Income from Natural Forest

Most people who come to see Miyawaki forests ask me questions like: How can we generate income from them? What do we get out of them? I have nothing specific to say except that if they plant fruit forests they will be able to harvest bananas, mangoes, jackfruits and so on. But I doubt whether they believe me when they think of investment. So, this time, I’m going to introduce a friend Kiran to you.

Briefly put, he stays at Kaviyoor and this plot of his covers an area of about two acres, close to the NSS School. He and his wife work in the IT field. They joined the Technopark in 1997, around the time of its inception. From there, they went to Thiruvalla where they started a website designing company. With the onset of this pandemic, he closed it down and came here from where he continues to work. He has a tour company called Explore Kerala. Its uniqueness is that it takes tourists to practically unknown destinations in Kerala, and arranges camping facilities for them. He is himself a travel buff, and takes off on adventurous journeys all over India either on foot or in his bike, for 10-20 days at a stretch. The very chairs we are sitting on are meant for campers. These days, when people hardly venture outdoors, he still goes camping. And there have been instances when, mistaking him for a secret service agent, distillers have run for their lives! He has many such interesting anecdotes to narrate.

Since the outbreak of corona, he has shifted his sons from their ICSE school to a state government one, and the children are freer now. What I find attractive is their lifestyle. On the one extreme, they are like monkeys clambering over trees, hanging from vines, jumping from one place to another, and so on. On the other, they are adept at using the latest technologies and enjoy mobile gaming. They are good at craftwork, and with their parents’ help have set up an aquarium. They connect two worlds that are 50 years apart. During my childhood, climbing trees was all that I did. Today’s generation has only the internet for entertainment. But here these parents have ensured that their two children have the best of both worlds. This is a model worth imitating.

As for the trees in this compound, their number is simply amazing. He has himself developed a revenue model, nurturing and selling a lot of saplings sourced from this garden plot, and giving away a lot more for free, without in any way disturbing its existing nature or status. It is for this reason that I feel I should introduce him to you. Let us listen to what he has to say.

Can you tell us how you developed a revenue model for this garden plot?
Actually speaking, this is a revenue model of the present. Earlier, nearly all these trees existed in all garden plots and even on roadsides. With the introduction of employment guarantee schemes and with changes in people’s mentality, these began to disappear. So now there is a lot of nostalgia with regard to the saplings of those trees of the past, and there is a great demand for them too. A special favourite is the frangipani vine that is associated with childhood memories. Although there are many varieties that produce such woolly pods, the one that we are familiar with comes from a vine. You can see many of these vines over the trees here. They are very thick. Even if someone were to ask for 100 of these vines, I can easily pick them up from this garden plot. So when there is a demand placed online, we can simply uproot and pack the saplings and mail them. We don’t put manure here. Whatever sprouts here is what we supply to those who ask for them. That’s the fact of the matter.

How many types of saplings are available here for supply?
I don’t have an accurate figure to give you. Let me show you a plant growing in this compound, or maybe a video clipping of it. I don’t know which species it belongs to but the leaves and blooms are very beautiful. It could be a wild variety. If I were to upload the pictures online, there will be a great demand for it. Take the case of ukshi. I made a video on it and uploaded it. We are thinking of ways to dispose of the plant. But there are people who grow it in Bengaluru because it looks good when grown in the balconies of flats.
Yes, the green leaves and profusion of flowers.
Yes, the flowers come in huge clusters and are very beautiful.
And it stores water too.
Yes. In fact, they look better than bougainvillaea. So I don’t have an exact account of how many species I have here. Maybe up to 300. They are mostly Ayurvedic plants. Besides, there are plenty of plants that we pick up during our travels. If we spot a plant that looks beautiful, we immediately collect a branch or a sapling, and plant it here.

How many saplings have you sold so far?
Normally, we take stock of the demands we receive every week, and courier the saplings or seeds on Mondays. This is to avoid delay in delivery. We stop taking demands on Thursdays, make out a list of what we have to collect, and pick them up from the garden plot on Sundays. For the past two weeks, we have been going to Thiruvalla every Monday to courier packets via RMS. Sometimes we send 10 packets, sometimes 20, or even perhaps only one. Sometimes we send seeds. But this is a source of constant income. And as these are corona times, we cannot go out to meet people or do business. So when we get demands, we supply whatever is required.

Do people come here to buy saplings?
I don’t encourage anyone to come here. Everything is sent through the courier service, largely to out-of-state locations.

Do you grow new saplings?
Only those I have here. Not the ornamental plants that are available in plant nurseries.
Yes, I understand.
The wild variety . . . that is what I grow. What I have are species that people are not likely to get from nurseries.

How do you propagate the heart-leaved moonseed?
Those are the vines on the trees.
Yes, I see a lot of them.
At one point of time, I got a huge order for the heart-leaved moonseed.  Its leaves . . . are used in Ayurvedic concoctions.
The order came from Andhra Pradesh.  So I plucked all the vines I could find from here. The rest of the pieces I scattered all over the place. That is the profusion you see here.

I see. Does the plot have any other uses? You said something about photo shoot . . .
Yes. I plan to leave this plot undisturbed, like a forest, because I see an opportunity for arranging photoshoots.
Locally?
Yes, locally. The photographers of this area are not able to go anywhere to do their photoshoots. So if I create an ambience for it, creating a small by-lane, like the dirt tracks you see in the countryside, strewn with dry leaves . . . I won’t make it with cement and iron rods. I’ll merely rearrange the stones and mud here itself and create a setup.
I see.
I have such a plan in mind.

Usually, with so many trees around, the fear that naturally arises is whether snakes will appear.  I did see a termite mound here . . .
Of course, there will be snakes here. But with so much space, they won’t seek out humans.
But with children playing around. . .
I have found a solution to that threat. We have a few pets at home, especially cats that accompany the children wherever they go. So creatures like snakes will keep away. Or, even before the children spot the snakes, the cats will sense their presence and respond. We have a total of six cats. Two adults and their kittens, so we don’t have such problems.
I have heard of guard dogs. But guard cats are a new thing to me.
We have dogs as well.
That’s true. In a rented house where I once lived in our city, I saw a cat play with a small snake, throwing it up in the air, pawing and holding it. So I’ve actually seen snakes along with cats.
Yes, they are quick to identify snakes.
But those who are afraid of snakes will naturally say cats are a huge problem because they bring in small snakes, and deposit them inside the house.

My belief is that most people try to persuade others into their line of thinking, and argue endlessly to achieve their goal. Nature has good solutions to all problems. But if someone wants to cut a tree, he will find reasons for it. For instance, he’ll cite the trouble caused by falling leaves. He has no thought for the tree that is 50 years old. He won’t ask himself what possible harm falling leaves can cause. The problem that you spoke of is a smaller version of this issue.

Let us hope such a mindset will change.
That won’t change with education. It will come only through life experience.
What I feel is that now more and more people are at home most of the time, and they feel the monotony of life.
Certainly.

Earlier, we would leave for office early in the morning and return late in the night.
Yes.
It is now that people have begun to desire a house for themselves, and a garden plot with plenty of plants and trees.
Of course.
In the past, people would get away during weekends. Now, that is not possible. So they can think of growing plants in their plots, even if it is only five cents in area, or on their terraces. But they don’t exercise those options.
Most people sold off their garden plots and bought flats imagining that they symbolized higher status Now the situation has changed, and flat owners look longingly at trees in garden plots.

Yes. Kiran has a YouTube channel. It’s named Explore Kerala.
I’ve changed the name now and made it Exploring Keralite. I created that channel when I used to travel only within Kerala. Later, I would take off on my bike and go beyond our state. So I changed the name.
That is yourself!
Yes.

In this YouTube channel, Exploring Keralite, he shares videos of the roads he drives through, and also shares information about the trees he sees on the way. So please watch it. The reason for introducing Kiran to you is to tell you that it is possible to bring a business model into every activity you are engaged in, and make an income out of it. Its success depends on the person’s entrepreneurial spirit or practical skills. What Kiran has shown us is that one can display pictures of a plant, and sell its seeds. He collects seeds from his overgrown garden plot which he leaves untouched on the whole. Thus, without any effort, he is able to procure seeds and make money out of them. In the current circumstances, he’s able to ship his material only within India. There are many restrictions in force but he is still able to do his work wonderfully. This is a model worth thinking over and imitating. Besides what he has shown, this field will certainly contain other business opportunities. It is up to us to find out what they are.