📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Michael Gäbler
Agriculture
Rajasthan Women Use Slingshots to Replant Aravalli Hills
✍️ hindustantimes.com
🗓 10 Sep 2026, 09:04 PM
👁 10
In a creative effort to restore green cover on the Aravalli hills, women from Rajasthan are using slingshots to scatter seed balls across the rugged terrain.
Rajasthan’s Aravalli range, once lush, has suffered erosion and deforestation. To counter this, local women have adopted an unconventional method of using hand‑made slingshots to launch seed balls across the hills.
The seed balls—compact spheres of soil, compost and native seeds—are designed to protect the seeds from wind and predators while providing a micro‑environment for germination.
By scattering them from a distance, the women can reach steep slopes and rocky patches that are difficult to plant by hand, thereby improving seedling survival and speeding up reforestation.
Community leaders say the initiative not only restores greenery but also empowers women, creates local employment and raises awareness about sustainable land management.
The seed balls—compact spheres of soil, compost and native seeds—are designed to protect the seeds from wind and predators while providing a micro‑environment for germination.
By scattering them from a distance, the women can reach steep slopes and rocky patches that are difficult to plant by hand, thereby improving seedling survival and speeding up reforestation.
Community leaders say the initiative not only restores greenery but also empowers women, creates local employment and raises awareness about sustainable land management.