Explore our trees

Every tree we plant is chosen for a reason rooted in the district it grows in. Palmyra — Tamil Nadu's state tree — anchors laterite soil and lifts groundwater on land that has seen decades of erosion. Bamboo binds riverbanks fast. Tamarind and teak are multi-decade assets that a family or a village co-op can still be drawing on long after the sapling is forgotten. Neem and pongamia repair degraded plots between harvests. None of this is arbitrary: each species on this page has an ecological job first, and a livelihood role second where the tree allows for one.

That second role doesn't exist for every tree, and we don't pretend it does. 11 of the 13 species here — palmyra, neem, pongamia, jamun, tamarind, teak, mulberry, bamboo, vilvam, red sandalwood, and karungaali — build toward real community income: sap, fruit, seed oil, timber, or fibre that a village guardian or co-op can sell. The other 2— banyan and peepal — are sacred, keystone trees planted for what they hold rather than what they yield: canopy, biodiversity, water recharge, shade over a hamlet. We label every species clearly as one or the other, on this page and on its own page, so a sponsor knows exactly what they're funding.

Below, each card opens onto a full profile — ecology, traditional uses, and, where relevant, the income a single tree builds at 5, 10, and 20 years. Use the calculator further down to model any species at any scale, from one sapling to a village-sized grove.