In Piplantri, a village located in the Rajasthan State in India, eco-feminism is booming.

When a girl is born, villagers plant 111 trees and put 41,000 rupees (around £425) from donors in a fixed deposit in the bank for the girl for when she turns 18.

Dr Ajayita Chanana, who is based in Chandigarh, India, about 800 kms from Piplantri, shared the story of the village on Twitter and received a big response to the positive news.

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The scheme is the brainchild of Shyam Sunder Paliwal, she says, whose 16-year-old daughter, Kiran, died tragically due to dehydration. 

Because of this, Shyam made it his mission to have green cover in the village, so there is never a shortage of water. 

Now, it has created a forest and made the village prosperous. 

“I was visiting that area when the village head told me about the tradition,” Dr Chanana tells Smiley News. “It has been going on since 2006.

“In some areas, the birth of a girl is not looked upon favourably in light of some of the responsibilities it attracts like marriage,” she says.

Due to the scheme, over the past six years the village has planted more than 250,000 trees.

Inspired to act?

GET INVOLVED: Trees for Cities is the only UK charity working at a national and international scale to improve lives by planting trees. 

SUPPORT WOMEN: ActionAid has been working with poor and marginalised women, girls and communities in India since 1972.