I am M. R. Hari, Managing Director of Invis Multimedia, a company that is involved in providing information technology solutions. Besides executing our routine work, we are engaged in recording and preserving the cultural diversity of Kerala and India. For instance, we have recorded recitals of the eight classical dance forms of India, and prepared DVDs with English sub-titles so that these cultural artefacts become accessible to the common public. Of late, we have been involved in activities for protecting and conserving the bio-diversity of our land.
Besides disseminating information on the subject, we undertake practical experiments too. One such successful project is the creation of Miyawaki forests. This idea was inspired by the work of Dr (Prof.) Akira Miyawaki, a Japanese botanist, who is 91 years old now. For the past 40-50 years, he has been propagating a special method of afforestation. The most significant aspect of this method is to plant saplings of indigenous varieties close to one another, and give them plenty of water and manure. It has been observed that they grow very fast, creating a small forest in as short a span as three years. In 15 years, it will have grown as dense and tall as a 100-year-old natural forest.
Having conducted the experiment and observed such a forest for one-and-a-half years ourselves, we are convinced this model works for Kerala too. We have been planting Miyawaki forests for close to two years now. Hence, it is our desire to propagate this model, and show interested people how to go about it. That is the purpose of this series. We shall share with you whatever we have learnt. If you know more, please share it with us. If you have doubts, raise them. We shall try to clear them in the best way possible.