A husband and wife team in India have taken conservation into their own hands by buying up land from farmers and letting the natural habitat restore itself.
In 1998, Aditya Singh quit his Delhi job in the Indian civil service and moved with his wife, Poonam, to Bhadlav in India’s Rajasthan state, where they decided to open a tourist resort with a focus on conserving the land. Although they closed the resort in 2019, the couple continued their devotion to nature by purchasing properties from farmers around the nearby famous Ranthambore Tiger Reserve. (The farmers were only too keen to sell, because their livestock was often hunted by the park’s big cats).
Today, the couple own more than 40 acres of land. They have removed invasive species, incorporated waterholes for the wild animals and allowed nature to take its course in the absence of farming. “I just bought this and did nothing to it except removing the invasive species. We allowed the land to recover and now after 20 years it has become a lush green patch of forest which is frequently visited by all kind of animals, including tigers, leopards and wild boars,” Singh said.
The couple have received numerous commercial proposals, but rather than pursue these they intend to inspire others to take an interest in conservation – Singh said he wants to buy more local land and encourage others in the area to do so too. They are also building a new house that will run on solar and wind power, complete with water holes on the perimeter fence so the animals can quench their thirst in the summer.
further reading…
A husband and wife team in India have taken conservation into their own hands by buying up land from farmers and letting the natural habitat restore itself.
In 1998, Aditya Singh quit his Delhi job in the Indian civil service and moved with his wife, Poonam, to Bhadlav in India’s Rajasthan state, where they decided to open a tourist resort with a focus on conserving the land. Although they closed the resort in 2019, the couple continued their devotion to nature by purchasing properties from farmers around the nearby famous Ranthambore Tiger Reserve. (The farmers were only too keen to sell, because their livestock was often hunted by the park’s big cats).
Today, the couple own more than 40 acres of land. They have removed invasive species, incorporated waterholes for the wild animals and allowed nature to take its course in the absence of farming. “I just bought this and did nothing to it except removing the invasive species. We allowed the land to recover and now after 20 years it has become a lush green patch of forest which is frequently visited by all kind of animals, including tigers, leopards and wild boars,” Singh said.
The couple have received numerous commercial proposals, but rather than pursue these they intend to inspire others to take an interest in conservation – Singh said he wants to buy more local land and encourage others in the area to do so too. They are also building a new house that will run on solar and wind power, complete with water holes on the perimeter fence so the animals can quench their thirst in the summer.