Devaki Amma

Devaki Amma, called “Forest Grandma”, spent four decades turning bare sandy land beside her home into a forest. In 2026 she was named for the Padma Shri in the field of social work, from Kerala ^[1].

After the accident

Devaki Amma was born on 19 August 1934 and farmed paddy, sesame, coconut and vegetables ^[2]. In 1980 a car accident badly injured her leg and stopped her farm work ^[2]. While recovering, she started planting saplings on the sandy plot used for drying the harvest ^[2].

Kollakal Thapovanam

That plot became Kollakal Thapovanam, a five-acre homestead forest with more than 3,000 trees, including rare and medicinal native species ^[2]. She improved the coastal sand with mulch, cow manure and fallen leaves, and keeps two ponds full all year, which recharge groundwater and keep out salt water ^[2]. The forest now shelters birds, butterflies and small animals, and serves as a living store of rare Kerala plants ^[2].

Students and researchers visit to learn from it, and she gives seeds and saplings to schools, colleges and households ^[2]. Her advice is simple: plant according to the oxygen and food you need ^[2].

She received the Indira Priyadarshini Vrikshamitra Award in 2003 and the Nari Shakti Puraskar in 2018 ^[2].