Gudrun’s diary – planting a forest

My INSTAGRAM is also my diary (@gudrunsjodendesigner). I post photos and narratives there about most things going on in my life. From small happenings to big events. On my eightieth birthday, I decided I wanted to plant a forest of 80,000 trees. As we weren’t able to find the opportunity to do this at the time, the money raised went to a more general climate and environment project.  
 
Then more recently, when visiting India, I was struck by how green New Delhi had become. What’s happened here, I wondered? I learned that a tree planting initiative has been launched right across the country, aimed at helping India tackle the urgent challenges of climate change and air pollution. The focus on the environment and climate issues is stronger than before. 
 
Delhi has always had poor air quality caused by exhaust fumes from old vehicles and smoke from burning straw and cooking on open fires. Thankfully, all that has changed. The cars are modern. All auto rickshaws run on natural gas.  Trees may not be felled without permission. Many companies are not allowed to use plastic bags. Some 85,000 trees were planted in Delhi in 2022 – of course the city is much greener!


My diary begins with “Planting a forest”:

 

5 November 2022 – an old photo evokes memories
 
Find an old photo of me and a woman dressed in orange on the road between Jaipur and Delhi. It’s a fabulous photo of us wearing an orange sari and orange smock blouse! I also learn that both companies and private individuals can purchase land in Delhi for planting trees to make it a greener city. Several of our suppliers are doing so. Now that’s interesting – I want to get involved!


 

5 November – meet Mandeep Singh from Marcos...
 
...in the lobby of the former British colonial hotel, The Imperial. Mandeep and Ritu are keen to team up with me to plant a Gudrun forest in Delhi. Mandeep suggests we visit the water treatment plant near his factory to view the sites where we could plant trees. There are several options: around the actual treatment plant, in a dip where you could even make a small lake, and on a site with a gravelled area where children are playing. We decide to apply for permission to plant trees – Mandeep contributes the manpower and I raise the money needed to buy the trees. We decide that the orange blouse I’ve been seen wearing in lots of photos on this trip is the ideal fund-raising piece. We decide that HK$25 from each blouse sold will pay for the trees that we’ll be planting in Delhi.

 

17 November – I’m at the Royal Heritage Haveli, on the terrace, painting designs

I want to incorporate the fruits I saw on our walk around the water park (water treatment plant) into one of the designs, of course. There are a lot of semi-large trees growing beneath the towering neem trees. Mango trees, papaya, lemon, banana – most of them with a relatively short life. Banana trees only live for two years after which they need replacing. I get 320 likes for my Instagram photos, with a pencil in my mouth painting new watercolour patterns.


 

22 November – meet Lynette Petty from Australia

Like me, Lynette is travelling alone. I complement her beautiful dress and discover she’s a Gudrun customer from Australia. Her dress is from a small Indian brand called Madame Hall. Clothing with gorgeous designs that take influences from Rajasthan. With a wonderful combination of embroidery, mirrors and different patterns. Lynette lets me borrow some of her photos and I publish them on my site. Beautifully bold images.


 

25 November – we visit Narania water park  
 
Inspect potential sites for the Gudrun forest. There are plenty of options. Meet other business people who are also engaged in the water park and tree planting initiative. Also see rooftop solar panels in the area. It all feels right and so smart.


 

December – the project is under way
 
The orange blouse is being produced in a variety of colourways with the MANGO design. It will be identical to my original blouse. We’re giving the blouse a lovely label with the story behind it and a picture.


 

15 February 2023 – we’re back in India
 
We want to see what the blouse is like during production and also want to plant the very first tree in the Gudrun forest. I’ve brought the team with me for the photoshoots of the new summer collection and a coming autumn collection.


 

18 February – the very first tree will now be planted
 
It is a ceremonious occasion attended by lots of employees from Marcos to watch the planting of the very first tree in the water park. The tree we plant is a BANYAN, the national tree of India. It will grow to a great size and live for 500 years. I’m suddenly seeing banyan trees everywhere. Gigantic trees with a tangle of aerial roots.
 
Inside the water park, 30 fig trees are planted along the wall. They’ll be fantastic when they’ve grown a bit. The employees from Marcos get the project moving with spades and watering cans.
 
I then visit the Marcos factory and look at all the blouses being sewn and packed. Such dazzling colours! We also shoot some videos from the water park and stitching factory to give all you customers a good insight into this exciting project – from an orange blouse on the road between Jaipur and Delhi to a whole forest in the making.
 
/ Gudrun 5 March 2023