Have you thought about how powerful the simple act of planting a tree can be…how many ways, big and small, it can benefit communities? How about 15,000….?
Afternoon heat in the Tansa Valley, India is unforgiving. When PRASAD Chikitsa planted shade trees at village school bus stops, providing children with a welcome break from the intense heat, villagers and women’s self-help groups banded together and committed to caring for the trees.
2014- PRASAD Chikitsa and women’s Self-Help Groups planting the trees;
2018- Children and the trees
Over the past 17 years, PRASAD Chikitsa has invested in planting 22,000 tree saplings, educating community members on the value of trees, and engaging them in related activities. The Tree Planting Program started as a forest restoration and preservation effort. Daily Adivasi villager needs such as foraging for medicine and food and collecting construction and firewood are depleting the forest. Deforestation changes ecosystems, reducing the uptake of carbon dioxide and increasing the effects of climate change, all detrimental to the health and economic well-being of this indigenous population, who rely on the forest for so much. PRASAD has recruited volunteers to help establish sapling nurseries and created celebratory events to engage villagers in environmental conservation.
“As I planted the saplings at the nursery and the school, I kept in mind the importance that each holds. The saplings start small, but as trees, they become a major part of the Tansa Valley livelihood.” – Volunteer
Mother and son plant a sapling together
Creating awareness about environmental conservation across generations
More than 140 village children chanted enthusiastically as they planted 100 saplings!
In the coming three years, PRASAD Chikitsa plans to distribute 15,000 saplings – shade and also fruit trees, that will help poor farmers increase their incomes.
Give today and your gift will have double the impact – a generous donor has offered a $30,000 matching gift – matching your gift dollar for dollar. Help us meet this challenge and you’ll be a part of planting 6,000 trees, nearly half our goal!
A gift of just $20 helps to plant and care for two trees – four trees with the match – providing a better quality of life for villagers now and the promise of a replenished forest in the future. Won’t you help us rebuild environmental and economic sustainability in the Tansa Valley today?
Thank you for your support!
Dr. M. Cecilia Escarra
Executive Director
The PRASAD Project
