In 2007, a young engineer from North India arrived in Bengaluru, stepping into a verdant paradise where mild weather reigned year-round, no scorching summers like back home. But as Kapil Sharma watched the IT boom relentlessly fell ancient trees for concrete jungles, that paradise crumbled. This moment of profound loss became the catalyst for SayTrees, co-founded by Kapil Sharma and Lt. Commander Deokant Payasi, whose combined vision transformed personal outrage into a nationwide environmental crusade.
The Founders’ Vision Takes Root
Kapil Sharma, SayTrees’ founder, arrived in Bengaluru around 2007 for his engineering studies and instantly fell in love with its lush green cover. From North India, he was struck by the city’s pleasant weather versus his hometown’s scorching summers, but devastated by IT-driven deforestation: “That something that I felt was so valuable was just getting destroyed in front of my eyes, I just did not want to be a person who was just standing and watching everything come down,” Kapil reflects in conversation with The Logical Indian.​
Co-founder Lt. Commander Deokant Payasi, a retired Indian Navy officer and IIM Bangalore alumnus, shared an apartment with Kapil and brought strategic discipline. “In Bengaluru, the contrast was very clearly visible, large-scale deforestation was happening,” Deokant notes. Together, they planted their first sapling outside their home and approached forest officials, laying SayTrees’ foundation.
From Weekend Saplings to National Scale
SayTrees began humbly with pure grassroots grit: Kapil led the first 100-sapling drive at Madiwala Lake, crowdfunded entirely by friends from their apartment complex where he and Deokant lived, without any formal organizational backing. He meticulously documented every step through compelling social media before-and-after photos, sharing the raw transformation to attract like-minded souls. Initial teams consisted of just 5-10 volunteers who showed up consistently, weathering relentless monsoons for planting and blistering summers for watering the fragile saplings.​
“I used to make sure that every weekend I was out, looking for opportunities to plant saplings so that it would survive, what kind of saplings to plant, what kind of sapling will suit the Bangalore weather,” Kapil recalls, balancing his full-time software engineering job with this passion project. Finding committed volunteers proved challenging initially, people were inspired by the posts but sustaining regular weekend turnouts required constant outreach and proof of impact through those tangible before-after visuals.​
Eighteen years later, their persistence scaled dramatically, over 10 million trees across 15 states, peaking at 6 million saplings in a recent year (5.5 million rural). “It started small, slowly and steadily, it has taken 18 years. But we made sure that it was always quality above quantity, this year we got the quantity and we are making sure that it is done to the best quality,” Kapil emphasizes to The Logical Indian. Registered as an NGO in 2013, SayTrees now orchestrates nationwide Miyawaki forest drives, enrolling thousands of volunteers for simultaneous multi-city plantations that prove citizen networks can rival institutional efforts.​
Science-Driven Reforestation
SayTrees rejects random, well-meaning tree planting for a rigorous, science-backed methodology that guarantees long-term survival and ecological impact. They employ two full-time plant scientists specializing in species selection, in-house GIS experts conducting satellite monitoring to track growth and survival rates, and field teams embedded directly in partner nurseries for months to enforce scientific standards from sapling production through delivery. This ensures only native, non-invasive species are planted, trees naturally adapted to local soil, climate, and rainfall patterns that require minimal external support once established.
“Native saplings have to be planted, there is no other question apart from that, they know how to survive in the weather condition of that place,” Kapil asserts emphatically, explaining how these species self-sustain beyond initial watering. Deokant adds critical nuance: “Beyond native, it should never be invasive like Acacia or Gulmohar, these produce excessive seeds that dominate landscapes. We focus on maximum species diversity for biodiversity, not just human aesthetics, every bird, bee, and butterfly has its own food cycle tied to specific native trees.”
As Bengaluru Miyawaki forest pioneers since 2016 with over 100 sites created, SayTrees packs 40-50 native species into tiny plots, creating dense, ten-times-more-productive mini-forests that mature ten times faster than conventional methods. They rigorously reject superficially robust but genetically inferior saplings that look impressive initially yet fail to fruit or thrive long-term, a common nursery scam exposed through scientist-led inspections. Meticulous site planning considers local drainage patterns to prevent waterlogging, overhead electrical wires that force later pruning, and soil profiles to match species perfectly.
“Tree plantation is one such initiative where you have to wait three to five years to see the benefit, unlike other initiatives, you don’t have time to make mistakes,” Kapil cautions. “If you plant the wrong species now, you lose those crucial five years, time is of the essence. Do it right now so five, ten years from now we know whatever was done was best.” This scientific rigor transforms tree planting from symbolic gestures into genuine climate restoration.
Agroforestry Revolution
SayTrees’ agroforestry program partners with over 20,000 farmers, dedicating 20-40% of farmland to climate-resilient trees providing parallel income less vulnerable to weather shocks. Funded through climate financing where corporates offset carbon via Verra/Gold Standard projects, it covers costs like Rs 250 per mango sapling that small farmers can’t afford.
Anantapur success stories prove impact: a 2015 participant sold six tons of mangoes earning Rs 2.5 lakh; another used fruit profits to open a village flour mill. “From just one income, when you start getting parallel income through trees, you can utilize that to do something else,” Kapil explains.
Combating misinformation, like taller saplings fruiting sooner, they take farmers to vetted nurseries where scientists reject visually impressive but fruitless stock. Their 30-acre Anantapur demo farm showcases banana intercropping: “Why don’t we farm ourselves? Now farmers see us practice what we preach.”
Farmers bring invaluable ground-level wisdom, innovating creatively with limited resources, one smallholder incorporated seven different intercrops across his land while waiting for trees to mature, maximizing every inch during the establishment phase. “Farmers are willing to do the right thing and put in hard work, once given the right information, data, and capital support, you see very innovative methods,” SayTrees learned.
“Partner with farmers, and the impact can be exponential, farmers get parallel income supporting their livelihood while we achieve increased green cover that’s invaluable. It’s a true win-win for everyone,” Kapil declares passionately.
Holistic Green-Blue Impact
SayTrees recognizes that trees alone cannot scale without water, embracing a holistic “green-blue” philosophy where lake restoration complements massive plantations. They’ve rejuvenated over 50 lakes storing nearly 3 billion liters of water in recent years, with Bengaluru’s 10 lakes earning special praise from Prime Minister Modi during Mann Ki Baat for successfully refilling during monsoons. “Blue and green will go together, standalone you cannot scale up so high, if you’re talking about 5 million plantings, you have to think about critical irrigation also in design,” Deokant explains, highlighting how lake revival directly supports tree survival in both urban and rural projects.
Clean energy initiatives seamlessly augment their farmer programs rather than operating standalone. Targeting 1,000 biogas units for cattle-owning farmers among their 20,000-strong network, these provide clean cooking fuel while producing nutrient-rich slurry for farmland fertilizer. Solar pumps replace diesel irrigation for farmland owners. Field coordinators identify needs during monthly farmer visits: “The farmer might have cattle, so can I give him biogas? If he has farmland and uses a pump, can I put a solar pump?” This integrated approach solves energy access, waste management, and soil health simultaneously.
Volunteer Heartbeat
Volunteers form SayTrees’ emotional core, transforming routine drives into deeply personal milestones, families celebrate birthdays by planting saplings together, while one widow honored her late husband by dedicating 100 trees in his memory. These stories fuel momentum as volunteers channel corporate CSR through personal networks rather than formal pitches.
Farmer skepticism presents the biggest challenge, rooted in generations of farming wisdom clashing with urban-proposed changes, compounded by rampant misinformation promising miraculous yields. SayTrees counters with radical transparency: success-story farm tours, vetted nursery visits, and decades-long commitment promises. “We bring examples of farmers in your region who are doing amazingly well. If you don’t want to listen to us, at least come see how people are benefiting. We’re there with you for the next two, three decades,” Kapil assures, building trust through demonstrated results rather than mere promises.
Audacious 2030 Vision
Kapil’s signature philosophy, “the reward of good work is more work”, perfectly captures SayTrees’ trajectory as massive support from corporates and ground teams propels their boldest ambitions yet. By 2030, they aim to partner with 1 lakh farmers through comprehensive support programs, rejuvenate 500 lakes across urban and rural areas storing 50 billion liters of water, and plant 100 million trees nationwide. “On the tree plantation side, now we talk about the number of farmers, we hope to work with at least 1 lakh farmers,” Kapil outlines, while lake restoration targets both cities and farmer villages for direct irrigation benefits.
Strategic partnerships unlock unprecedented scale. A recent MOU with Maharashtra’s MGNREGS department taps into Rs 90,000 crore annual funds, three times India’s total CSR budget, for livelihood-linked tree plantations and water works. “Scale is not possible with one NGO, it’s possible if multiple NGOs and government come together,” Deokant emphasizes, as SayTrees creates enabling ecosystems for nationwide replication while a major partner deal focuses them on program acceleration.
Volunteers represent SayTrees’ greatest strength and original DNA, citizen-driven impact that no institutional budget could replicate. “Our strength lies not just in the team, scientists, corporate partners, or government tie-ups, but also from volunteers who work with us,” Deokant emphasizes. Without a dedicated CSR team, volunteers personally pitch to their corporate networks, enabling funding while creating Miyawaki forests simultaneously across major towns in 15 states on enrollment days.
From the beginning, volunteering aimed beyond plantations: “It should not just be me or Deokant going out every weekend, everybody should feel the importance of these trees and play whatever role they can,” Kapil explains. Pre-COVID, they ran three weekly drives during monsoons, including 54 plantations in three months. Planters return in summer to water their saplings, understanding the full lifecycle. “It’s not just project after project, it’s spreading awareness that trees are everyone’s responsibility, not just ours,” Kapil declares. This philosophy sustains their nationwide scale.
The Logical Indian Perspective
SayTrees shows what happens when passion meets persistence. From Kapil Sharma’s weekend saplings to 10 million trees nationwide, 50+ lakes revived, and farmers earning from mango harvests.
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