The first trees: what we found in June 2015

Between 2011 and 2014 the Vriksh Mitra–Gram Mitra Abhiyan planted 28,000 fruit trees in more than 40 villages of the Bareilly region. In the first week of June 2015 our team went back, village by village, camera in hand.

What they found was the best argument the campaign has ever had. Guava and lemon trees stood taller than the men who had planted them. Young mango and jackfruit trees shaded courtyards and lanes. Children posed proudly beside "their" trees, and in several homes the first fruit had already been eaten. Experience across these villages showed that about 85% of the fruit trees the campaign plants begin to bear within three years, and that more than 75% survive when they get proper care in the first six months — more still when they are planted in the monsoon.

The team also sat with villagers to hear what had worked and what had not. Those conversations shaped everything that followed: planting only in the monsoon, choosing species for each district's soil, and forming village committees to keep an eye on the young trees. Within two months of the survey the Foundation turned the campaign into a maha-abhiyan, and 2015 ended with more than 1.30 lakh new saplings.