He designs forests

Its not uncommon for Patanjali Jha Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax to offer gondhoraj lebu eastern Indiarsquos bestkept aromatic secret to visitors who come to see him While a few drops of the oblong flaring green lime can accentuate the original flavour of just about any dish its medicinal properties match its stellar fragrance ldquoA solid source of Vitamin C and limonene present in the skin itrsquos safe to chew on if organic The greener it is the higher the limonene contentrdquo says JhaThe leaves of the Moringa or drumstick plant are a great source of Vitamins A C B1 B2 B6 and folateLimonene has in fact been studied for its potential antiinflammatory antioxidant anticancer and heart diseasefighting properties in scientific circlesThe home of these bright green juicy lemons is Jharsquos very own lush 50acre food forestry farm Vanya Organics on the banks of the Narmada river in Khalghat Madhya Pradesh The concept of a food forest as the name suggests entails diverse planting of edible plants where tall trees small trees shrubs herbs and ground cover grow together in harmony ldquoItrsquos essentially a vertically integrated ecosystem comprising plants of various heights and root layersrdquo he explains The land is lush with thriving trees with moringa lording over patches of banana and barwani papayamdasha local MP varietymdashinterspersed with paan lentil and chilli saplings ldquoThe environment naturally attracts pollinators which is why we get rich honey as well The temperature on the farm is usually an average of 12 to 14 degrees Celsiusrdquo he sharesFresh haldi and black turmeric are grown on the farm The latter is especially useful to treat respiratory conditions like asthma bronchitis and pneumoniaSince the pandemic trucks carrying gondhoraj lebu vetiver root neem and black turmeric from the farm have made their way across the country to be distributed among ailing officers of his department and regular citizens ldquoBlack turmeric is beneficial to improve or treat lung illnesses such as asthma bronchitis and pneumoniardquo Used by many tribal communities in MP black turmeric has been listed as an endangered species by the Indian Agricultural Department Efforts are being made to protect and conserve the herb in Odisha as well Jharsquos WhatsApp inbox has witnessed a flood of lsquothank yoursquo texts from those who have benefitted from his lsquogiftsrsquo He says that a concoction of guduchi cinnamon black pepper clove and a few leaves of shyam tulsi all boiled for 10 minutes can be a great immunity boosting drink that can also keep sugar levels in check Jha says the vetiver grass bush khus prevents soil erosion can pull off 15 kg of carbon secretion per square metre and recharges groundwater The roots contain an oil thatrsquos used in perfumesAt Jharsquos farm every inch of soil is covered with vetiver a densely tufted bunch grass that doubles up as lowcost technology for soil and water conservation ldquoIt can pull off 15 kg of carbon secretion per square metremdashit basically takes CO2 from the atmosphere and absorbs it into the soil It also recharges groundwater and brings micronutrients to the roots of the plants Then therersquos moringa planted at the centre of the farm which is a great source of Vitamins A C B1 B2 B6 and folaterdquo Nature he explains has a knack of growing in an optimal pattern utilising multiple layers and making the most of both horizontal and vertical spacePatanjali Jha Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax who is currently posted in Mumbai says its his parents who dedicated their time energy and resources to cultivating the food forest farm in MP PicBipin KokateThe idea to create a food forest took root when Jha a 1986 batch IRS officer read Masanobu Fukuokarsquos manifesto on natural farming The One Straw Revolution 18 years ago Trained as a scientist Japanborn Fukuoka rejected modern agricultural practices deciding that the best cultivation method was that which mimicked naturersquos Inspired he and five other friends bought a plot in village Akbarpur ldquoIt has transformed from a wasteland to a selfmaintaining ecosystemrdquo he beams According to him a multipronged approach that includes no tilling no chemical fertiliser no weeding by tillage of herbicides weeds play a part in building soil fertility and in balancing the biological community mixed cropping and mulching applying a protective layer of a material on top of the soil have made this possible The effort is gradually turning into a movement with 300 farmers across the country having joined inNeem is considered a miracle plant that demonstrates immunomodulatory antiinflammatory antiulcer antimalarial antifungal antibacterial antiviral antioxidant and anticarcinogenic propertiesJharsquos nephew Meghatithi Kabeer is the Global Creative Director for Films 4 Sustainable World an organisation headquartered in France and dedicated to sustainabilityrelated filmmaking Since 2015 Kabeer has shot four documentaries on Jharsquos farm ldquoWhile working on some of my filmmaking projects around sustainability I realised that ancient wisdom has a lot of power itrsquos what drew me towards documenting my unclersquos farmrdquo Kabeer clarifies that there is a difference between the haldi grown elsewhere and that inside a biodiverse food forest ldquoItrsquos not voodoo just simple science Because the soil is full of micro nutrients and rich with minerals whatever grows is virtually medicinalrdquo Kabeer is hopeful of the results of efforts being made across the globe to reverse our alienation from nature He speaks of the Great Green Wall of Africa a project looking to grow an 8000 km natural wonder across the full width of Africa This will combat desertification or the process by which fertile land turns into desert due to deforestation and inappropriate agricultural practices Kabeer says itrsquos a big worry in the Sahel region which runs from the southern belt of the Sahara to the Sudanian savanna below While the Great Green Wall was initially intended to be just a line of trees it has grown into a much larger project with multiple environmental interventions after it received funding from the African Union ldquoWhen I visited California in 2019 I was amazed to see how products in supermarkets are segregated into produce by largescale farmers organic farmers and biodiverse farmers The last group is marked thus so that consumers know that it has come from a permaculture system an agricultural ecosystem built in a selfsufficient and sustainable wayrdquoMeghatithi KabeerAs per reports there are only three great forests left on the planet Amazon Forest of Brazil and the boreal forests in Russia and Canada Kabeer argues that if we wish to survive India too needs to reinvent the wheel and scale up efforts to create more food forests ldquoThese forests are like Noahrsquos Arc of our civilisation Even if everything around us gets disrupted we will have these symbols of hope It is here that you will find biodiversity and be protected by the selfhealing approach of naturerdquoHart and soulThe forest garden story was popularised by Robert Hart an English pioneer of forest gardening in temperate zones He saw the potential for adapting growing techniques practised in tropical areas to the cool temperate climate of his home in Shropshire In his book Cultivating an Edible Landscape Hart identifies the gardens of Kerala as food forests with natural rich biodiversity and easy for intense planting He lists 43 plants in Kerala that grow simultaneously ldquoFrom the agroforestry point of view perhaps the worldrsquos most advanced country is the Indian state of Kerala which boasts no fewer than threeandahalf million forest gardensBecause of these family forest gardens most people in Kerala are to some extent selfsufficient in the basic necessities above all food They can enjoy the two basic essentials of a nourishing diet fruit and green leaves Most Indians never see their national fruit the mango vast quantities of which are exported fresh or in the form of chutney But the Keralese grow their own mangoes in their own forest gardens together with some sixty other nourishing food and fodder plants medicinal herbs and spicesrdquo he writes