Prabha Devi’s boundless energy defies her age and baffles all. The 76-year-old woman lives in a remote Palasat village in Rudraprayag.

Prabh Devi’s picture-perfect home nestles in the middle of a forest and the amazing fact is that the forest is entirely her making.

Concern Over Deforestation

Prabha Devi watched with disdain as trees in her village were cut without any remorse in the name of development. Though she hadn’t been to school and doesn’t know to read and write, she had the intelligence and wisdom to understand that cutting trees to construct buildings and resorts was a disaster for which man himself will suffer. Soon she began to plant trees near her house. Her family owned a small piece of land that was not cultivated. She embarked on a mission to cover that land with trees. Decades later nearly 500 trees, all planted by PrabhDevi stand tall around her village as if they are guarding it.

Protecting The Ecosystem

At a time, when people are growing increasingly aware of the adverse effects of human activity on the environment, Prabha Devi had foresight decades ago about the impending natural disaster owing to man’s carelessness. Prabha Devi also suggested growing local species of trees such as ‘Baanj’ in nearby regions to reverse the lowering of groundwater table levels. Parts of the tree could also be used as fodder or even in agro-based activities which the villagers heavily rely upon.  

It is the singular effort of Prabha Devi that Palasat village is green.  She is our environmental hero who thought way ahead of her times and took action to protect our ecology and the environment.