Five people who planted hope in their own backyard
A forest on a sandbar, ponds on a dry hill, a seed bank at home, a village school and thousands of saplings. Five ordinary Indians, five lasting changes.
By IndianGaurav team ·
None of the five people in this story set out to win awards. They saw a problem close to home and kept working on it, often for decades, often with very little money. Here is what each of them built.
1. A forest on a sandbar: Jadav Payeng, Assam
In 1979, Jadav Payeng began planting bamboo on a bare sandbar in the Brahmaputra after seeing snakes that had died in the heat for lack of shade [4]. Decades later the area is a forest of more than a thousand acres, home to tigers, deer and elephants [4]. He was named for the Padma Shri in 2015 [1]. Read his profile.
2. Ponds on a dry hill: Kalmane Kamegowda, Karnataka
A shepherd from Mandya district, Kamegowda found no water for his flock on the hill where they grazed, so he started digging ponds himself. On 28 June 2020 the Prime Minister spoke about him in Mann Ki Baat, noting that he had dug 16 ponds through his own labour [3]. Read his profile.
3. A seed bank at home: Rahibai Soma Popere, Maharashtra
Rahibai never went to school, but she became an expert in native crops. Her community seed bank lends seed to farmers, who return twice the amount after harvest. By 2018 it was looking after 116 varieties of 53 crops [5]. She was named for the Padma Shri in 2020 [2]. Read her profile.
4. A school from an orange cart: Harekala Hajabba, Karnataka
Hajabba sold oranges in Mangaluru and could not read. In 1999 he used his small savings to start a school in his village with 28 children. It has since grown into a high school [6]. He was named for the Padma Shri in 2020 [2]. Read his profile.
5. Thousands of saplings: Tulasi Gowda, Karnataka
Known as the “Encyclopedia of the Forest” for her knowledge of plants, Tulasi Gowda raised and planted trees for most of her life, and a citation shared at her award said she had planted more than 30,000 saplings [7]. She was named for the Padma Shri in 2020 [2]. Read her profile.
What they share
Each of these stories began with one person noticing something that was missing (shade, water, seeds, a school, trees) and deciding not to wait for someone else. Do you know someone like this? Suggest a hero.
Sources
- [1] Padma Awards 2015 — Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs. Accessed 10 October 2026.
- [2] Press Note: Padma Awards 2020 — Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. Accessed 10 October 2026.
- [3] PM's address in the 13th Episode of 'Mann Ki Baat 2.0' — Prime Minister's Office (pmindia.gov.in). Accessed 10 October 2026.
- [4] A Lifetime Of Planting Trees On A Remote River Island: Meet India's Forest Man — NPR. Accessed 10 October 2026.
- [5] Woman's push to save healthy indigenous seeds yields honours — Gulf News. Accessed 10 October 2026.
- [6] Padma Shri 2020: Humility is central to this orange seller's school of thought — Deccan Herald. Accessed 10 October 2026.
- [7] Meet Padma Shri Tulasi Gowda, the barefoot environmentalist, as her picture goes viral while greeting PM Modi — The Tribune. Accessed 10 October 2026.
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