111 Trees: How One Village Celebrates the Birth of Every Girl

On the sun-baked hills of Piplantri in north India, young Sundar Paliwal watches reckless mining strip the earth and cruel customs brand newborn girls a burden—until a daring idea roots in his mind: plant 111 trees for every daughter born. As shovels bite dusty ground, neem and mango saplings rise like emerald banners of hope, and skeptical neighbors soon taste sweet fruit, cool shade, and fresh water where only cracked clay once glared. Women weave leaf plates for income, birds return in riotous color, and a previously barren valley hums with life, proving one determined villager can tip the scales of Gender Equality and Environmental Justice at the same time. Illustrated in lush detail by Marianne Ferrer and distilled from Rina Singh’s collaboration with Sundar himself, 111 Trees hands classrooms, faith groups, and eco-clubs a vivid blueprint for stewardship, community activism, and ecofeminism that links science lessons to heartbeats. Will the next girl’s cry echo through parched silence, or trigger another forest of promise? Dig into this true tale, discover how planting ideas can remake the world, and learn more to let your own seeds fly.