Piplantri The villagers who plant 111 trees every time a girl child is born

The villagers of Piplantri plant 111 trees every time a girl child is born and the community ensures these trees survive, attaining fruition as the girls grow up. Over the years, people here have managed to plant over a quarter million trees on the village's grazing commons - including Neem, Sheesham, Mango, Amla among others.

To ensure financial security, after the birth of a girl child, the villagers contribute Rs 21,000 collectively and take Rs 10,000 from the parents and puts it in a fixed deposit, which can be broken when she turns 20. To make sure that girl child receives proper education, the villagers make the parents sign an affidavit which also restricts them from marrying her off, before she attains the legal age for marriage.

Shyam Sundar Paliwal, the former sarpanch (Village head) started this initiative in the memory of his daughter Kiran, who died a few years ago.^[2]

The initiative begun in 2006 has turned Piplantri village into an oasis. The birth of girl child is now welcomed and the village is covered with Neem, Mango, Amla and Sheesham trees leading to a higher water level.^[3]

The initiative has also helped the town’s economy. To keep termites away from the trees, many of which bear fruit, the village has planted more than 2.5 million Aloe vera plants around them. Gradually, the villagers realized that Aloe vera could be processed and marketed in a variety of ways. So the community now produces and markets aloe-based products like juice and gel, among other things