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The Forest Man Of India: This Man Transformed Desert Into A Forest In 39 Years

  • Jadav Payeng lives on the biggest river island in the world, Majuli.
  • Everything started in 1979 when he was only 16 years old.
  • There and then, Jadav made it his life’s mission to save Majuli from erosion by planting trees.

Jadav Payeng, The Man Who Planted A Forest.

The Forest Man Of India: This Man Transformed Desert Into A Forest In 39 Years

  • Jadav Payeng, The Man Who Planted A Forest.
  • This Man Transformed Desert Into A Forest In 39 Years.
  • Sometimes It Only Takes One Person To Save An Entire Island.
  • And he has been doing it every day for the last 39 years.


The Forest Man Of India: This Man Transformed Desert Into A Forest In 39 Years


He received padma sri award by president of India at the age of 52. Now his name is not jadav molai. His name is padma sri jadav molai

Jadav Molai was born in forest area in Assam  in 1963. He is very poor. He lives in a small hut in the forest.He sells the milk for his livelihood, which is his only source of income. At the age of 16 there occurred cyclone. Because of that cyclone all the trees in forest near his house were dead. All the animals and birds were dead.

He informed to people surrounding him. No one was bothered about those trees, birds and animals. He got one thought. He then decided to form forest. How is it possible for a person to do forest? He decided.

He started to plant trees everyday. And he continued to plant trees for 1 year daily. Over the course of several decades, he planted and tended trees. The forest encompases an area about 1,360 acres/ 550 hectares.

Jadav Payeng lives on the biggest river island in the world, Majuli.

The island, however, is under constant threat due to the extensive soil erosion on its banks.

Over the last 70 years, Majuli has shrunk by more than half and there are concerns it will be submerged in the next 20 years.

But its life may have even been shorter if it wasn’t for Jadav.


The Forest Man Of India: This Man Transformed Desert Into A Forest In 39 Years

Everything started in 1979 when he was only 16 years old.

He encountered a large number of snakes that had died due to excessive heat after floods washed them onto the tree-less sandbar.

There and then, Jadav made it his life’s mission to save Majuli from erosion by planting trees.


The Forest Man Of India: This Man Transformed Desert Into A Forest In 39 Years

And he has been doing it every day for the last 39 years.

He has planted 550 hectares of forest – larger than Central Park in New York City (340 hectares).


The Forest Man Of India: This Man Transformed Desert Into A Forest In 39 Years


And it has become home to many animals.

Including Bengal tigers and Indian rhinoceros.

Even a herd of over 100 elephants regularly visit it every year.


The Forest Man Of India: This Man Transformed Desert Into A Forest In 39 Years


The reason why Majuli is shrinking has a lot to do with the large embankments up the Brahmaputra river.

People built them for protection from everything the monsoon season throws at them.


The Forest Man Of India: This Man Transformed Desert Into A Forest In 39 Years

But the embankments redirect the devastating fury of the river to the island.



The Forest Man Of India: This Man Transformed Desert Into A Forest In 39 Years



The Forest Man Of India: This Man Transformed Desert Into A Forest In 39 Years



The Forest Man Of India: This Man Transformed Desert Into A Forest In 39 Years



The Forest Man Of India: This Man Transformed Desert Into A Forest In 39 Years



The Forest Man Of India: This Man Transformed Desert Into A Forest In 39 Years



The Forest Man Of India: This Man Transformed Desert Into A Forest In 39 Years



The Forest Man Of India: This Man Transformed Desert Into A Forest In 39 Years