A teacher in Bauphal, Patuakhali, has built a large collection of nearly 200 native and foreign species of timber, fruit and medicinal trees at his home. People from all walks of life crowd in every day to see the garden, and fruit and saplings from it are given away free to visitors. Agricultural entrepreneur Abul Basar says he does this with no commercial aim, out of a sense of responsibility to the environment.

Abul Basar is from Nazirpur union in Bauphal upazila. A teacher by profession, he is known locally as a model tree lover. He has built his collection on 45 decimals of his homestead, gathering foreign fruit trees as well as native species that are close to extinction.

"I have nearly extinct species such as nagalingam, mahua, sandalwood, chhed chandan, camphor and sultani champa," Abul Basar said. "I have also tried to keep various foreign trees such as persimmon, avocado and durimon.

"Besides these I have kept all kinds of trees, from different varieties of mango, jam, jackfruit, lychee, guava, malta, apple, orange and various nuts to tamarind, banana, Thai leaf, various kinds of tulsi, bay leaf, cinnamon and jamrul. Wherever in the country I found a tree, I collected its seedlings, grafts or seeds and grew it here. There is some fruit or other on the trees here all year round."

Because the garden always has fruit and flowers, birds roam freely there. Since no harmful pesticides or chemical fertilisers are used, birds and people can easily eat the fruit.

Abul Basar said he uses natural fertilisers such as cow dung, sesame oil cake, mustard oil cake and black cumin oil cake. As pesticide, he makes his own from ingredients such as sadapata, mahogany fruit and neem leaves. For this reason, the entrepreneur claims, the fruit and vegetables he produces are 100 per cent safe.

Trees, animals and birds are declining in the country for various reasons including the effects of climate. Abul Basar believes that if people create gardens like this through their own efforts, it is possible to maintain the environmental balance and make their surroundings liveable. For these reasons people from the locality and other areas come to see the garden, and everyone is charmed by the variety of trees.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.