It Only Takes One.

Here's an inspiring story we found that we just had to share with you all. About 30 years ago a man made it his life's purpose to build an entire forest by planting each tree by hand, by himself. Today, after reaching his goal, he is at it again.

Jadav “Molai” Payeng, an Indian farmer, plans to spend the next 30 years planting another giant woodland by hand. Continuing his personal battle to beat deforestation, Payeng’s second 1,300 acre forest will transform another barren landscape in the region.

The first forest that Payeng planted began in 1979 when he was a teenager, on a barren sandbar in Jorhat. Over time, his efforts transformed into a lush nature reserve, which attracted other plants and animals, who now inhabit his forest. His efforts completely changed the area from dry and uninhabitable to a thriving ecosystem that birds, deer, rhinos, tigers, elephants and cows now call home.

Payeng and his family live on (and off) the forested land he created. His wife and three children help to raise dairy cattle on the land, making a humble living by selling their fresh milk to the nearby town.

However, one successful forest isn’t enough for the farmer, who sees the harsh effects of deforestation throughout the Indian countryside each day. Distraught by seeing land left barren and unusable, he has pledged to continue his work, and begin planting another forest, the same size as his first. Payeng says that the second forest may take another 30 years, but no longer a teenager, he has his family on his side to help improve the world, one seed at a time.