Can the residents of a concrete jungle ever connect to the real green jungle? Can its urban youngsters ever know the joys of ‘junglee’ activities like tree climbing, fruit picking ,sun bathing or dancing in the rain? Can we urbanites relearn the art of living with Nature? Can we go back to sustainable living methods or at least incorporate some of them in our daily lives to reduce the burden on our Earth? Thankfully , the answer is ‘Yes’!
Meet Jyoti Raghavan, a Malibu resident and a nature lover who is also committed to the Aravalli Bachao Movement. This sensitive, thinking young woman has transformed a one and half acre piece of land in the nearby village of Shikohpur into a hub of sustainable living. The place is a delight to behold.
Wildly planted fruit trees, flowering shrubs, medicinal plants and a lovely water body hold the promise of turning this piece of land into a mini forest very soon. Set amidst the greenery are three clay and bamboo huts which are live examples of sustainable construction. Upcycled doors and windows have been used to minimise material consumption and old glass bottles have been embedded in the clay walls to let in natural light.
The purpose of having a place like this is to equip the younger generation for impending food, water, waste and labor crises and make them self reliant. This along with lessons in sustainability are learnt in the lap of nature. The place is aptly called Forest Spirit Learning.
School and college students, corporates and college professors have been flocking to this haven to engage in activities like plantation drives, educational visits by schools, community art projects, group volunteering, talks, astronomy nights and picnic days.
Spending a day in such immersive activities is not only rejuvenating for the town weary folks but also a way to relearn the age-old methods of reusing and recycling which have been a part of our culture since ages.
Just a single visit to Forest Spirit Learning filled me up with hope that there is still a chance to steer our generation, which is steeped in consumerism and virtual reality, towards a sustainable lifestyle which is the call of the hour.
May the Forest Spirits smile and thrive again!
Follow the school’s updates on @forestspiritlearning on Instagram
