0:00:00.872,0:00:03.125
This is a man-made forest.

0:00:03.880,0:00:07.097
It can spread over acres[br]and acres of area,

0:00:07.121,0:00:09.613
or it could fit in a small space --

0:00:10.387,0:00:13.125
as small as your house garden.

0:00:15.327,0:00:18.546
Age of this forest[br]is just two years old.

0:00:19.298,0:00:22.413
I have a forest in the backyard[br]of my own house.

0:00:23.036,0:00:24.985
It attracts a lot of biodiversity.

0:00:25.582,0:00:29.558
(Bird call)

0:00:30.229,0:00:31.774
I wake up to this every morning,

0:00:31.798,0:00:33.297
like a Disney princess.

0:00:33.321,0:00:34.718
(Laughter)

0:00:35.164,0:00:36.370
I am an entrepreneur

0:00:36.394,0:00:40.774
who facilitates the making[br]of these forests professionally.

0:00:40.798,0:00:42.722
We have helped factories,

0:00:42.746,0:00:43.903
farms,

0:00:43.927,0:00:45.085
schools,

0:00:46.287,0:00:47.442
homes,

0:00:48.306,0:00:49.482
resorts,

0:00:50.273,0:00:51.629
apartment buildings,

0:00:52.891,0:00:54.131
public parks

0:00:54.854,0:00:56.197
and even a zoo

0:00:56.221,0:00:57.730
to have one of such forests.

0:00:58.715,0:01:03.009
A forest is not an isolated piece of land[br]where animals live together.

0:01:04.035,0:01:09.575
A forest can be an integral part[br]of our urban existence.

0:01:10.212,0:01:11.546
A forest, for me,

0:01:11.570,0:01:15.067
is a place so dense with trees[br]that you just can't walk into it.

0:01:15.540,0:01:18.037
It doesn't matter[br]how big or small they are.

0:01:19.046,0:01:22.429
Most of the world[br]we live in today was forest.

0:01:22.453,0:01:24.486
This was before human intervention.

0:01:24.865,0:01:27.153
Then we built up our cities[br]on those forests,

0:01:27.177,0:01:28.677
like São Paulo,

0:01:28.701,0:01:31.470
forgetting that we belong[br]to nature as well,

0:01:31.494,0:01:35.244
as much as 8.4 million[br]other species on the planet.

0:01:36.215,0:01:39.643
Our habitat stopped being[br]our natural habitat.

0:01:40.190,0:01:42.192
But not anymore for some of us.

0:01:42.647,0:01:46.242
A few others and I today make[br]these forests professionally --

0:01:46.266,0:01:48.073
anywhere and everywhere.

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I'm an industrial engineer.

0:01:51.258,0:01:53.430
I specialize in making cars.

0:01:54.078,0:01:56.254
In my previous job at Toyota,

0:01:56.278,0:02:00.346
I learned how to convert[br]natural resources into products.

0:02:01.125,0:02:02.307
To give you an example,

0:02:02.331,0:02:04.982
we would drip the sap[br]out of a rubber tree,

0:02:05.006,0:02:06.665
convert it into raw rubber

0:02:06.689,0:02:09.394
and make a tire out of it -- the product.

0:02:09.418,0:02:12.412
But these products can never[br]become a natural resource again.

0:02:13.272,0:02:16.245
We separate the elements from nature

0:02:16.269,0:02:19.505
and convert them[br]into an irreversible state.

0:02:19.529,0:02:21.246
That's industrial production.

0:02:22.025,0:02:25.487
Nature, on the other hand,[br]works in a totally opposite way.

0:02:25.910,0:02:29.895
The natural system produces[br]by bringing elements together,

0:02:29.919,0:02:31.274
atom by atom.

0:02:32.336,0:02:37.051
All the natural products[br]become a natural resource again.

0:02:38.343,0:02:41.285
This is something which I learned

0:02:41.309,0:02:44.347
when I made a forest[br]in the backyard of my own house.

0:02:44.371,0:02:47.647
And this was the first time[br]I worked with nature,

0:02:47.671,0:02:49.137
rather than against it.

0:02:49.894,0:02:51.070
Since then,

0:02:51.094,0:02:56.143
we have made 75 such forests[br]in 25 cities across the world.

0:02:57.678,0:02:59.800
Every time we work at a new place,

0:02:59.824,0:03:04.568
we find that every single element[br]needed to make a forest

0:03:04.592,0:03:06.642
is available right around us.

0:03:06.666,0:03:09.347
All we have to do is to bring[br]these elements together

0:03:09.371,0:03:11.332
and let nature take over.

0:03:13.100,0:03:16.101
To make a forest we start with soil.

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We touch, feel and even taste it

0:03:18.589,0:03:21.057
to identify what properties it lacks.

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If the soil is made up of small particles[br]it becomes compact --

0:03:24.746,0:03:27.149
so compact, that water cannot seep in.

0:03:28.188,0:03:32.636
We mix some local biomass[br]available around,

0:03:32.660,0:03:35.187
which can help soil become more porous.

0:03:37.040,0:03:39.016
Water can now seep in.

0:03:39.359,0:03:43.858
If the soil doesn't have[br]the capacity to hold water,

0:03:43.882,0:03:45.557
we will mix some more biomass --

0:03:45.581,0:03:48.855
some water-absorbent material[br]like peat or bagasse,

0:03:48.879,0:03:52.727
so soil can hold this water[br]and it stays moist.

0:03:53.680,0:03:58.298
To grow, plants need water,[br]sunlight and nutrition.

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What if the soil doesn't have[br]any nutrition in it?

0:04:02.383,0:04:04.709
We don't just add nutrition[br]directly to the soil.

0:04:04.733,0:04:06.345
That would be the industrial way.

0:04:06.369,0:04:07.795
It goes against nature.

0:04:07.819,0:04:10.903
We instead add microorganisms to the soil.

0:04:10.927,0:04:14.236
They produce the nutrients[br]in the soil naturally.

0:04:14.886,0:04:17.475
They feed on the biomass[br]we have mixed in the soil,

0:04:17.499,0:04:20.198
so all they have to do[br]is eat and multiply.

0:04:20.222,0:04:22.173
And as their number grows,

0:04:22.197,0:04:23.745
the soil starts breathing again.

0:04:23.769,0:04:25.162
It becomes alive.

0:04:26.215,0:04:28.842
We survey the native[br]tree species of the place.

0:04:28.866,0:04:30.947
How do we decide what's native or not?

0:04:31.473,0:04:35.931
Well, whatever existed[br]before human intervention is native.

0:04:35.955,0:04:37.344
That's the simple rule.

0:04:37.949,0:04:41.794
We survey a national park

0:04:42.470,0:04:45.024
to find the last remains[br]of a natural forest.

0:04:46.689,0:04:49.690
We survey the sacred groves,

0:04:49.714,0:04:52.605
or sacred forests around old temples.

0:04:52.973,0:04:55.252
And if we don't find anything at all,

0:04:55.276,0:04:56.800
we go to museums

0:04:56.824,0:05:02.047
to see the seeds or wood of trees[br]existing there a long time ago.

0:05:02.547,0:05:08.044
We research old paintings,[br]poems and literature from the place,

0:05:08.068,0:05:10.601
to identify the tree species[br]belonging there.

0:05:11.217,0:05:12.563
Once we know our trees,

0:05:12.587,0:05:14.505
we divide them in four different layers:

0:05:14.529,0:05:17.936
shrub layer, sub-tree layer,[br]tree layer and canopy layer.

0:05:18.475,0:05:20.992
We fix the ratios of each layer,

0:05:21.016,0:05:25.720
and then we decide the percentage[br]of each tree species in the mix.

0:05:26.506,0:05:28.339
If we are making a fruit forest,

0:05:28.363,0:05:31.422
we increase the percentage[br]of fruit-bearing trees.

0:05:31.446,0:05:33.612
It could be a flowering forest,

0:05:34.145,0:05:37.572
a forest that attracts[br]a lot of birds or bees,

0:05:38.026,0:05:42.085
or it could simply be a native,[br]wild evergreen forest.

0:05:43.560,0:05:46.529
We collect the seeds[br]and germinate saplings out of them.

0:05:47.011,0:05:49.975
We make sure that trees[br]belonging to the same layer

0:05:49.999,0:05:51.849
are not planted next to each other,

0:05:51.873,0:05:55.200
or they will fight for the same[br]vertical space when they grow tall.

0:05:55.224,0:05:57.784
We plant the saplings close to each other.

0:05:58.548,0:06:01.613
On the surface, we spread[br]a thick layer of mulch,

0:06:01.637,0:06:04.205
so when it's hot outside[br]the soil stays moist.

0:06:04.605,0:06:06.317
When it's cold,

0:06:06.341,0:06:09.558
frost formation happens only on the mulch,

0:06:09.582,0:06:12.991
so soil can still breathe[br]while it's freezing outside.

0:06:13.497,0:06:16.666
The soil is very soft --

0:06:16.690,0:06:20.184
so soft, that roots[br]can penetrate into it easily,

0:06:20.208,0:06:21.358
rapidly.

0:06:22.064,0:06:24.549
Initially, the forest doesn't[br]seem like it's growing,

0:06:24.573,0:06:26.391
but it's growing under the surface.

0:06:26.746,0:06:28.207
In the first three months,

0:06:28.231,0:06:30.158
roots reach a depth of one meter.

0:06:30.736,0:06:32.620
These roots form a mesh,

0:06:32.644,0:06:34.373
tightly holding the soil.

0:06:34.397,0:06:37.993
Microbes and fungi live[br]throughout this network of roots.

0:06:38.706,0:06:42.293
So if some nutrition is not available[br]in the vicinity of a tree,

0:06:42.317,0:06:45.177
these microbes are going to get[br]the nutrition to the tree.

0:06:45.754,0:06:47.478
Whenever it rains,

0:06:47.502,0:06:48.662
magically,

0:06:48.686,0:06:50.549
mushrooms appear overnight.

0:06:50.573,0:06:53.778
And this means the soil below[br]has a healthy fungal network.

0:06:54.663,0:06:56.930
Once these roots are established,

0:06:56.954,0:06:59.119
forest starts growing on the surface.

0:06:59.835,0:07:04.202
As the forest grows we keep watering it --

0:07:04.226,0:07:08.017
for the next two to three years,[br]we water the forest.

0:07:08.752,0:07:13.808
We want to keep all the water[br]and soil nutrition only for our trees,

0:07:13.832,0:07:16.516
so we remove the weeds[br]growing on the ground.

0:07:16.971,0:07:20.289
As this forest grows,[br]it blocks the sunlight.

0:07:20.801,0:07:23.247
Eventually, the forest becomes so dense

0:07:23.271,0:07:25.505
that sunlight can't reach[br]the ground anymore.

0:07:25.902,0:07:29.364
Weeds cannot grow now,[br]because they need sunlight as well.

0:07:30.044,0:07:31.323
At this stage,

0:07:31.347,0:07:34.544
every single drop of water[br]that falls into the forest

0:07:34.568,0:07:36.925
doesn't evaporate back[br]into the atmosphere.

0:07:37.327,0:07:40.415
This dense forest condenses the moist air

0:07:40.439,0:07:42.210
and retains its moisture.

0:07:42.712,0:07:46.865
We gradually reduce and eventually[br]stop watering the forest.

0:07:47.340,0:07:48.858
And even without watering,

0:07:48.882,0:07:52.928
the forest floor stays moist[br]and sometimes even dark.

0:07:53.970,0:07:57.370
Now, when a single leaf[br]falls on this forest floor,

0:07:57.394,0:07:59.545
it immediately starts decaying.

0:08:00.317,0:08:03.503
This decayed biomass forms humus,

0:08:03.527,0:08:05.029
which is food for the forest.

0:08:05.530,0:08:07.209
As the forest grows,

0:08:07.233,0:08:08.903
more leaves fall on the surface --

0:08:08.927,0:08:10.959
it means more humus is produced,

0:08:10.983,0:08:14.221
it means more food so the forest[br]can grow still bigger.

0:08:14.245,0:08:16.978
And this forest keeps[br]growing exponentially.

0:08:18.053,0:08:19.469
Once established,

0:08:19.493,0:08:23.683
these forests are going to regenerate[br]themselves again and again --

0:08:23.707,0:08:25.281
probably forever.

0:08:26.209,0:08:28.655
In a natural forest like this,

0:08:28.679,0:08:31.350
no management is the best management.

0:08:32.493,0:08:34.284
It's a tiny jungle party.

0:08:34.308,0:08:35.523
(Laughter)

0:08:36.663,0:08:39.206
This forest grows as a collective.

0:08:39.627,0:08:40.945
If the same trees --

0:08:40.969,0:08:42.246
same species --

0:08:42.270,0:08:44.508
would have been planted independently,

0:08:44.532,0:08:46.479
it wouldn't grow so fast.

0:08:46.503,0:08:50.687
And this is how we create[br]a 100-year-old forest

0:08:50.711,0:08:52.020
in just 10 years.

0:08:52.044,0:08:53.198
Thank you very much.

0:08:53.222,0:08:58.796
(Applause)