Fruit Tree Planting

Planting trees in Himalayan villages to provide income and protect biodiversity

Funded by the Community Kickstart Project, our long-standing Exodus Himalayan Tour Leader, Valerie Parkinson, will be working with our local guides, and Indian NGO, SankalpTaru, to plant 250 fruit trees in the Himalayan villages of Karu and Ranbirpura.

Extending the impact of our Fruit Tree Project, which planted 4,000 apple and apricot trees in 7 villages across Ladakh earlier this year, this initiative will help increase water retention, reduce soil erosion, capture carbon and provide a future source of income during these incredibly challenging times.

Pete Burrell, Chairman of the Exodus Travels Foundation, was quick to comment, “I first travelled to Ladakh and Zanskar in the early eighties and it touched my heart with the friendliness of the people and the colourful, welcoming, and deeply religious culture. However, Ladakh is a high-altitude desert and a harsh environment to live in year-round. As part of our efforts to give something back to these remote communities at a time when tourism has virtually stopped, we have funded the planting of hundreds of fruit trees to improve the environment and supply the community with a fresh food source.”

The additional 250 fruit tree saplings have already been transported to Leh, where they will be stored in safe bunkers for the winter, until springtime next year, when the weather conditions are at their most favourable for plantation to begin.

Valerie Parkinson, explained, "Ladakh is a high-altitude desert and the land and ecosystems are very fragile. Planting trees helps with land management and planting fruit trees provides an extra or alternative source of income. [Many] in Ladakh have had no work since the summer of 2019 and have been living off what they can grow.”