ants change the soil’s properties . That was an experience,” Payeng recalled.

Over the years, the reserve has seen a huge variety of flora and fauna blossom on the sandbar, including endangered animals like the one-horned rhino and Royal Bengal tiger. “After 12 years, we’ve seen vultures. Migratory birds, too, have started flocking here. Deer and cattle have attracted predators,” claims Payeng . Unfortunately, locals reportedly killed a rhino which was seen in his forest, something that Payeng clearly disapproves of. ”Nature has made a food chain; why can’t we stick to it? Who would protect these animals if we, as superior beings, start hunting them?”

Amazingly, the Assam state forest department only learnt about Payeng’s forest in 2008 when a herd of some 100 wild elephants strayed into it after marauding through villages nearby. It was then that assistant conservator of forests Gunin Saikia met Payeng for the first time.

“We were surprised to find such a dense forest on the sandbar. Locals, whose homes had been destroyed by the pachyderms, wanted to cut down the forest, but Payeng dared them to kill him instead. He treats the trees and animals like his own children. Seeing this, we, too, decided to pitch in,” says Saikia. “We’re amazed at Payeng. He has been at it for 30 years. Had he been in any other country, he would have been made a hero.”