I just read this amazing story, shared in the latest Ethical Co-Op newsletter. It illustrates how much can be done just by doing one positive thing every day, or every week - consistently we can make small changes that amount to something much bigger than we could even imagine right now.
The year was 1979, and a teenager in India saw the floods come, with trees uprooted and hundreds of dead animals littering the banks. He had already noticed the reduction in migratory birds, and the village elders told him that this was due to deforestation. Animals lost their homes and birds had less wild lands to visit. They suggested he plant trees to help reduce the damage.
And plant trees he did. Every day for 34 years he has planted trees, and the area has been transformed into a lush forest of 550 hectares, supporting wild elephants, tigers, deer and rhino. Watering the newly-planted saplings was quickly impractical, so he designed bamboo platforms for each tree, holding earthen pots with small holes, which would slowly drip down quenching the thirst of the young saplings. With the initial forest now sustainable, he is now planting another forest of 150 hectares.
Too many of us look at the scope of the challenges or the long journey ahead, wonder what we alone can do, and, discouraged, fail to even start. But making a difference is easy really. Just aim in the right direction, and start walking. Time takes care of all the rest.
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Tthe Ethical Co-Op delivers organic and ethical food and produce weekly to the Cape Town and surrounding areas. They deliver door-to-door or to convenient pickup points, and also courier a selection of their products countrywide. Check them out at www.ethical.org.za.
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