Fenn Forest is my dream of sustainable living. Here it is in a nutshell.
Location:
Fenn Forest is situated in the foothills of the Western Ghats, that has been declared a Bio-diversity hotspot by UNESCO Link Here. Being in Kerala, India, the weather is warm and humid. If it were not for humans, the place would have been a tropical jungle as seen by huge trees in the protected area. Fenn Forest is far from any industrialised zone and from a high point one does not see a single building or smokestack till the horizon, all we see is earth and treetops. Its set in a bit from the main road, hence no sound of traffic. It's not a place you would pass by as you drive along busy highways. The property itself has been part of our family estate for 5 generations. In the last 25 years there has been no chemical fertiliser or pesticide spray used on it.
The Forest:
I want half of the property (about 20250 sqmts) into a small sustainable oasis like forest for local flora and fauna. Currently the property has rubber trees on it. My grandfather planted them as part of an agricultural initiative in the 1950s. But a dense monocrop of Rubber Trees are not sustainable. The sap that runs just under the bark of the trees make it impossible for insects to live in the trees. No insects, means no woodpeckers. No fruits means no other birds. But interestingly our property has a number of foxes and Jungle Cats (Felis Chaus - See photo below - credits wikimedia), as well as owls and other animals. The forest will be there home. Although the forest will not compensate for loss of farm income, I hope that the total project can bring in some revenues. The Forest by itself is our family's way of paying back to nature for sustaining us so many years. At the moment the forest will continue to belong to us and I hope to generate revenues for planting and kick starting the forest.
Initial Revenue for Fenn Forest Sustainable Living project could come from the Fenn Forest NFT Collection available for collectors who would like to see their money invested in conservation and sustainable living.