She Kept Planting Trees as Sand Buried Her Home: The Area Became a Forest
Yin Yuzhen, a Chinese woman, refused to surrender to the sandstorms that were burying part of her home and increasingly complicating her life. Despite having no agricultural training, she began planting saplings around her home in 1986. Although nearly all of her initial attempts failed, her persistent efforts over approximately 40 years helped transform the region surrounded by sand dunes into a green area.
The new life in the middle of the desert kicked off with sandstorms.
After getting married in 1985, Yin Yuzhen relocated to the village of Salawusu, situated in the heart of the Mu Us sandy land in Inner Mongolia. She found herself surrounded by sand dunes that stretched for miles, with storms that lasted for days and invaded the very interior of her home. At times, the accumulated sand would completely engulf a portion of their dwelling.
Struggling with drought, harsh winds, and isolation, Yin concluded that the only way to halt the advance of the sand was to establish vegetation. Lacking experience in tree cultivation, she began to learn through trial and error which species should be planted where.
Out of the initial 600 saplings, only a handful survived.
In 1986, Yin purchased 600 saplings by selling one of the sheep belonging to his family. He planted these saplings around his house, but a severe sandstorm that broke out shortly after nearly wiped them all out. Less than 10 trees remained from the initial planting.
Despite the failure, Yin and his wife Bai Wanxiang did not give up their efforts. They watered each sapling one by one with the water they carried from the well. To prevent the sand from covering the soil again, they first stabilized the ground with grass and shrubs, then planted resilient tree species. The approximately two-meter metal planting rod used for forty years shortened to 67 centimeters due to constant use.
A donation of five thousand dollars turned into more than fifty thousand trees.
When Yin's work was broadcasted on television in 1999, it caught the attention of Ronald Sakolsky, an American teaching in China at the time. Through his connections, Sakolsky managed to raise $5,000 and donated it to Yin's sapling projects. Yin recounted that it was the first time he had ever seen such a large sum of money, and he was determined not to let down those who had placed their trust in him by ensuring all the saplings survived.
Today, the saplings purchased with the donation have grown into a dense area of over 50,000 trees. Thanks to the efforts carried out with public institutions and local residents around Yin's home, more than 8 million trees have been planted in an approximately 4,667-hectare sandy area. Yin's struggle also inspired more than 240 households in the vicinity to participate in the afforestation efforts.
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