An IT engineer who once worked in Bengaluru’s corporate sector has transformed hundreds of acres of barren land into thriving food forests, reportedly planting more than one lakh trees across India over the past few years.
Techie named Shihab Kunhahammed, who grew up in Kerala, developed an early connection with nature during his childhood. He planted his first tree while studying in class five, inspired by his grandmother, who was 90 years old at the time. Growing up in a region surrounded by farms and greenery, he spent much of his time observing how saplings slowly grew into plants and trees.
Despite this interest, Shihab chose a conventional academic and professional path. He graduated in Information Technology from MES College of Engineering in 2010 and soon after began working in Bengaluru. For nearly ten years, he lived a routine corporate life in India’s IT capital. However, the urban environment left him dissatisfied. In an interview with 30Stades, he explained, “I was bored with concrete all around me.”
In 2015, while still employed full-time in the IT sector, Shihab became involved with a group of individuals who were purchasing degraded land in Shoolagiri, near Hosur in Tamil Nadu. The aim was to restore barren plots through afforestation and natural land development.
During weekends, he travelled from Bengaluru to Shoolagiri, where he worked on plantation, landscaping, and soil restoration. Over time, this work became a regular part of his life. “For five years, I lived two parallel lives – working in the office on weekdays, planting forests on weekends,” he said.
By 2020, Shihab felt increasingly drawn to working full-time on the land. He moved to his farm in Shoolagiri and, in 2021, resigned from his position at ITC Infotech. “I realised farming could no longer be my side project. It was my life,” he said.
As per the report, since 2021, he has created more than 1,000 food forests and over 100 micro forests across the country. In total, he has planted over one lakh trees. His projects now cover around 600 acres in seven states, including Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, and areas such as Nagpur and Tadoba.