Project Impact

Sadhana Forest’s primary aim in Tamil Nadu is to restore the endangered Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest (TDEF). Since the beginning of the project, over 174,000 trees have been planted, the majority of which have survived and are showing steady growth. Since its inception, Sadhana Forest has reforested over 70% of its land, with native species playing a critical role in the ecosystem's recovery.

In addition, they take a holistic approach to restoration that goes beyond just tree planting.

Water Conservation: Sadhana Forest lies on a watershed of red earth and clay, where ravines and canyons are easily formed by heavy monsoon rains. A major challenge on the land is water-flow control and conservation. Sadhana Forest aims to achieve zero water runoff by recontouring lands, which includes building 8 check dams, constructing bunding over several kilometers, and directing remaining runoff to forested areas with high absorbency.

After five years of intensive water conservation efforts, they observed a significant rise in the local water table, which rose by 6 meters (20 feet)—from an average depth of 8 meters (26 feet) in 2003 to 1.8 meters (6 feet) in 2008. This increase has also benefited neighboring villages, where wells that had been dry for 15-20 years are now providing water year-round.

Educating Communities: Since its inception in 2003, Sadhana Forest has hosted more than 15,000 residential volunteers and hundreds of thousands of visitors who have learned about sustainable living, reforestation, and water conservation. The forest has conducted Permaculture courses, workshops, and hosted school groups and students from India and abroad. Additionally, they have helped train foresters from the Forest Department of the Government of India.

Nurturing Children: On December 27th, 2009, Sadhana Forest India started a project called Children’s Land. This 2.7-acre project empowers local children to think creatively and independently about sustainability.

In Children’s Land, the children decide how they want to develop the space allocated to them. Initially, many are surprised, but over time, they have designed and developed gardens, compost toilets, and even recycling workshops under adult supervision.

Project location

Sadhana Forest, Auroville, Tamil Nadu, India

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Project Details

Why is forest restoration urgent?

According to the FAO and UNEP World Forest Situation Report - 2022; UN Convention on Biological Diversity, 

  • Since 2015, 10 million hectares of forests have disappeared every year. 
  • Forests are home to over 80% of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity.
  • 150 animal and plant species disappear every day.
  • Trees help reduce air temperature by  2 to 8°C.
  • Restoring 1 Billion hectares of forests is necessary to limit global warming to +1.5°C by 2030.

It has never been more urgent to restore our forests.

What is the current state of Tamil Nadu’s forests?

Each region of the world has a vegetation type that has, over countless eons, evolved as the plant community most suited to the environmental conditions of the area. The Tropical Dry Evergreen Forest (TDEF) is the indigenous forest of the coastal seaboard of Southeast India, including the region of Tamil Nadu.

Historically, the forest extended from Vishakapatanam to Ramanathapuram as a belt of vegetation between 30 and 50 km wide, bordered on one side by the sea and on the other side by a forest that becomes increasingly deciduous as one moves inland. It contains over 160 woody species of which around 70 are found within the pristine climax forest.

However, today the TDEF is on the verge of extinction as only 0.01% of this vast forest remains in small patches. The highly degraded state of the forest and the high human population pressure means that today, larger predatory mammals can no longer be found in the region, leaving behind a much smaller population of smaller mammals, reptiles and a dwindling bird population of 80 species.

How is Sadhana forest restoring the TDEF?

Sadhana Forest aims to restore parts of the TDEF with original native species, through environmentally conscious and sustainable reforestation practices.

They are also replacing the earlier-planted exotic species, such as acacias from Australia, with native TDEF species, that are viable in the long run. Since the beginning of the project, over 27,000 trees have been planted, the majority of which have survived and are showing slow but steady growth. Since its inception, Sadhana Forest has reforested over 70% of its land, with native species.

They also run free educational workshops with the purpose of informing people about the history of the land, of its former devastation, and the ecological steps being taken to replant and restore it. 

UN Sustainable Development Goals contributed to

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a set of 17 interconnected global objectives aimed at addressing pressing social, economic, and environmental challenges by 2030. They serve as a blueprint for collective action, guiding governments, businesses, and communities worldwide towards a more sustainable and equitable future.

This project contributes to the following goals
See all 17 goals

Verification

For each tree planted with Sadhana Forest, the patron will receive evidence of the planting in the form of a photograph of the planted tree, species detail and the exact date and co-ordinate of planting. Patrons are welcome to visit their trees at any time.

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Price: $2.50 USD per tree

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