Blossoming the essence of Life in Project areas

CASA, in its 75 years of operation in the humanitarian sector, has gathered immense learning and insights on the social landscape that regulates life in the rural margins of India. From assisting the disaster-affected communities in rebuilding their lives to empowering the marginalised segments through empowerment schemes or activities, CASA’s long string of social work spanned over 75 years since India’s Independence, have not only brought about an on-ground transformation in the project areas but have also embedded long-lasting mechanisms that will continue to empower the rural front even after the completion of our project tenure.

The beauty of these years can not be encapsulated in words. The vast bucket of experience and knowledge, brought by these years, have fueled CASA’s ever-expanding humanitarian response in the most valuable way. To ensure that our Platinum Jubilee celebration aligns with the essence and reflects the meaning that our years-long engagement with the deprived communities in India carries, CASA planned a massive plantation drive.

7,50,000 saplings of trees that bear fruit or have medicinal values will be planted across CASA’s project areas in India. In four months, the drive has entered its first phase in 16 states, namely Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Bihar, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Gujarat. Planted over a collective expanse of private lands, Common Property Resources under the Panchayat, areas under the Government and lands under Community Forest Rights, these saplings would enter the care of the beneficiary communities we serve across the aforementioned states.

The saplings of trees that are well adapted to the climatic and ecological components of the plantation area are carefully selected for the drive. Segregated into the subsections of Forestry, Agroforestry, Horticulture and Medicinal value, these plants are wisely allocated the type of land that can best suit their growth and care.

Plants under Agro- Forestry include the types of Peepal , Babul, Bargad, bel, kaiht, Drumstick, Ashok, Karanji, Sandal, Gular etc. Similarly, those under the Horticulture subsection include Fruit saplings like Guava, Mango, JackFruit, Papaya, Black berry, Custard apple, Ber, Karonda and so forth. Trees like Neem, Harra behra, Aloe-vera, Jamun, Arjun, Amala, Lemon etc comprise the medicinal plants’ subsection.

In the mountainous regions of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, CASA has been prioritising the plantation of Mulberry, Walnut, Plum, Malta, Kinnu, Orange, Tej Patta, Amla, Harar, Reetha, Koot, Kutki, Sameva, Dolu, Pashanbhed and Lemon which are not only ecologically or herbally beneficial but are also commercial in nature. Indeed, the primary objective of the plantation drive is based on generating alternative streams of income for the beneficiary communities by commercially marketing the fruits and medicinal extracts of the trees in the near future.

As these trees provide the rural masses with food to eat and clean air to breathe, it symbolises the core values of CASA- to support the livelihood and rights of the marginalised. The plantation drive also adds to our mission of strengthening and raising climate-resilient communities in disaster-prone areas such as the mountainous regions of Uttarakhand and Himachal, flash-flood affected provinces of Bihar, Jharkhand and Kerala and the states of Odisha and West Bengal that face repeated attacks from cyclones.

Incorporating the celebration of 75 years with Diwali, CASA also opened up an avenue for the country to join us in the initiative. Our “Gift Green” Campaign enables anyone and everyone from the country to gift the planet on the occasion of Deepavali by passing on a sapling to the communities in our project areas. As the plantation drive accelerates, incorporating more participants as well as beneficiaries, the journey gets greener, richer and better.