It all started with a bike—my Royal Enfield Himalayan, a ticket to explore the world around me. Living in Bangalore, I was surrounded by the hum of city life, but this bike meant I could wander off the beaten path, discover the hidden beauty beyond the concrete. One of those rides took me to Bannerghatta, a name most Bangaloreans associate with the famous zoo. But as I rode deeper, I realized there was so much more: an entire reserved forest sprawling in quiet glory, right in the city’s backyard. It was a place I had mistaken for something small, only to find myself in awe of its true vastness.

The discovery felt almost like a calling. Here was this immense, breathing wilderness, silently cleaning our air and sheltering countless species, while so few knew its real story. Saddened by my own misconceptions, I started digging deeper, uncovering its significance as Bangalore’s “green lung” in the face of rapid urban growth. I reached out to my team and, through a few fortunate contacts, connected with the Range forest officer, Ganesh V. Thadagani, whose own love for the forest mirrored ours. Soon, we met Prashanth HV, another RFO , and together we formed an enthusiastic team. Our mission was clear: to shine a light on the importance of Bannerghatta National Park, as a vital ecosystem. With the support of the then DFO, Prashanth Shankinamath, we set out to bring the forest’s beauty and importance to the public through short documentaries and informative posts. which is still preserved in this page 

Working closely with the forest, we saw how it thrived purely on nature’s wisdom—no additional water, no fertilizers, just the intricate balance of a self-sustaining ecosystem. Watching it thrive so effortlessly, we were struck with a question: “Could we replicate this magic?” The idea became a small experiment—a 1000 sq. ft. backyard lawn transformed into what we envisioned as a mini-forest. Five years later, it had grown into the Avni Backyard Forest, a thriving space with over 50 plant species, 30 of which provide food. (You can read Avni’s story in detail on our blog!)

This journey through Bannerghatta changed everything for us. Inspired by how the forest sustained itself, we dreamed of bringing the same principles to farming. Project Samam was born from this vision—a mission to practice forest-like, regenerative agriculture, using natural methods to grow food and nurture the land. Now, our work continues with the same spirit that the forest first taught us: sustainable growth through balance and respect for nature’s ways. 

-Rakshith Pawar