86-Year-old farmer’s 27,000-tree forest holds back Rajasthan desert

Ekalkhori: In Ekalkhori, near Jodhpur, dunes were creeping toward homes and farmland as hot summer winds pushed sand into the village. More than five decades ago, farmer Ranaram Bishnoi decided to act.

Now 86, Bishnoi has created what locals call a living wall against desertification: nearly 27,000 native trees across 25 bigha, or roughly 10 acres, of once-barren sand. There were no machines or grants. He carried water across dunes to keep each sapling alive.

Today, khejri, neem, rohida, babool and kankeri trees break desert winds and anchor loose soil that once drifted freely. The green patch attracts birds, provides shade, and shields nearby farmland from advancing sand. In the Thar, trees like these act as infrastructure, slowing dune movement and reducing erosion.

Bishnoi regularly trekked three kilometres to a friend’s tubewell, hauling water in earthen pots, often by camel, to water saplings one by one. He built thorn fences to protect them from cattle. “The plants are god-like for me,” he said. “Caring for them gave me peace.” Women from his family and village girls sometimes helped, and he paid them from his own pocket.

Locals now call him “Ahhu” — the tree man. By choosing hardy, native species that thrive on little water, Bishnoi built more than a forest. He built a defense line that proves daily care and local knowledge can turn back the desert.