Tribal ‘green warrior’ inspires community to grow 400-acre forest

With a community-based approach to conservation, a 74-year-old tribal farmer in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar district has turned 400 acres of land in his village into a sprawling forest.
A senior forest department official lauded the initiative of tribal farmer Damodar Kashyap and said his efforts not only led to afforestation in the Sangh Karmari village, but also had a positive impact on neighbouring villages.
For Kashyap, the forest in his village Sangh Karmari in Bakawand block is a sanctuary, which he has developed with decades of sustained efforts by involving the entire community.
Kashyap said, “When I returned to the village after completing Class 12 from Jagdalpur in 1970, I was shocked to see that about 300 acres of forest near our house was significantly damaged.”
What was once a lush green forest was reduced to a few trees, he said.
Pained by the state of affairs, Kashyap decided to revive the forest and restore the green cover in the village, he said.
“In the beginning, it was hard to convince villagers to stop cutting trees, as they depended on them in their day-to-day life. People gradually started understanding the importance of the forest,” he said.
After being elected as the village sarpanch in 1977, Kashyap put in all efforts to revive the forest.
During his tenure, Kashyap framed strict rules and even imposed fines for destruction of forest, his son Tilak Ram said.