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Peepal Baba alias Swami Prem Parivartan worked at the grassroots level for almost five decades and restored vegetation by planting trees in 2.70 lakh hectares and planted more than 2.5 crore trees. Now he has brought his experiences before the people through a book. He has spread greenery in many states including Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, UP due to the campaign to save the earth. In this book he has also told how he managed the budget and what is the economics of shadow.

He says that if you assess the value of that shadow, you will be surprised. The shade of trees not only protects roadside vendors and street vendors from sunlight and rain, but also provides a free ‘workspace’ for them. The shade of a shady tree saves a vendor from paying around Rs 200 per day as rent. In this way, about Rs 72,000 is saved annually.

people helped

He told that for this he took the help of crowd funding. His donors were not the wealthy elite, but the common people of the country, such as auto-rickshaw drivers, taxi drivers, delivery boys, bank clerks, government employees, teachers, factory workers, farmers, shopkeepers and fellow volunteers. Someone donated Rs 10, someone a lunch box and someone their Sunday morning time. Many people donated old bicycles, scooters or motorcycles, which became the most practical and beloved means of carrying plants, fertilizers and tools. Some people brought tea and biscuits for our team at the site. Some people stood silently and kept clapping or cheering. Every small effort counts. The donation bucket was never empty because everyone kept contributing.

Sometimes donors would donate cows to us, not out of charity, but out of understanding. Cow dung has been a priceless treasure for us. Scientifically dried and processed, it improves degraded soil better than most chemical processes. Agricultural waste, kitchen waste and garden waste coming from the neighborhood were transported to our centres. We created compost heaps, lovingly turned them and created humus, which gave birth to new forests.

What does Peepal Baba say?

Peepal Baba says that thanks to his grandmother, he got introduced to the forests of Uttarakhand, Corbett, Rajaji, Haridwar, Rishikesh, Narendra Nagar, Tehri, Uttarkashi, Nainital and Almora. His small family was transferred to Dalhousie, Himachal Pradesh. Cambrian Hall School became his first formal school. Before that he had studied for one year each in Kolkata, Dalhousie and Chandigarh. He has expressed his life experiences in a book ‘Peepal Ki Chhaon’. This popular book is being launched by Penguin Publications and will be available on online platforms like Amazon etc. He says that environmental change does not just start with institutions or policies, but rather with ordinary citizens who decide to act.