“Earlier, the tides used to wash away our land. Now, we are the ones guarding the shore,” says Sampa Ghosh, an eco-warrior from the Jharkhali island of Sunderban who has planted thousands of mangrove saplings ever since she joined SEED in 2021”

For decades, coastal families in Sunderban lived at the mercy of nature—cyclonic storms, eroding riverbanks and salinity swallowing their farmland. Each year, a little more land would vanish and with it, hope. But in 2016, the tide began to turn.

Through a grassroots initiative led by SEED (Society for Socio-Economic and Ecological Development), Sampa and hundreds of other women were trained in community-led mangrove restoration, nursery management and coastal resilience practices. They began nurturing saplings—not just of mangroves, but of possibility.

“I didn’t know I could earn from the land without owning it,” Sampa says. “SEED showed us how to restore the land and our dignity.”

Working together, around 2700 women have helped restore over 125 hectares of degraded coastline by planting 1.05 million mangroves across Sunderban and East Kolkata Wetlands. Today, Jharkhali’s embankments stand stronger—no longer bare, but green walls of protection.

Bhagobati Das, a resident of Jharkhali, who heads a group of 50 women, recalls the impact during Cyclone Amphan:

“The mangroves we planted slowed the waves. Our homes were not flooded like in the past. We finally felt protected.”

The ecological benefits were immediate, but the economic impact was transformational. Over 2,700 women across 60 villages have now been trained and employed through SEED’s mangrove and eco-livelihood program. Each woman earns a modest income that supports her children’s education, healthcare and
household needs.

Beyond mangroves, the program has expanded to include fruit tree plantations, organic farming, duckery, poultry and water hyacinth craft-making—all managed by local women’s self-help groups.

 “We are not just planting trees,” says Karuna Majhi, who is also a resident of Jharkhali island “we are planting a future where our daughters can live without fear of hunger or floods.”

Backed by support from the Rotary International, Tata Group, Tiger Widows (Ireland) and Ministry of Environment & Climate Change, SEED’s model is not just restoring landscapes—it’s rebuilding lives. In places where climate change is no longer a theory but a daily struggle, these women stand tall as stewards of their
ecosystems and champions of resilience.