Million Trees & Billion Smiles Foundation

You can find the Million Trees & Billion Smiles Foundation over at No 4, Suraj Nilaya. We’re tucked away in Sahyadri Layout in the Shettihalli area, out near Jalahalli West. The name of the foundation is pretty ambitious, but we’re a fairly small crew. Most of our days are spent talking about plants and how to get more green into the city. It’s not just about the trees though; it’s about the people who live near them. The office is really just a house where we’ve set up some desks. There’s usually some dirt on the floor because we’re always coming back from some site or another. It’s not a very tidy place, but it’s where the work happens. We don’t have any fancy presentation rooms. If someone wants to talk to us, we usually just sit out on the porch or in the main room. Jalahalli is a bit quieter than the center of Bangalore, which is nice for what we do. We aren't doing this to get famous or anything. We just think the city needs more shade and people need a reason to feel a bit better about their surroundings. It’s hard work and it takes a long time for a tree to grow, so we have to be patient. We just keep at it, one day at a time, from our little spot in Sahyadri Layout. No big fuss, just planting things and hoping they grow well.