Sandwiched between the Garhwal and Kumaon regions, Gwaldam is a pristine expanse of green forest, dotted with apple orchards. It rises to a height of 1,629 m.  with dense woods and green fields. Gwaldam is also the starting point of many treks and the base of the popular Roop Kund trek. The entire area is bordered by snow-capped peaks. The greenery of Gwaldam is watered by the Pindari river.

1.Improved the environment in the ecologically fragile central Himalayan region (currently bearing the brunt of both global warming and unbridled urbanisation)

2.Much-needed boost to its forest-dependent pastoral economy. Initially, the tree-planting drive undertaken as part of the green campaign had laid emphasis only on growing non-fruit-bearing trees but soon villagers also started growing fruit-bearing trees and fodder trees in their neighbourhood so that they and their families could have nutritive diet besides getting ample fodder for the cattle.

Schedule Caste (SC) constitutes 18.1% while Schedule Tribe (ST) were 2.4% of total population in Gwaldam State village.

In Gwaldam State village out of total population, 1,487 were engaged in work activities. 74.3% of workers describe their work as Main Work (Employment or Earning more than 6 Months) while 25.7% were involved in Marginal activity providing livelihood for less than 6 months. Of 1,487 workers engaged in Main Work, 470 were cultivators (owner or co-owner) while 3 were Agricultural labourer.

In Uttarakhand, maiti means the parental home of the bride. The maiti movement started in the small town of Gwaldam and is now spreading fast throughout the state. The maiti ceremony fosters planting of trees at weddings as a part of the nuptial ceremony. During the ritual, the bride hands over a sapling to the groom, who plants it while the girl waters it in the presence of a priest, amidst chanting of shlokas and mantras. The parents and friends of the girl look after the plant when the girl leaves for the groom’s house. This ritual is the brainchild of Kalyan Singh Rawat, a zoology teacher in the government school in Gwaldam who was involved in the movement. He started this system in 1996, after observing his girl students’ interest in nature while on a trip to bedini bugyal (alpine meadows). According to Mr. Rawat, deforestation in recent times has severely affected womenfolk, as they have to walk miles in search of grass, wood and drinking water.

This ritual is the brainchild of Kalyan Singh Rawat, a zoology teacher in the government school in Gwaldam who was involved in the movement. He started this system in 1996, after observing his girl students’ interest in nature while on a trip to bedini bugyal (alpine meadows). According to Mr. Rawat, deforestation in recent times has severely affected womenfolk, as they have to walk miles in search of grass, wood and drinking water.

The idea of Maiti came to him in 1982 when his wife, Manju Rawat, planted two papaya trees in the backyard just days after their wedding. The couple invested time and effort in the trees and were overwhelmed when they bore fruit.

Drawing from the experience, Rawat undertook similar initiatives in nearby communities, but those were unsuccessful. In 1987, Uttarkashi witnessed a severe drought. To ensure that the parched trees were taken care of, a tree coronoation ceremony was organised.

A village-level tree committee was also established and the panchayat head was made its chief. That was also the time when Rawat had started sensitising students about the Maiti initiative. Soon, at a wedding, a bride gifted her mother a sapling. “The gesture affected all at the wedding and the practice became the norm in Uttarakhand. Now, most wedding cards mention Maiti as a distinct ceremony,” Rawat says.

The girl students’ interest in nature and the adverse effect of deforestation in recent times on womenfolk, who have to walk miles in search of grass, wood and drinking water.

The eco-women centric movement has received worldwide recognition including US, UK, Indonesia, Canada, Nepal and Thailand. In India, it spread across 6,000 villages in 18 states.

A maiti group consists of unmarried girls, the eldest of whom is known as maiti didi (elder sister). This group prepares a maiti nursery in a village or town. On the day of the wedding, a sapling is brought to the groom, which is planted by him. The groom has to contribute some money towards the maiti volunteers. The money collected from such contributions is used for elevating the economically backward girls. Needy ones are provided financial aid to meet educational expenses. Maiti organisations also extend monetary support to destitute families who want to find a groom for their girls. The word ‘maiti’ has blended emotions with the strong desire for eco-conservation. 

The Maiti fund, money taken from the groom by the brides friends (Saheli’s) during the marriage ceremony is utilized for the education and/or wedding of girl children in the Maiti village.

And today, after 20 years of this movement there are over 6,000 villages in 18 states of India including Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir, and Kerala. This movement has received international recognition from former Foreign Minister of Canada, Flora Donald also and introduced in countries like US, UK, Canada, Nepal, Indonesia and Thailand. “In hilly areas, women are forced to walk miles in search of grass, wood and drinking water. The destruction of forests could not be prevented in hills without active participation of women.”

Over the years, more than 500,000 plants have been sowed under the initiative and each one has been raised with love and care because of the emotional connect. This has improved water and fodder availaibility in the region.

Nanda Maiti Van, a forest patch at Nanda Sain in Chamoli is, for instance, ‘the biggest forest’ developed by the people since the green movement has started. Spread over about a sprawling five-acre area this green patch of forest is on the Nanda Devi Rajjath pilgrimage route. 

Shaurya (bravery) Van, a forest at Badhangarhi in Gwaldam is also a gift of the Maiti movement. This forest is dedicated to the memory of the martyrs of the Kargil war, and is spread over about a three-hectare hilly area.

The idea is adopted by social activists like Keshav Panday, Pt Madan Mohan Malviya’s granddaughter Asha Seth, and Hamida Begum who later started the movement in Kerala, Mumbai and Delhi, respectively.

A movement which started as eco-women centric in a small village is spreading its wing across not only in India but all over the world. The message of this movement is very simple: ‘For every happy occasion, plant a tree for a beautiful memory’. 

The fact that women are more active and energetic than men and are very emotionally connected to their parental home. This is the biggest afforestation movement in the country after Sundar Lal Bahugana’s Chipko Andolan and by now they have already planted over one lakhs trees in Uttarakhand only.

“This bond is extraordinarily deeper than that in other places because women being the prime movers of Uttarakhand’s hill economy have to lead a very tough life and their daughters give them full support,” Dr Rawat points out. “Until their marriage, daughters stand literally shoulder to shoulder with their mothers in the latter’s everyday battle to feed their family and meet its requirements. They (daughters) share all kinds of drudgeries their mothers have to undergo while toiling hard in the small, terraced fields to grow millets etc and trekking miles to fetch potable water and head loads of fodder and fuel wood,” he said.

So, for hill women the pain of being parted from such truly helpful daughters after the latter’s marriage is unbearably profound and the bond between them keeps becoming stronger and stronger, according to Rawat. “So, mothers naturally ensure that the saplings planted by their married daughters remain well protected and grow into leafy trees,” he informs. 

Mr. Kalyan Rawat the biology teacher has been awarded Padma Shri this year and says the initiative can go a long way in increasing local climate resilience