Page 114 - Vogue - India (January 2020)

PAMELA MALHOTRA, 67
FORESTER AND CO-FOUNDER
OF SAI SANCTUARY, KODAGU
DISTRICT, INDIA
In 1991, Pamela Malhotra and her
husband AK Malhotra acquired 55
acres of land in the South Kodagu
district of Karnataka to set up the SAI
(Save Animals Initiative) Sanctuary, one
of India’s first private reserves. Now,
spread over 300 acres, it is teeming with
flora, fauna and endangered species
like the Malabar giant squirrel, king
cobra and the Bengal tiger. She has
now created a multipronged strategy
that has, at its core, an ecosystems
services programme, where instead
of paying the locals cash, they barter
services that provide them with training
in organic farming, supply them with
honeybee boxes and promote native-
tree nurseries. “Organic farming makes
more economic sense and it’s better for
the soil, for water conservation and for
promoting native trees,” she explains.
“The bee boxes prevent crop-raiding by
animals, especially elephants, who are
terrified of bees, ultimately preventing
man-animal conflict while providing
an income from honey and pollinators
for crops. By raising saplings of local
trees, they can sell them to the forest
department, government, individual
landholders and businesses, who can
then plant them to bring back denuded
forests.” It’s a chain of interconnected
activities. – Shalini Shah

FOCUS

FORCESOFNATURE

S’well bottle, bamboo toothbrush, cloth tote? Check. But being a true eco-

warrior goes beyond the VSCO girl starter kit. It takes science, empathy, hard
work and perseverance to be a change-maker. Meet the women showing us how

GETTY IMAGES
it’s done. By Neeti Mehra and Shalini Shah

114 VOGUE INDIA JANUARY 2020www.vogue.in