A 16-year-old boy began planting trees on a sandbank in 1979, creating a 550-hectare forest that now shelters tigers and prevents erosion on the vanishing island of Majuli.
A boy plants a sapling
In 1979, a 16-year-old boy crouched on a bare sandbank in the middle of the Brahmaputra River and planted a sapling in the ground. The next day, he repeated the action, beginning a journey that would last over 45 years.A forest emerges from sand
More than 16,000 days of planting have turned this sandbank into a 550-hectare forest on Majuli, a river island in Assam, India. The forest now provides shelter to Bengal tigers and other wildlife, reversing the desolation that once existed on this land.Erosion and loss
Majuli has lost 71 percent of its original area due to erosion, a process that has reduced the island to less than a quarter of its original size. Every monsoon brings floods that destroy nearby homes and farmland, threatening the remaining land.A flood sparks a mission
Jadav Payeng, the man behind the forest, was 16 when a flood on the Brahmaputra left dead snakes on a sun-baked sandbank. This moment inspired him to act, and he sought advice from elders in a neighboring village, who recommended planting bamboo and other trees to stabilize the soil.A daily ritual
Since 1979, Jadav has planted trees by hand, using only his own labor to dig, plant, and water saplings on a sandbank constantly reshaped by river floods. He continued this work even after an official tree-planting program ended in 1983, when other workers left the site.A growing ecosystem
The forest has expanded beyond the original 200-hectare program, now covering nearly three times that area. Bamboo was the first to take root, followed by other species. Red ants helped change the soil, and the forest eventually became a home for Jadav and his family.A forest named after him
The forest is now known as Molai, a name derived from Jadav’s childhood nickname. It covers an area roughly equivalent to 700 football fields and is larger than New York City’s Central Park. It is also a habitat for Bengal tigers, Indian rhinoceroses, elephants, and more than 100 deer.A national honor
In 2015, Jadav was awarded the Padma Shri, one of India’s highest civilian honors, 36 years after he planted the first sapling. He described his work as done alone, without outside help, though the forest continues to face challenges from erosion and flooding.A legacy of perseverance
Despite the progress, Majuli still loses land to the Brahmaputra River, and the forest has not fully restored the island’s original size. Yet Jadav’s story offers a lesson: ask local elders about suitable tree species and water them regularly, without waiting for official programs to begin.
