Jadav Malawi Payeng born into a nomadic tribe of Assam in 1963, is a forest worker since 16 years of age. Once, numerous snakes died in the flood of Brahmaputra River flowing by the village. To prevent this, Molai planted 20 bamboo plantlets. Later, in 1979, the local Social Forestry Department started the social aforestation project on 200 hectares of land. ‘Moloi’ was one among the few who were in charge of that project and he went on to plant the trees even after completion of the project. This resulted in the barren area witnessing the forest cover over the 1360 acres. The jungle in Kokilamukh of Jorhat district of Assam known as the ‘Moloi Jungle’ is the result of his hard work for 30 years. He was awarded with the prestigious ‘Padmashree’ award by the government of India for this unparalleled work. This story tells us that while many people may come together to destroy the forest, a single person, if determined, can establish a new forest!
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