The Indian village of Piplantri celebrates the birth of every newborn girl by planting 111 trees. In her film, Under Another Sky, RCC alumna Vidya Sarveswaren tells the story of the village, which has so far planted a quarter of a million trees over the last six years.

The film is situated at the confluence of environment, ecology, mining, gender, education, and self-reliance. It demonstrates how one village, under the leadership of Mr Shyam Sudar Paliwal, has used the marble mined landscape surrounding the village as a palimpsest to rewrite its history in an attempt to heal, nurture, and reconnect with the earth.

The film addresses the ecological transformation of the village, with voices moving from the personal to the planetary. Collective initiatives, local community building resilience, and women’s empowerment are valued along with ecology, as the village takes on the challenge of turning the semi-arid landscape into a forest of green, at the same time as supporting economic and educational opportunities for the women and girls of the village.

Under Another Sky is a story of a remote Indian village in the state of Rajasthan that strives selflessly towards sustainability and stewardship, driven by a deep passion to preserve our planet.

Under Another Sky was made possible by a Seed Grant from the Indian Institute of Technology (Jodhpur) and a Public Outreach Grant from the Rachel Carson Center.