What most people throw away after eating a mango has now become centre of a unique environmental and farming movement led by a man from Kolkata: Jasmit Singh Arora who is popularly known as “Gutli Man of India” known for collecting mango seeds from across country and turning them into fruit-bearing trees to help farmers and promote greener farming practices.
A resident of Bangur Avenue in Kolkata Arora has started an initiative that focuses on collecting discarded mango seeds, growing them into saplings and distributing them free of cost to farmers mainly in West Bengal and through this effort he hopes to encourage farmers to shift towards more sustainable and environment-friendly agriculture.
Arora says the idea came from his concern for farmers who depend heavily on crops like paddy and according to him paddy farming requires a large amount of water while often giving farmers very limited returns so he believes fruit trees especially mango trees can provide a better long term option.
Under his initiative mango seeds sent from different parts of India are first cleaned and dried before being germinated on available plots of land near areas like Diamond Harbour and Burdwan and the land is reportedly provided voluntarily by people supporting the mission however Arora says the process is not as simple as planting every seed directly into soil and only a small percentage of mango seeds successfully germinate and after the saplings begin growing they are grafted with local mango varieties suitable for the climate of the region which is done to improve their chances of survival and fruit production.
He explained that mango varieties grown in one state may not always survive in another state due to differences in weather and soil conditions therefore grafting local varieties onto saplings becomes an important step before they are handed over to farmers. Arora’s work began quietly nearly five to six years ago but it gained major attention after videos related to his work started circulating online last year and since then people from different parts of country have reportedly started sending mango seeds to support the mission.
According to Arora the response has come from all sections of society including schools, students, army personnel and other volunteers and claimed that last year alone lakhs of mango seeds were received through parcels coming from different states across India and the initiative is not limited to tree plantation alone as Arora says his larger goal is to support farmers economically while also helping environment. Mango trees once fully grown can provide fruits for many years and may become a stable source of income for farming families and at the same time trees also help absorb carbon dioxide, support biodiversity and improve green cover.
Winning the trust of farmers however was one of the biggest challenges during early stages of his project and Arora said many farmers were hesitant because mango trees take years to bear fruit and some were also doubtful due to past experiences with schemes and promises that failed to benefit them so to build confidence among farmers he reportedly started providing other fast growing fruit plants along with mango saplings so farmers could see quicker results while waiting for the mango trees to mature.
One of the key aspects of this initiative is that the saplings are distributed free of cost and Arora believes charging money even a small amount could discourage poor farmers from participating and before becoming widely known as “Gutli Man”, Arora had a very different professional background as he had studied medicine and later worked in sectors such as information technology and pharmaceuticals before moving towards social and environmental work and over the years visits to remote and underdeveloped areas made him realise the difficulties faced by farmers and rural communities.
Apart from tree plantation Arora is also promoting organic farming methods and says he does not encourage use of chemical heavy farming practices and instead wants to support farming methods that are healthier for both people and the environment and his campaign has also found support among educational institutions as several schools and colleges joined hands with the initiative by collecting mango seeds and spreading awareness among students about environmental responsibility.
Arora is now encouraging more people to participate in the movement during the mango season by saving seeds instead of throwing them away and supporters are asked to clean and dry seeds properly before sending them for plantation work and alongside this he is also working on a larger environmental awareness drive aimed at increasing tree plantation and reducing carbon emissions.