• The movement has facilitated the plantation of 12.2 crore trees and helped 2.38 lakh farmers transition to tree-based agriculture.

• Isha nursery at Sadhguru Sannidhi Bengaluru has distributed over 1.3 lakh saplings since its inception in December 2023.

NATIONAL, JUNE 5, 2025 (GPN/ SWAPNESH SHIRKE) : Envisioned by Sadhguru, the Cauvery Calling movement enabled the plantation of 1.36 crore saplings across 34,000 acres in the Cauvery basin during 2024–25. To date, a total of 12.2 crore saplings have been planted, supporting 2.38 lakh farmers in adopting tree-based agriculture. Remarkably, in the last year alone, 50,931 farmers and citizens actively participated in this large-scale ecological effort.

Reflecting on the achievement, Anand Ethirajalu, Project Director of Cauvery Calling and representative of the Save Soil movement, emphasized the urgency of soil regeneration– one of the key objectives of the movement. He said, “One of the key topics that we were campaigning during this COP29 summit of UNFCCC and COP16 of UNCCD is that less than 4 percent of the global climate finance is actually reaching agriculture and food systems.”

“We highlighted this because climate change cannot be fixed in the atmosphere. It can be fixed only in the soil. Putting more focus and investment in soil regeneration through tree-based agriculture is the need of the hour, and that’s what we’ve been doing!”

Providing a large quantity of quality saplings is crucial to achieving the goal of planting over a crore saplings each year. The Cauvery Calling production centres play a vital role in this effort. The production centres include a nursery in Cuddalore, one of the world’s largest single-site nurseries, entirely run by women, with a capacity to produce 85 lakh saplings. Together with the nursery at Thiruvannamalai, which produces 15 lakh saplings, these centres form the backbone of the initiative.

These nurseries supply 40 distribution centres across Tamil Nadu and 9 10 centres in Karnataka. Together, these nurseries offer 29 high-value timber species, including Teak, Red Sandalwood, Rosewood, and Mahogany at a subsidized rate of Rs. 3 per sapling. The Nursery at Sadhguru Sannidhi Bengaluru also reached a significant milestone of enabling plantation of 1,00,000 saplings since its inception in December 2023. At present, it has enabled the plantation of over 1.3 lakh saplings.

Cauvery Calling also deployed 160 field executives who visited over 32,000 farmlands, providing free consultations on tree-based agriculture. These executives help farmers by recommending suitable tree species based on soil type, water tests, and agro-climatic conditions. Additionally, over 52,000 farmers are supported through 225+ WhatsApp groups offering real-time advice and expert consultations.

The movement has also engaged in extensive training programs, with 8,721 farmers attending 2 mega training and 6 zonal programs in 2024. The initiative conducted 506 plantation events on significant days like World Environment Day and Van Mahotsav Week, planting 10 lakh saplings.

About Cauvery Calling

Cauvery Calling is the world’s largest farmer-driven ecological initiative and a groundbreaking eco-restoration effort with the potential to transform tropical regions. Named Top Innovator by the Trillion Trees: India Challenge, the movement aims to rejuvenate the Cauvery River—lifeline to 8.4 crore people—while enhancing farmers’ incomes by enabling the plantation of 242 crore trees on private farmland. It promotes tree-based agriculture that helps enrich soil health and improve water retention, in turn helping sustain the river’s year-round flow.