Hello everyone,
A few months ago, I learnt about the concept of ‘Devarakaadu’, which translates to God’s forest in Kannada. I find this concept extremely fascinating. The idea behind ‘Devarakaadu’ is straightforward, anyone with farmland, carves out a small portion of the land and grows a forest (preferably with fruit/flower-bearing trees). When the trees bear fruits and flowers, it attracts birds and bees (monkeys too) and strikes a natural ecological balance in that area.
We have a small 9-acre mango farm, just off Kanakapura Road. There was a vacant 0.5-acre area im the farm. Rather than grow more mangoes in that area, we decided to experiment with the concept of Devarakaadu.
Today the plantation work is complete. There are about 360 plants planted in this 0.5 acre. So, as you imagine, this one will be a fairly dense forest. Some of the tree species are -
- Bakul
- Cherry
- Jamun
- Tabebuiya
- Guava
- Peltophorum
I just have to wait for few years to see this mini forest in its full glory, needless to say, I can’t wait 
Thanks to folks here for helping me with the plants (@NithinKamath for the generosity in providing the plants and @Shoaib for helping me transport these to the farm) and a special thanks to folks from Ananas studio for providing me with a design and plan to make this forest come alive.
Here are a few pics -
Before -
Post planting -
A little more forest, everywhere 