Indonesian man spends 24 years transforming fire-ravaged land into lush ecosystem

(Image credit: Anas Alrasyid/iStock)

published 24 March 2021

A man in Indonesia has transformed barren, arid land into a lush ecosystem over the course of 24 years, defying naysayers.

The land in Central Java was destroyed by a fire meant to prepare it for cultivation. Sadiman, 69, said he knew if he didn't plant banyan and ficus trees to store water, the little resources left would dry up. So he planted more than 11,000 trees across 617 acres, and paid for it by selling and bartering goats and plants from his nursery. Eventually, springs formed and water was piped to homes and farms. Now, the area's once-annual harvest now takes place two to three times a year thanks to the additional water, he said.

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Taylor Watson is audience engagement editor for TheWeek.com and a former editorial assistant. She graduated from Syracuse University, with a major in magazine journalism and minors in food studies and nutrition. Taylor has previously written for Runner's World, Vice, and more.