Home to forest

Manu Moudgil

The stream was in spate. So was my mind. The brick and wood house across the waters seemed empty. My calls may well have drowned in the gushing stream. To cross or not to cross? The auto rickshaw driver had dropped me on the road around 300 metres away. From there, a dirt track snaked through the woods to the gates of Vanvadi, a 65-acre private forest on the foothills of Sahaydri mountain range, 90 km from Mumbai. Vadi means home in Marathi and hence Vanvadi is literally ‘home to forest’.

So here I was, standing inside the gates but away from the safety of a roof and people. There was no sound of human activity and the air was heavy with the smell of damp earth and grass. A few iron poles erected on the submerged stone wall-cum-bridge signalled hope. I jumped in, realising in a few steps that the fear was irrational. The force of water was not as strong. I meet Daulat, a native of nearby Vaadi village, who manages Vanvadi. I was supposed to coordinate with him before arriving but the mobile networks here are patchy. We stoked the hearth and cooked khichdi. Grateful. 

The stream looked calmer from this side and the high ground, besides a five feet plinth, keeps the house away from the risk of flooding. Trees of Mahua, Sagwan and Ain (Terminalia Eliptica) besides many creepers gave a glimpse of what the forest holds.

Cabin in the woods 

The jungle house has unique architecture. Wooden pillars, brick walls plastered with mud and an attic which has a floor of hanging beds. An A-frame roof with its intricate pattern of bamboo and wooden beams canopies the house. The house has no electricity or modern conveniences. There is a soak pit toilet, kitchen waste is composted and drinking water collected from a well. One can take a bath at the well, jump into the rock pool or carry a bucket into the small bathroom. 

I came here with reference of Bharat Mansata, one of the 24 co-founders of Vanvadi who bought this land in 1994 for ecological conservation and regeneration. “We were initially a couple of friends hoping to do natural farming of fruits and vegetables on a small piece of land. During our search, we came across this place which was already showing the promise of regeneration within just a year or two of cutting.” he told me when we met after a few days. “We gathered more like-minded people to jointly buy the land and let it grow into a forest.”

The previous owners were giving out contracts every four to five years for chopping down the trees for sale. As a result, the deciduous ‘coppicible’ species that tolerate such clear-felling began to predominate, while most of the evergreen species died out, or greatly dwindled in numbers. ‘Coppicing’ involves cutting down of trunks for timber or firewood. New shoots regrow from the stumps of the coppicible species, and take shape of a fully grown tree after a few decades.

“The region has had a long history of coppicing trees since colonial times, when the British first clear-felled ancient forests for timber,” said Mansata. “We wanted to conserve biodiversity and tree cover, which were rapidly becoming casualties of reckless development.”

Now, it’s jungle out there

After taking over, the group protected the natural regrowth from clear-felling, and planted new saplings every monsoon. They also did soil and water conservation earthworks of rock bunds and check dams that helped recharge groundwater benefiting neighbouring downstream villages as well. Today, Vanvadi boasts of around 50,000 trees, including 52 edible plant species, over 30 medicinal species, and around 20 timber species. A small patch of land is used for farming rice and millets.

Occasional weekend workshops, nature walks and an annual vanutsav or forest festival are organised at Vanvadi. Vanutsav involves local tribal villagers sharing their traditional knowledge about forest and their way of life with city residents who join in from Mumbai and other places. Participants forage, cook and eat forest food besides other delicacies. 

Arjun Kamdar, a wildlife conservationist who has conducted reptile awareness and appreciation workshops at Vanvadi, feels the area is a heaven in the sea of agricultural fields. “The amount of species diversity here is comparable and at times higher than the other forests of Western Ghats. This is because there are not many big predators in Vanvadi since they usually require larger area,” he said. “There is a healthy network of streams which host several unique frogs and toad species.”

Common wolf snake, checkered keelback and buff striped keelback are some of the snake species of the area. “People usually believe that snakes are all out to kill them. Seeing them in their natural habitat helps diffuse this fear,” Kamdar said. On the other hand, local tribals get to know about how to avoid snakes, need to go to hospitals instead of local healers in case of snake bites and differences between poisonous and non-poisonous species.

Pangs of development 

Vanvadi has had its fair share of struggles and fights too, mainly dealing with several real estate projects, including vacation homes and resorts that have sprung up in the area. Over the last 12-15 years, the region has undergone a tremendous change, especially with a new road passing nearby. Deforestation and concretisation have led to massive soil erosion. Vanvadi also faced attempts to fraudulently sell its land that needed legal interventions. “The land is big and hence requires constant monitoring. We are hoping to have new members from younger generation who can bring in fresh energy to the place,” Mansata said. “Maybe a few people can stay here with small huts and kitchen gardens. The area has the potential to evolve into a forest eco-village and a valuable learning centre on nature, ecology and traditional wisdom.”

Vanvadi has a long unguarded boundary of four kilometre and cattle often stray into the forest while local villagers come for firewood and forest food. “Animals damage the saplings we plant, which is why we are now doing this only in a smaller protected area,” said Mansata. He has a suggestion for anyone willing to follow this path: “Let nature do her work, and see where you can help. Though there is a greater awareness among people about environment protection, only incremental change is happening. It has not reached the tipping point to turn the tide. The rampaging monetised economy is about fleeting shadow value, while the real wealth of nature is indispensable for survival and well-being. Ecological regeneration is thus a vital, urgent task, almost everywhere!”