“Thanks to the Cauvery Calling Movement, 1,25,000 farmers have switched to tree-based farming. Their income and yield have multiplied. This huge success should spread all over India,” said popular Hindi film actor Juhi Chawla after her interaction with farmers of Tamil Nadu.

Upping the notch on her commitment to the Cauvery Calling Movement, popular Hindi film actor Juhi Chawla met farmers in Erode district of Tamil Nadu to understand first-hand the ground impact of the ambitious movement to revitalize river Cauvery. Ms. Chawla arrived in Erode today and travelled to Gobichettipalayam Mewani village, where she was hosted on the farmland of Shri. Senthil Kumar, one of the earliest adopters of tree-based farming and an ardent advocate of the Movement. Farmers present at the event spoke about the changes that tree-based farming has brought to their lives and the environment.

Ms. Chawla was seen listening in rapt attention and was visibly excited about the tremendous impact of the model. “Before coming here I only knew the ‘number’ based information about the saplings planted by this project. But it was only after talking to the farmers that I came to know about the numerous changes that have taken place in their lives and the environment.

Much of the information was surprising and pleasing,” she told reporters at the event.
The actor has been consistent and vocal in her support for the movement to revitalize India’s dying rivers and bring prosperity and wellbeing to the farming community. “Even farmers who decided to sell their land due to drought and family circumstances have switched to tree-based farming through the Cauvery Calling Movement. They have found new hope. I am happy to know that the income and yield of many farmers has increased many times over. They said that not only the economy but also the soil fertility of the land has also improved,” said Ms. Chawla after speaking to several farmers who testified to the transformative impact that the tree-based farming model has had on their lives and the environment.

Ms. Chawla thanked Sadhguru, the architect of the movement, and said her respect for him has increased after witnessing the on-ground impact of the movement. “My heartfelt thanks to Sadhguru and Isha volunteers for making such wonderful changes happen. My esteem for Sadhguru has further increased multifold after seeing the changes that have taken place in the lives of the farmers.”

The actor has pledged to raise funds for 1 lakh trees and has been gifting saplings to her family, friends and colleagues on special occasions. “I have been doing my little support from the beginning in this great work Sadhguru has undertaken. I have been funding the planting of 500- 1000 saplings on the birthdays of my friends in the film industry.” She has sponsored the planting of saplings on the birthdays of actors Shah Rukh Khan, Rishi Kapoor, Ayushman Khurana, Hrithik Roshan, Rakesh Roshan, singers Asha Bhosle and Lata Mangeshkar and filmmakers Anupam Kher and Yash Chopra. She has also been a vocal ambassador for the cause online. “I have been posting about the Cauvery Calling movement on social networking sites like Instagram and Twitter. This has created good awareness in the film community,” she revealed. Her efforts have helped raise 80,000 trees for the Cauvery river basin.

She also requested her friends to pledge trees for the movement on her own birthday. “On my last birthday, I made a plea: ‘Plant trees as a birthday present for me, and don’t give me any other gift’. Surprisingly, my friends and fans sponsored the planting of about 30,000 saplings and delighted me. With this, I have almost come close to my goal of raising funds to plant 1 lakh saplings through the Cauvery Calling Movement.” said the genial actor.

Many farmers from surrounding villages participated along with their families in the event at Mr. Senthil Kumar’s farmland. After her interaction with the farmers, Juhi sat down with them for lunch.

Farmers in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have planted 2.1 crore saplings in their lands in the last 2 years through the Cauvery Calling Movement. 1,25,000 farmers have adopted the tree-based farming with enormous economic and ecological benefits.