By Dr Ishani Rao
I love London. I love the chaos, the diversity, the public transport, the music, the interesting people, and the numerous delicious vegan restaurants. I love how easy it is to catch up with friends after work, the street art, the free museums, and the city buzz. But after 12 years here, from living in my first university halls, to watching the Shard go up, to qualifying as an NHS GP, I am finding it hard to believe that ‘when a person is tired of London, they are tired of life’. I grew up in the middle of quiet fields in Spain, and often the only traffic jam around was that of the goats. I miss fresh fruit and colourful vegetables grown by friendly neighbours. I miss the small-town community aspect where everybody knows everybody. I miss not constantly feeling as though I have to check my work emails. I miss the sound of insects and the rustle of trees and the slower pace of life. I love London very much, but I am ready to consider alternative ways to live. It should be imperative to think of revolutionary solutions in order to take care of our mental and physical wellbeing, as well as prioritising environmental and global health.
Studies have consistently found that those dwelling in urban areas across the globe report higher levels of depression, anxiety and mood disorders(1). We are well aware of the difficulties of living sustainably and of over-encompassing consumerism in large cities. It is easy to become disheartened when so many items come packaged unnecessarily, there is endless rubbish all over the busy streets and every other shop front is a Starbucks or Costa. We know that spending time in nature boosts general wellbeing, and that large studies analysing individuals that are connected to nature report improved mental health (2). Incredibly, spending time outside can even decrease levels of inflammatory cytokines (which contribute to illness and infection)(3). There is a growing awareness that we need to revert back to basics and sacrifice the instant gratification and capitalist culture of modern-day life. This is evident from the rising numbers of vegan, sustainable, zero-waste and second hand shops. This is also evident from the growth of vegan and sustainable living communities. In this article I will focus on one in particular, called Sadhana Forest.
Sadhana Forest was founded in 2003 in Tamil Nadu, south India. It is a vegan not-for-profit organisation that teaches volunteers and underprivileged local inhabitants about reforestation, water conservation, food security and sustainable living. One of its key principles is to engage with local communities to grow trees that grow food and are resistant and resilient to the challenges of climate change. Over a thousand volunteers a year stay on their vegan campus, contributing to the ecological restoration project which has reforested 70 acres of degraded land through indigenous reforestation. Due to its success, additional Sadhana Forest centres have been set up in Haiti, Kenya, Namibia and other parts of India which also involve mobile reforestation units. The incredible work and long-term solutions of these projects has been recognised and is supported by Meghalaya State Government, Government of India, the World Bank and UNDP.
The terms ‘regenerative’, ‘permaculture’, ‘reforestation’ and ‘sustainability’ are trending as we realise how finite resources are, and how insecure food production and distribution is globally. In 2017 I was awarded a Global Health Award from King’s College London for an essay which contemplated this, after a medical placement in Sri Lanka where I discussed concerns about food availability due to climate unpredictability with the locals. Six years ago I was unaware of brilliant projects that aim to mitigate this and to improve food security. It was difficult to be optimistic about global food production, with the growing imbalance of overabundance in the western world contrasting undernutrition in a significant proportion of countries. Learning that the nefarious agribusiness once known as Monsanto was bought by the pharmaceutical company Bayer in 2018 was incredibly disheartening and made individuals feel powerless in food choice. It was subsequently such a relief to find out that there are individuals and organisations dedicating their lives to rewilding, growing crops, working with locals to form culturally congruent methods of reforestation. Even more incredible is that the science is suggesting that these methods are working, and that both flora and fauna are flourishing due to the innovative methods to restore historically eroded land.
In a paper published in the journal ‘Interdisciplinary Environmental Review’, sampling methods in the Tamil Nadu branch of Sadhana Forest proved that 15 years of intensive indigenous reforestation and water conservation had the ability to encourage the growth of native plants and subsequently incredible biodiversity such as birds, squirrels, porcupines, butterflies, reptiles, invertebrates and more(4.) This range of biodiversity is not only important for the protection of the natural world, but also acts as the foundation for our food systems, soil turnover, clean water and air quality. Statistics from the Royal Society (formerly ‘The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge’) estimate that pollinators such as bees, birds, and insects are responsible for a third of global crop production(5). In Sadhana Forest, the indigenous reforestation efforts proved to significantly improve the numbers of vertebrates such as civet cats, wild boar and monitor lizards and invertebrates such as beetles and dragonflies. We know that these creatures are good indicators of soil turnover, functionality and recycling of decaying plant material- all contributing to an ideal environment for plant and food growth, and ideal environmental health. There is even evidence that having our hands in healthy soil for a few minutes a day can transfer the soil’s microbiome to our own, regulating our emotions and immune response(6).
In the Western world, we are becoming increasingly desensitised and disconnected to where our food comes from. There is the paradox of cheaply available processed, poorly nutritious and highly calorific food contributing to the obesity epidemic, contrasted with eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa (which has the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric condition.) Ingredients for these foods may travel across continents before arriving on our plates, and we are developing a tendency to eat mindlessly, on the go and often antisocially in front of our screens. Community projects such as Sadhana Forest revive a healthy relationship with food, encouraging us to think about the time, effort, and requirements to cultivate a sustainable and nutritious diet. Cooking and consuming food together is one brilliant way to cultivate social connections and to take the time to slow down and savour flavours and moments.
If you are contemplating alternative ways of living, and feel as though you need to be more connected to nature with a calling in environmental conservation, then I would strongly suggest a visit to one of Sadhana Forest’s projects. I initially heard about them through a friend who spent half of the year volunteering there, and half of the year working for a London-based charity. At Vegan Camp Out Sadhana Forest hold a stall which is always surrounded by curious individuals, some of whom have decided to change their lifestyles completely and find out what life in the forest is like. Last year in February they hosted their first Vegan Forest Festival, a three day event 
which incredibly saw 500 attendees and happy campers be gifted with various speakers, classes, delicious food, workshops and performances for free. My charity, Buckets of Love, organised a sold-out vegan film screening with an activist Q&A session at an independent cinema which fundraised £850 to contribute to the running of the festival. Luke Marsh, a long-term volunteer at the forest, was interviewed at the first Buckets of Love conference called ‘Conversations in Conservation’, which raised £420 for the amazing conservation scheme the Sussex Seabed Restoration Project. This fascinating discussion and insight into life in the forest is available on my YouTube channel (7). I plan to visit the project early next year and to host a workshop about mental health and wellbeing at the next Vegan Forest Festival. Suddenly, it does not seem so far removed from reality to be able to rely on locally sourced, organic produce rather than large-scale supermarkets.
The rise of the eco-conscious community is imminent, with others popping up and gaining momentum globally. Like Sadhana Forest, the Gentle World community in New Zealand is also completely vegan, off-grid and solar powered. Vegan Hills in the south of Portugal is another autonomous vegan eco-village led by volunteers occupying a hundred hectare site. People are recognising the importance of giving back, but also of being surrounded by like-minded individuals who value veganism, animal rights, a passion for the natural world and community ethos. It is an exciting time to be part of the growing vegan movement, and we must support innovative projects like this for a sustainable and peaceful future.
Dr Ishani Rao is an NHS GP and emergency doctor taking a masters in global health policy. She is a keen member of the brilliant organisations Eco Medics and Plant Based Health Professionals. Ishani is excited to be embarking on a career in vegan activism, conservation and humanitarian medicine.
- Sundquist, K., Frank, G., & Sundquist, J. (2004). Urbanisation and incidence of psychosis and depression: Follow-up study of 4.4 million women and men in Sweden. The British Journal of Psychiatry,184(4), 293-298.
- Jimenez MP, DeVille NV, Elliott EG, Schiff JE, Wilt GE, Hart JE, James P. Associations between Nature Exposure and Health: A Review of the Evidence. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Apr 30;18(9):4790.
- Im S.G., Choi H., Jeon Y.-H., Song M.-K., Kim W., Woo J.-M. Comparison of effect of two-hour exposure to forest and urban environments on cytokine, anti-oxidant, and stress levels in young adults. J. Environ. Res. Public Health. 2016;13:625.
- Frignoca, C., McCarthy, J., Rozin, and Reitsma, L. (2021) ‘Greater biodiversity in regenerated native tropical dry evergreen forest compared to non-native Acacia regeneration in Southeastern India’, Interdisciplinary Environmental Review, Vol. 21, No. 1, pp.1–18.
- Why is biodiversity important? The Royal Society website. Available online at Why is biodiversity important? | Royal Society.
- Grönroos M, Parajuli A, Laitinen OH, Roslund MI, Vari HK, Hyöty H, Puhakka R, Sinkkonen A. Short-term direct contact with soil and plant materials leads to an immediate increase in diversity of skin microbiota. Microbiologyopen. 2019 Mar;8(3):e00645.
- Buckets of Love presents: Conversations in Conservation. Dr Ishani Rao’s YouTube channel. Available online at (1) Buckets of Love presents: Conversations in Conservation – YouTube.