Coimbatore: Shifting into high gear, the Cauvery Calling Movement is aiming to enable farmers in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to plant 2.5 crore sapling on their farmlands this year. Over the past 2 years, Cauvery Calling volunteers have enabled farmers in both states to plant a record 2.1 crore saplings through the tree-based farming model. Till date, 1.25 lakh farmers have adopted the model promoted by Cauvery Calling. This number is expected to grow exponentially in the coming years as the Movement accelerates its on-ground mission to reach its target of 242 crore trees over 12 years.

At a press conference held today at the Chennai Press Club, the state field coordinator of the Cauvery Calling Movement Shri. Tamilmaran said, “Farmers have so far planted 2.1 crore saplings through the Cauvery Calling Movement. In Tamil Nadu, 1,700 farmers from Villupuram district have planted 6.33 lakh saplings while 1,600 farmers in Thiruvannamalai district are cultivating 5.29 lakh saplings and 2,500 farmers in Salem district have planted 5.26 lakh saplings.” Elaborating on the impact of the tree-based farming model, Shri. Tamilmaran said, “Till date, Isha’s environmental initiatives over two decades have enabled farmers and citizens to plant 6.5 crore saplings that have matured into trees and contributed towards increasing the region’s green cover as well as substantially increasing farmers’ incomes.”

A pioneer farmer from Thirukkazhukkundram Shri. Deivasikamani shared his experience, “I have been cultivating crops between trees on 15 acres. In particular, I have been growing fruit trees and timber trees. Annual income comes from fruit trees. Timber trees are also a long-term investment. I have been sourcing saplings from Isha Nurseries for many years. Simple farmers benefited from the availability of quality saplings at low cost provided by Isha nurseries. Many farmers in our surrounding areas have benefited from the Cauvery Calling Movement”.

A farmer from Seiyur taluka, Shri. Vimal Das said, “I started planting trees on my 25 acres of barren land two years ago due to Sadhguru’s awareness campaign. Field workers of the Cauvery Calling Movement came in person and inspected my land, which was under severe water shortage. They studied the water and the nature of the soil and recommended suitable trees for planting. In this way, timber trees along with the land value in the future are likely to generate millions of rupees in revenue.”

A farmer from Guwahati, Shri. Ganesh said, “I have realized the value of timber trees since the inception of the Cauvery Calling Movement and have converted my seven acres of native land into a complete forest. In between the trees, I do annual crops. ”

Cauvery Calling is an on-ground demonstration of the river revitalization model proposed by the Rally for Rivers (RfR) campaign that was launched by Sadhguru in 2017. The RfR campaign was successful in creating awareness among the people on the state of India’s dying rivers. The central government has recommended to all states to adopt the RfR draft policy to revitalize rivers in their state. Subsequently, six states – Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand, Orissa, Maharashtra, Punjab and Karnataka – are implementing the recommendations on their own.