Mumbai: On the occasion of World Environment Day, Mumbai-based leading consumer lifestyle and mobile accessories brand KDM spearheaded a unique afforestation project in Miyawaki style at Railway Coach Yard, social enterprise Go Shunya, ISCKON Govardhan Eco Village and NSS Cadets.
Known worldwide as the Miyawaki model, named after Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki, it involves raising a dense mini-forest on a small parcel of land using only indigenous species. KDM Founder N D Mali, Central Railway General Manager Anil Kumar Lahoti, Go Shunya CEO Gopal Raithatha and senior railway officials were amongst those present on the occasion.
The depleting forest cover has propelled KDM to raise similar 75 micro-forests on the Miyawaki model into a full-fledged programme called VRUKSHYGEN across India to celebrate and commemorate 75 years of Independence. The project is aimed to fill the gap and make India green with a unique concept of growing and self-sustaining micro forests to enhance and increase the oxygen levels in urban, semi-urban, Tier 2 and 3 cities.
The project aptly named ‘VRUKSHYGEN’ is a combination of the words ‘Tree’ and ‘Oxygen’. Just as man cannot survive without oxygen, nature cannot be saved without trees. N D Mali, Founder of KDM, who is on a mission to contribute back to Mother Earth said, “Inspired by honourable Prime Minister and in association with Govardhan Eco Village and NSS Cadets, we have taken this noble initiative of restoring the forest cover in the country. Now is the time to nurture nature. Environment protection has been an important aspect of our initiative. We are witnessing drastic climate change and deforestation remains one of the main reasons for this. The only way we can contribute to reversing it is to plant more trees for more oxygen. We take pride in taking a step forward in creating a thriving and self-sustaining micro forest for our future generations.”