Forest Man

Since the 1970’s Majuli islander Jadav Payeng has been planting trees in order to save his island. To date he has single handedly planted a forest larger than Central Park NYC. His forest has transformed what was once a barren wasteland, into a lush oasis.

Humble yet passionate and philosophical about his work, Payeng takes us on a journey into his incredible forest.

Besides Forest Man, Jadav Payeng has been been the subject of a number of documentaries in the recent years. A locally made film documentary, produced by Jitu Kalita in 2012 The Molai Forest was screened at the Jawaharlal Nehru University.

Jitu Kalita, who lives near Payeng’s house, has also been featured and given recognition for good reporting by projecting the life of Payeng through his documentary.

The 2013 film documentary Foresting life, directed by the Indian documentary filmmaker Aarti Shrivastava, celebrates the life and work of Jadav Payeng in the Molai forest.

Payeng is also the subject of the children’s book Jadav and the Tree-Place, written and illustrated by Vinayak Varma. The book was published by the open-source children’s publishing platform StoryWeaver, and its production was funded by a grant from the Oracle Giving Initiative.