A mission to bring back native fruit-bearing trees

After a successful effort in 2017 that resulted in planting more than 10,000 saplings along the roads of Balusseri, the Bhageeratham Vruksha Yajnam is back with a new mission to plant 10 lakh saplings during the forthcoming monsoon. For Johny Vadakkel, coordinator of the mission, this is also an effort to bring back the traditional fruit-bearing trees of Kerala like mango, jackfruit, tamarind and guava in place of acacia, eucalyptus, mayflower and manchiyam that not only are useless, but harmful to the environment too.

“Many of our roadsides are lined by these useless trees. We need to replace them with useful trees,” said Mr. Vadakkel who has named the mission ‘Mavum Plavum' after his favourite trees. The campaign that spreads over five months encourages individuals as well as organisations to plant as many useful saplings in whatever available spaces. As a first step, they have to collect seeds of mangoes, jackfruit and other fruits during the summer months and sow them in small bags to produce saplings.

From June to August

From June to August, these saplings shall be planted along the roadsides or in private lands. The rest shall be distributed among people who visit the houses or institutions. Institutions shall distribute them as compliments to their customers while clubs and other organisations shall charge a nominal amount for the saplings. “People are encouraged to make their own saplings so that they learn to value them. Also there is no point in distributing the saplings free of cost as free goods are not valued by most,” Mr. Vadakkel said.

Mini forests

‘Smrithi Vanam’ is another segment of the Vruksha Yajnam in which members of a household are encouraged to plant different species of trees in one corner of their courtyard in memory of their ancestors. It will grow into a mini forest. Similar tasks shall be undertaken by clubs and other organisations on roadsides, schools, places of worship and empty plots. “Our motto is ‘Manassundenkil Maramundu’ (where there is mind, there is a tree). We need to plant the saplings in people’s minds first. People need to recognise the need for it and each sapling that is planted should have a custodian,” said Mr. Vadakkel, also a teacher at Government Arts and Science College, Kozhikode.

It was under the banner of Samrudhi, an organisation of teachers and students in the college, that the ‘Bhageeratham’ project was launched in 2016 in an effort to rid the district of plastic waste. The project shifted gears to ‘Mavum Plavum’ in 2017.

“We dream of 5-ft tall jackfruit trees and mango trees on the roadsides all over Kozhikode district in a matter of five years,” Mr. Vadakkel said. Individuals or organisations that wish to associate with the mission may contact 7012033095 for details.