10/2/98
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RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
Title: In India, One Man Creates a Forest
Source: Environment News Service
Status: Copyrighted, contact source to reprint
Date: 10/2/98
Byline: Vinu Abraham
MANGALORE, India, October 2, 1998 (ENS) - Standing in a sun-scorched arid
stretch of land he had newly bought, Abdul Karim made himself a promise,
"I will turn this ochre expanse green." The land where he stood is on
India's west coast near the Arabian Sea, in the Kasargod district of
Kerala State.
Nineteen years later as he walks through that land, there is the twitter
of birds in the air scented with the fragrance of wild flowers. Karim has
kept his promise, creating a whole forest out of nothing.
The rustic undergraduate, who had worked in a Mumbai (Bombay) dockyard and
run a travel agency, was 29 years old when he returned to his native
Kasargod. It was a call of the wild - he had always wanted to live in a
forest of his own.
Four years later, Karim dug a pond in his plot and the villagers were
amazed to find plenty of water in it. It was the first time someone had
struck water in that part of the village. But Karim knew, from his feel
for nature, that there would be water if there were trees. The deciduous
trees he grew were the kind that drink in water during the rains and
release it to the earth during summer. The leaves they shed helped
replenish the groundwater level.
Karim says it is the fallen leaves which were responsible for raising the
water table. "Even in reserve forests you will not find so much leaf
deposit since many people collect and sell the leaves as manure," he says.
"But I don't allow a single leaf to be removed from here."
The leaves let rain water seep into the ground. Water rippling in the pond
encouraged him to buy more land, dig more ponds and wells and plant more
trees. By the end of the eighties he was tending 32 acres of forests.
A typical forest in Kerala, but not Abdul Karim's forest.
As the trees grew tall, birds began nestling in them. "Birds are the
natural carriers of many seeds, and they dropped the seeds of many
varieties of trees and plants here," says Karim.
"Thus trees like sandalwood and ebony began growing here. If we respect
nature she shows us greater respect."
When the growth became dense, small animals like the rabbit, the mongoose
and wild hens made homes amid the thickets and shrubs. Karim is trying to
introduce the deer to this living forest.
To him, the forest is like a living being. He has never cut wood or even
broken a branch or killed any of the animals. They are guests in his green
shelter, and he makes no money out of it. "This forest is not for making
money," he says. "I created it to enjoy living here."
Enjoying it he certainly is. Ever since he moved into the house he built
on the edge of the forest in 1986 the Karims and their seven children have
been living in nature's lap. They need no electric fan, the air is
refreshingly cool even when hot winds assail neighbouring villages.
The water is sweet, unlike piped water, and the wells and ponds never dry
up. Karim has not monopolised nature's reward - 75 families in the
village depend on these wells and ponds which contain 1.5 lakh litres of
water at any time. "This forest is our greatest blessing," says Rukhia
Beevi, a villager. "It was only after Karim grew the forest that water
appeared here."
The forest has also bestowed good health on the family. No one has fallen
ill ever since Karim moved house. "The natural environment shields us
from most diseases," says Karim. "Besides our daily walk through the
forest keeps the body fit." Shemim, his six-year-old son, betrays no sign
of fatigue after a several-hour-long trek. Unlike most children of his
age, Shemim has yet to go to school because his father believes that
schooling at a very young age will stunt the natural growth of children.
For a living, Karim has a farm, a cashew nut trading business and a
shopping complex. He also builds houses near his forest for people who
want to live in communion with nature.
Five years ago, a forest officer gave him the application forms for the
Vrikshamitra award, instituted by the environment ministry. The forms
are yet to be filled out. "Living happily in this forest is a reward in
itself. So why seek others," Karim says, his face breaking into a smile.
{Published in cooperation with Third World Network Features.}
In India, One Man Creates a Forest 
