Shawkat Ali lives in the Nakaihat area of Gobindaganj upazila in Gaibandha. Locals know him as Shawkat Master, but he has become known in the area for his garden of extinct and rare species of medicinal and fruit trees. The retired teacher has built a garden of about a thousand such trees at his home, and distributes the medicine and fruit it produces free to ordinary people.

Shawkat Ali says his aim is to help protect the balance of the environment and to promote healing with natural medicines from plants.

The retired teacher also practises homoeopathy. Although he is nearly 90, age has not defeated his service to people. His love for people and trees goes back to childhood. He lives with his wife, three sons and two daughters, and his family members are pleased with his work.

Alongside treating patients all day, Shawkat Ali has grown about 1,000 nearly extinct and rare medicinal and fruit trees around his homestead and on the banks of his pond. He distributes seedlings of these trees free of charge to spread them to other parts of the village. He also invites students of the new generation to introduce them to the trees and their properties. For this devotion to trees, local people have named him "tree lover Shawkat Ali". The district agriculture department and ordinary people are pleased with his work.

Local resident Rubel Chowdhury said: "We grow paddy and other crops only for our own interest, to secure a year's food. But Shawkat Master is different. He doesn't only grow food crops on his land; he has planted rare medicinal trees on much of his land for the good of the people. People come to see his garden, and he is happy when they do."

For his contributions to research on trees, Shawkat Ali has received the Bangabandhu award as well as several awards and recognitions at district and upazila level.

S M Ferdous, deputy director of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Gaibandha, praised Shawkat Ali's work and urged everyone to come forward like him to protect trees. He also promised support, including rare seedlings and training, to expand his collection.

Source: Dhaka Tribune. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.