Sanctuary | People
Sanctuary | PeopleHow so?
Before planting anything, we met with
community leaders and with women
and children to explain what we wanted
to achieve. Simple steps were taken
involving manual labour. Check dams,
contour bunds, nullah plugs and more.
All of this was very purposefully labour
intensive as this not only gave people
a living wage but before their eyes
they saw scrub and thorn forests come
back to life. “You can do this on your
own lands too,” I explained and they
did. Today, while most of Rajasthan is
seriously water stressed, our immediate
surroundings are well-watered. You
could say my strategy was part-lifted
from Project Tiger... fi rst bring back the
green cover and the water will follow...
then the wildlife.
Your campus does indeed look
like an oasis, but some suggest
facilities such as your ‘Water
House’ ends up wasting water?
It may look like that to those who have
not understood because you hear the
sound of constantly-fl owing water, but
you could say the same for a river then...
that the water is being ‘wasted’ because
it just fl ows away! The water fl owing
through and down from our Water
House helps to recharge the aquifer. Not
a drop is wasted. The plants the fl owing
water nurtures along the way keep thecampus cool and creates a haven for
insects, birds and animals. It’s a closed-
loop system. But yes, it does give our
guests that extra something. In Rajasthan,
rulers of old, including those who built
massive forts and monuments managed
to harness water and feed it back to
nature without damaging ‘the system’.I believe strongly that trees are a representation of God on earth. Plants do not merely feed our stomachs, they feed
our spirit. My life is dedicated to regreening our planet, not just for aesthetic reasons, but because there can be no
better way to serve God than to nurture his creations.
Sunil Mehta’s tourism ventures are modelled on the principle of land and water regeneration, which would result in improved biodiversity. The Bamboo
Forest Safari Lodge in Alizanza village, bordering the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve, is one such undertaking.
COURTESY: SUNIL MEHTASUDEEP MEHTA