Namaskaram!
This channel is meant to clear people’s doubts regarding the Miyawaki Model of Afforestation. We receive queries about how much growth is registered if saplings are planted according to this method. There are people who see it merely as planting trees. But this method is more about reviving our environment.
Bobby Mohan was the first person to speak to me about the Miyawaki Method. He said that it was possible to simulate forests even in three cents of land, and recommended that I watch a video made by Shubhendu Sharma.
Nearly 16 years back, when Hari Chettan bought this piece of land, I used to come here and, sitting on these rocks, we used to converse and crack jokes. It was a barren hill then. I still have pictures of it in my mobile. If you look at them now, you will find it hard to believe it is the same place. A few trees were planted here then. But there was a period of drought immediately afterwards and as a result all the plants and trees dried.
That was when I saw Shubhendu Sharma’s video and shared it with him. He did a lot of research on the subject. This success story is the result of his intense research. Now we see a lot of birds, butterflies and earthworm droppings – things that were inconceivable back then. It is almost like a paradise, and I am wonderstruck at the change. I read about the Miyawaki Method on the internet and spoke to Hari Chettan about it but the transformation I see here is simply unbelievable.
This is my nephew Krishna Prasad. When I spoke to him about this technology, he was surprised that I had not seen the video he had sent two weeks earlier. He was the person who drew me to the Miyawaki Method. But both of them are very busy. Krishna Prasad is a bank officer and Bobby is a business entrepreneur. So they don’t get spare time to come here as often as they used to before. They are here after a couple of years and so can speak authoritatively about the changes they notice in this place.
There is a reason behind making them speak on this platform. Even today, the average Malayali or Indian has no idea about the change that the Miyawaki Method can bring about in a piece of land. Miyawaki has written a book titled The Healing Power of Forests. Only a single edition of the English version has come out so far. The Japanese edition has run into more than 70 editions by now. The specialty of the book is that it mentions how we can revive our environment by using this method. But, unfortunately, most people think that it merely means digging a hole and planting a sapling in it. An expert planner even dismissed Miyawaki as a mere fraud! There is still a group of people who believe that nothing will grow without chemical fertilizers or pesticides.
The Healing Power of Forests has not gained much popularity in the English-speaking world. The reason is that in the book Prof. Miyawaki speaks in detail about the havoc wreaked on our environment by chemical fertilizer- and pesticide companies. He also mentions how we can revive our environment. This is the English version of a book that was brought out in the Japanese language, following the death of Prof. Miyawaki. It includes accounts by 18 international scientists about the success of the Miyawaki Method. Among the writers included in this book, there are only two non- scientists. One is Shubhendu Sharma, an industrial engineer based in Delhi. The second is myself. Their articles on the scientific principles underlying the Miyawaki Method do not need any further authentication or support. They are all research papers. They mention the changes that the Miyawaki Method has brought about.
Namaskaram!
Hari is my uncle. I came here just when this plot was bought. Back then it was full of rocks and rocks only. What Hari maman told me was that he was not interested in farming or any kind of income- generating activity. He merely wanted to have a forest. But trees simply did not grow here. All of them dried up sooner or later. Water was scarce. There wasn’t much sunlight either. That was when I chanced upon a video on the Miyawaki Method.
What it mentioned was that an ecosystem needed to be built. That is, we had to create an environment where a clump of plants and trees could thrive. I mentioned this to Hari maman and he studied it in depth. In five years’ time, there has been tremendous growth on this rocky land. Besides, similar forests could be created in other places as well. Birds and small creatures have made their appearance, and they have brought new seeds with them. So what we see here is an ecosystem. The energy in this place is itself very different.
Earlier, it used to be said that if we plant a tree today, our next generation will be able to enjoy its fruits. But that is no longer the case. If we follow the Miyawaki Method, we can harvest the fruits of our labour in our own lifetime.
This is the Miyawaki forest planted in the Chalai school premises. It was set up on 30 January 2020, and had a specialty about it. It was created on Prof. Miyawaki’s birthday. And on that day, he appeared online. Sitting in Japan, he saw what we did here. The student cadet police and the other students of the school planted the saplings. The project was funded by the Kerala Development and Innovation Strategy Council (K-DISC) whose Vice Chairman was Dr K. M. Abraham. The Chairman is the Chief Minister of the state.
More than 3,000 saplings were planted here on that day. It was also the last public function attended by Prof. Miyawaki. He had turned 92 on that day. A year and a half later, he contracted COVID and passed on. Two of his colleagues, his earliest disciple Prof. Fujiwara Kazue and his co-author Prof. Box, came here personally and gave us necessary instructions. The growth of the trees and the improvement of the soil we see here have not been replicated anywhere else. We are undertaking a special study of it. We planted the saplings on the ground that was already fertile due to the presence of dry leaves and other organic rubbish. In a span of 32 months, the trees grew up to 50 feet tall. Inside, you can see a forest like environment with birds, butterflies and small insects. And also undergrowth, as we usually see in forests. Here you can also see earthworm droppings and small plants.
This is Saji Kumar, an office-bearer of the school PTA, who was involved in the project from the very beginning. Like everyone else, he too was doubtful about the success of the programme. Let us listen to his feedback.
I thought this was a new idea. What I had heard earlier was that there should be a specific distance between trees. Therefore I had doubts about whether saplings planted so close to one another would grow at all. That day, Prof. Miyawaki himself came online and joined in our discussions. That was when we came to understand this idea. Yet, doubts prevailed. I feared that we would lose a lot of the plants. But we did not lose even a single plant. Along with this forest, we planted another one. Today, you will notice the difference. This one is five times bigger than the other. We had planted jackfruit trees in the other forest too. But the difference between them is really huge – in height and size. Among the forests planted in the school premises, this Miyawaki forest is the best.
Those of you who are interested in farming may consider following this technology. A few have asked me whether coconut trees can be planted along these principles. Prof. Miyawaki does not recommend monocrop at all. There should be a minimum of 30 different species and they should be intermixed. Only then can Nature be protected because all the worms, insects and small creatures that feed on these plants and trees should appear in order to create a sustainable ecosystem. Therefore, studying the Miyawaki Method is an admirable thing. You will be able to create one in the smallest of spaces. Therefore, please study it and conduct your own experiment.