Piplantri’s Eco-Feminist Legacy Premieres at IFFI 56
By Manu Shrivastava
The world premiere of Piplantri: A Tale of Eco-Feminism drew a full house at IFFI 56, spotlighting the remarkable green revolution of a once–depleted Rajasthani village. Directed by Suraj Kumar and produced by Dr Garima Singh, the documentary traces how Piplantri in Rajsamand district transformed from a mining-ravaged settlement into a thriving eco-feminist model by linking the birth of every girl child to the planting of 111 trees.
The film chronicles the village’s early-2000s decline: scarred hills, vanishing water, collapsing agriculture, and a dangerously skewed sex ratio, before pivoting to the movement sparked by former sarpanch Shyam Sunder Paliwal. After losing his daughter Kiran in 2007, Paliwal launched what is now known as the Piplantri Model, a community-led pledge to plant saplings for every newborn girl, safeguard her education, and reject child marriage and female foeticide.
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| A grab from the screening of the film at IFFI 56 |
Over the years, the initiative scaled into a full-fledged socio-environmental turnaround. Groundwater rose from 800 feet to about 15 feet, orchards replaced quarry debris, and women-led enterprises producing aloe vera goods, fruit preserves, and bamboo crafts boosted local livelihoods. More than 3,50,000 trees now canopy the village, reviving biodiversity and generating sustainable income through eco-tourism and agro-forestry.
The film captures the model’s cultural resonance, from festive tree-planting ceremonies to girls tying rakhis on saplings, and its broader impact, including replication in neighbouring villages and recognition by the Supreme Court of India in 2024. Paliwal, now a Padma Shri awardee, attended the premiere at IFFI 56, where the audience applauded the documentary’s grounded portrayal of community resilience.
As global climate commitments falter, Piplantri offers a compelling case study in grassroots change—rooted in gender justice, environmental revival, and the power of a village to rewrite its destiny.
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