In January 2005, while Ruth Rosenhek and John Seed were looking at the various reforestation projects taking place on Arunachala, we visited the beautiful plantings and regeneration work being done by Govinda Bowley's team. We were able to offer this project, "The Mountain of Medicine" tax deductibility in the US, England, Canada and Australia (please email johnseed1@ozemail.com.au for details) and asked Govinda to write a description of their work for this site ...
THE MOUNTAIN OF MEDICINE
by Govinda Bowley arunachalagovinda@yahoo.co.uk
The project began almost two years ago. Everything has been done very informally, and I’ve never so much as written an executive summary prior to this. All my funding has been through personal channels, which has worked very well until now, giving me total creative and practical freedom. Things have gone extremely well on the ground, and the project seems to be growing in such a way that I’m now at the stage of creating more of a solid structure for the long term security of the work I’ve been given and love passionately.
That work is basically environmental, with a strong aspect of indigenous health traditions thrown in, the two being very much interlinked.
The town where I live, Thiruvannamalai, is situated at the foot of the Mountain of Arunachala. This mountain is considered to be the physical embodiment of Shiva, Pure Consciousness and has for millennia drawn sages and pilgrims to it. Every full moon night up to a million pilgrims from all over South India come to circumambulate the eight mile path around the mountain as an act of worship, and there is also a sizeable population of seekers from all over the World, both permanent residents and short-term visitors, drawn by the power of the mountain, the teachings of Ramana Maharshi and also to other saints and teachers past and present. The town is the administrative headquarters for the district, and is growing at an incredible rate.
Spiritually, physically, environmentally and economically the town is centred around the hill. An increase in the forest cover on the hill would no doubt increase the quality of life for the residents of the town, improving infiltration, and quite possibly frequency of rain and thus improving the rapidly dropping groundwater table upon which so many rely. It would also turn the hill from the giant heat radiator it is at present into a heat moderator and source of clean air. However, what is perhaps more important is the fact that environmental work is going on in a place that is the focus of so many people’s attention. Whatever we can achieve here has the potential to make a great impact on the minds of many people. The situation in India is that most of her forests are already gone, and those that remain are either seriously degraded or under threat of becoming so. Apart from the known and universal problems of such a loss of forest, in India there is the added factor of the effect that this has on their traditional systems of healthcare. 8000 species of plants across India have documented medicinal uses, and 90% of these are collected from the forests. Without the forests there could be no traditional medicine, and traditional medicine, which gives primary healthcare to perhaps half of the population, provides a powerful argument for the preservation of the forests. There is also in India a richness of religious and folk mythology perhaps unmatched on earth in breadth, intricacy, and vibrancy and in the place it takes in the everyday life of the people and the way they see the world. Running through that cultural heritage is a connection to the natural world, and stories abound of the divine origins of various plants, the part that other’s played in some great battle, or the reasons that they came to look how they are grow the way they do. Once again, it is the forests out of which much of the culture grew, and now it is that culture which has the potential to help save the disappearing forests. Indians need to know that this is the case and why it matters to them, and the relatively affluent westerners who pass through also need to know how they can help such a situation if they feel to.
I have been entrusted with a large area of government common land at the foot of the mountain for the creation of a local medicine and ecological awareness park. This land adjoins the slopes of the Hill, which then comes under the jurisdiction of the Forest Department. I have also been allotted a further piece of adjoining land, previously used as a garbage dump, for the creation of a children’s park and playground.
On the slopes of the Hill itself I am carrying out straight reforestation work, protecting what natural re-growth is there from fire and cutting, and replanting with a broad variety of local species. This past monsoon we planted around 20,000 saplings in pretty difficult terrain. However, that number is fairly meaningless if they are not adequately protected, and conversely, while the re-planting is no doubt important, if the protection is in place for long enough, the forests will grow themselves without any need for interference. To that end we have put a lot of focus on fire prevention, not just to protect what we have planted, but the whole hill. We cut an extensive network of fire tracks on the slopes of the hill, and are now policing those areas of the Hill where fires are most often started. Yes, they are deliberate, and so re-education on that front is another big task, which we are embarking upon. When fires actually do start we fight them with beaters and whatever volunteers we can muster. It’s a monumental task, but there are many very promising signs. Last year less of the hill was burnt than any year I can remember, and I hope that with improved strategy and awareness this year will be better still.
In addition to the focus on protecting existing growth, we have a strong focus on appropriate species selection for what we do plant. While we had to purchase seedlings when the project began, we aim towards raising all the trees we plant in our own nursery from seeds collected by our hands. This is important because through the process of spending time on the hill or in local forests we are constantly building up our understanding of the forest and it’s constituents, it’s complexities, cycles and nuances. It gives us a better understanding of what should be growing on the hill and where, and it also provides the seeds of those plants most suited to our conditions. While two trees may be technically of the same species, there are still subtle genetic adjustments to the conditions in which they grow, so a rosewood seed collected in Bangalore may not thrive as well as a rosewood seed collected on Arunachala. I also believe the whole wonderful process of raising a tree from seed gives our workers a greater investment in the success of that tree as they plant it out on the hill, and hope that this translates into greater care and awareness in their work at planting time and afterwards.
With regards to the environmental awareness/natural medicine park, I see it first and foremost as a demonstration forest of this bio-region, showing what perhaps even most locals have never seen, and explaining its immense worth, environmentally, culturally, economically, medicinally and spiritually. I would like it to be a place where people feel free to rest in beauty and silence, and where those who want to can deepen their knowledge of nature. There is no park in the whole town, and I would love it to be a place where both locals and pilgrims come to enjoy some fresh air, and in doing so be gently exposed to a living demonstration of conservation, ecology and traditional medicine. This work is already well underway, with much of the planting and watershed management already completed. There is also a thriving and ever growing nursery providing trees for our own work on the hill, and to others with a similar desire to see Thiruvannamalai green again. Beside that there is an area where we have begun small scale organic cultivation of medicinal herbs with a view to demonstrating that as a viable option for local farmers.
Tying in with the ecological park is the creation of the playground, another first for Thiruvannamalai. This came about as the land had been designated for such a project, and as it was adjacent to where we were already working, I felt that I would like it to be done in harmony with the spirit of the ecological work, and so volunteered to take it on. I have employed a design team from Auroville for that, and now six months down the track, much of the landscaping and land regeneration work is done, and fantastic and innovative equipment is being created, using a lot of recycled materials. All of the planting has been done with drought hardy species, nearly all of them native, so that while it will be ornamental, it won’t drink masses of water. What a fantastic opportunity, to welcome children into a magical world of fun, learning and nature, all at the feet of their Holy Mountain, and for them to be able to move between the playground and the adjacent ecological park, learning and playing, playing and discovering nature.
Regards funding requirements for our work, I’m looking to raise 100, 000 dollars to complete, over the next five years, the work which has already been undertaken. This would cover infrastructural projects regards the ecological park, primarily the building of an information and educational centre, solar electricity system for water pumps and for the visitor’s centre, fencing of a proposed extension to the protected area, further land regeneration, sign boards, seating and pathways within the park, and setting up of educational outreach programs to local communities to spread the word of ecology. That sum would also cover the continuation and expansion of the reforestation work on the slopes of the hill itself.
At present I employ sixteen people on a salaried basis. We have one manager who is a graduate in rural development and has ten years of experience in environmental and reforestation work. A number of the other members of staff had also previously worked on local greening projects, and came to us looking for a new challenge. The team members come from surrounding villages, and each is usually the main breadwinner for a whole family. That core group is supplemented with casual labour at times of planting, fire line clearing etc. From May through to Jan this year I was employing never less than ten and often over forty people on a casual basis.
From the start my approach to money has been to spend what comes in as it comes in, and have faith that future requirements will be taken care of. While this may not sound like a very responsible strategy, I do not feel that the money is mine to hold on to for any longer than is absolutely necessary. I do not know what tomorrow brings, but a tree put into the ground today will continue to grow for decades to come. I also firmly believe that money well spent on such work will bring more of the same, and so the work continues to grow in its scope and vision.
Beyond the completion of the work which we have already undertaken, the possibilities for the growth of this work are endless. To truly restore the forest cover of the whole mountain is a lifetime’s work, and we are already being asked to regenerate further areas of municipal land, and have entered into discussion on preserving one of the largest local lakes, which is in danger of disappearing.
When the project began less than two years ago I could not have envisaged how much it has achieved in such a short time. We are now a very well functioning and efficient team with a lot of local support and the goodwill of the local bureaucracy behind us. Anything is possible.