THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: If one happens to spot a rugged 4x4 camper somewhere in the remote areas of the country, it must probably be Sangeeth, Kavya and their pet dog Drogo planting the seeds of tomorrow’s forests.
When most people prioritise luxury and leisure, this couple from Palakkad has chosen to overland across India in their modified 4x4 SUV with a mission – to plant one lakh trees in five years. Their journey ‘Mission Mother Tree’ is a project towards sustainability, adventure and making a difference.
It started as a simple plan – leave a living memory in the form of trees across places they visit. It quickly became a full-scale drive. They left the security of their corporate jobs to pursue a life closer to nature. Sangeeth, who was previously a sales and marketing officer, and Kavya, a professional in dairy technology now pursuing research, packed up their lives, outfitted their vehicle and set off on a path that would take them to some of India’s most remote regions.
Their goal is to explore responsibly and give back to the earth.
“Over the past two years, we have covered 45,000 kilometres across the country. Our travels aren’t just the thrill of overlanding but driven by a sense of purpose. We have successfully planted over 10,000 native saplings across the remote regions of India, with the help of a growing community of 4,000 volunteers who joined through social media and the acquaintances between travels,” Sangeeth told TNIE.
Their Instagram page ‘lifeonroads_’ is where they document their journey, and it has crossed over 2.4 lakh followers. To keep their journey sustainable and affordable, Sangeeth and Kavya transformed their Force Gurkha SUV into a camper, all for just Rs 20,000. All the work on the camper was completed by their IT friends group.
The couple prepare their meals on the road, sharing their experiences with their companion, Drogo, who is as much a part of the adventure as they are. The couple relies on locally sourced seed balls, which they gather with the help of volunteers from the areas they visit. This ensures that the plants are suited to the local soil and climate, increasing the chances of survival. Their saplings span ten varieties of native trees, and they have achieved a 60% survival rate.
For Kavya, the journey is about creating something lasting.
“One lakh trees may seem like a drop in the bucket against climate change, but we’re doing the best we can to build a community that values life on this planet,” Kavya said.
Not only do they plant these saplings but also keep track of their growth through an application, Tree Tag. Each sapling they plant is tagged and tracked using GPS coordinates via the app Tree Tag. Like a live report card, volunteers across the country too regularly update the couple on the progress of these plants. “We note down the GPS coordinates of each tree we plant and track it through Tree Tag. It is a collective effort that wouldn’t have been possible without the support of the people,” Sangeeth said.
In Kerala alone, they have planted around 300 saplings in Palakkad, 220 in Munnar, and 70 in Ernakulam. And each time they return to their home base, they plant a batch of seed balls nearby to keep a part of their mission close to home.
They have travelled to Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Karnataka. They deviate to remote areas and camp there.“Planning this mission often takes more time than the execution,” Kavya said.