When we talk about saving the planet, we often look up — at global leaders, policy makers, and international summits. But the real guardians of the earth are often closest to it.
They are the women who till the land, who fish in the river, who know the rhythm of the tide and the whisper of the wind. From the Chipko women who hugged trees in the Himalayas to the tribal women protecting forests in Central India, women have been at the very forefront of protecting India’s remarkable flora and fauna, often without a title, without recognition, and against all odds. From the snow-capped mountains of the North to the arid deserts of the West, from the dense forests of the Northeast to the long coastline of the South, they have broken gender stereotypes, fought social stigma, and stood up as fierce protectors of wild habitats.
Let’s introduce you to one such courageous, iconic Odisha woman, whose commitment and leadership has shaped the course of mangrove conservation in Odisha.
Ommcom News brings you the story of one such woman. Hailing from Odisha’s coast her bare feet in the coastal mud are doing more for climate resilience than many climate plans on paper. Yes, we are talking about Nalini Kandi.
Her journey is one of remarkable transformation — from a woman who crossed the river to collect fuelwood and crabs, to one who now crosses it to protect mangroves. From a fisherwoman dependent on the wetland for survival, to becoming its fiercest guardian. What began as one woman’s curiosity has today grown into a movement of 145 women, spread across five Gram Panchayats, nurturing five community nurseries, 65,000 mangroves planted and 1.2 lakh saplings being raised.
The Woman Who Crosses The River
Sana Jhadling is a small village in Astaranga block of Puri district, where the Devi River meets the sea. For most people here, the river is livelihood. For Nalini Kandi (48), a fisherwoman from the coastal fishing community, it was everything. Like other women in her village, she would cross the river every day, to collect firewood, to catch crabs and shrimp. Life was hard. Most families have little land, some can cultivate only once in 3-4 years. Fishing and daily-wage labour were the only options.
As told by Nalini Kandi: “I still remember 1999. When the Super Cyclone hit Odisha, 5-6 feet of water entered our village. Everything was washed away — our homes, our belongings. That fear never left me. I understood what living on the coast means, not from any book, but from living through it. One day, like always, I had crossed the river with four other women from my village to collect firewood and catch crabs. There I saw some young people planting something in the wetland. I became curious. I went to them and asked — what are you planting? Why are you planting it? They said one word — Mangroves. I didn’t know much science then. But I knew our coast needed protection. The next day, I came back again, this time with my husband Purna and some women friends. I wanted to learn more. Slowly, that curiosity became my passion. And that passion became our movement.”
Women For Mangroves
What started as one woman’s curiosity is today known as ‘Women for Mangroves’ – a grassroots movement under the Odisha Paryavaran Sanrakshan Abhiyan. From one village to five Gram Panchayats – Astaranga, Nagar, Alasahi, Nuagarah and Jhadling – Nalini has mobilised 145 women. Women who once went to the wetlands for fuelwood now go to protect it. It was not easy. She went door to door, spoke to family, neighbours, fisherfolk, youth, village elders. She spoke about mangroves not as just trees, but as protectors, as homes for fish, as walls that stop cyclones.
The numbers tell the rest of the story. Nearly 67,000 mangroves have been planted with high survival rate under her leadership. And around 1,20,000 saplings are currently being raised in five community-led nurseries managed entirely by women.
Nalini doesn’t just plant. She teaches.
“I teach our women everything — how to collect seeds and propagules, how to raise a nursery, how to choose the right species for the right place. I tell them to look at the tide, check the salinity, understand the soil and the elevation of the land. My principle is very simple — right species, right site. For me, conservation is not just about counting how many saplings we planted. It is about making sure they survive. Today, when I see the mangroves we planted growing taller than us, I feel our hard work has not gone in vain.”
Guarding What Exists
Nalini believes you cannot just plant new forests while losing the old ones. A mature mangrove cannot be replaced by a sapling. So her team does two things – restore degraded areas and protect natural mangroves. Every day, they cross rivers with food packed from home, spend hours in wetlands, monitoring plantation sites, protecting young saplings, stopping destructive activities. Because of their constant awareness drive, human-induced mangrove degradation in the Devi Mouth landscape has come down by an estimated 80%.
The Boat That Carries A Movement
In this story, there is also a quiet partner – her husband Purna Chandra Kandi, a fisherman. He owns a small wooden fishing boat, and that boat has become the vehicle of the movement. In a landscape where restoration sites can only be reached by crossing water, his boat carries saplings, carries women, carries materials for nurseries. It is a small contribution, but it shows how conservation has become a family affair, a community affair.
More Than Trees: A Million Mangroves Dream
Nalini’s work is part of a bigger dream – Million Mangroves by 2030. But the dream is not just about numbers. It is about building women’s leadership, protecting natural ecosystems, promoting community ownership, and building climate resilience with local knowledge. She did not start as an environmentalist. She started as a fisherwoman. Her knowledge did not come from a degree, but from the river she depends on, the cyclones she survived, and the mud she works in every day.
From the mouth of the Devi River, Nalini Kandi is proving one thing: When communities who live on the frontline of climate change are empowered to lead, restoration becomes more than just planting trees. It becomes a movement for ecological recovery, for dignity, and for a safer future for the coast.
By Rashmi Rekha Das
