Raintree 4 Kareem’s Forest

 Summary: Kareem’s Forest

Abdul Kareem is an environmental activist who single-handedly planted a

forest in Kerala. He planted the forest on a barren rocky hillside to the surprise

of everyone including the forest officials.

As a small child growing up in Kerala, Abdul Kareem was fond of nature. As he

grew up to be a successful businessman, he still longed to spend time in

nature. In 1977, he finally used his life’s savings to buy a bit of land. He

received a few saplings from the forest department, and planted them on the

land. Even though he watered the saplings regularly, fetching pots of water

from kilometres away, the saplings died soon. Finally, after many years of trial

and error, Kareem’s hard work paid off, and the saplings started to grow. As

the saplings grew into lush green trees, Kareem kept adding different species

of plants to his forest.

Today, Kareem’s Forest is famous across the world, and nature-lovers from all

over the world visit it to learn about planting forests on barren soil. Kareem

hopes to inspire children to be more conscious about protecting the

environment.

This lesson is a factual piece of writing; it talks about real events and a real

person. It can be compared with the stories (fiction) in the coursebook, and the

differences can be highlighted.

UNIT 10: KAREEM’S FOREST

Embedded questions

1. Kareem remembers the small groves around his family’s house in Kerala, where he used to love

spending time as a child.

2. The forest department takes care of the forests of a state, and guards the wildlife against poachers.

3. The phrase means letting a process take its time and reach its own result without any interference

from anyone else.

Comprehension

A. 1. NT 2. T 3. T 4. NT 5. T 6. T

B. 1. During the first two years, Kareem faced many difficulties. First, there were no water sources

near the land. So, he had to carry pots of water from a well about two kilometres away. Then,

the saplings that he had received from the forest department failed to survive, no matter how

regularly he watered them.

2. a. ‘They’ are the officials from the forest department whom Kareem had approached for saplings.

b. They thought Kareem had gone mad because he wanted to grow an entire forest from scratch

on a barren rocky hillside.

3. Kareem’s forest had amazing results on the surrounding areas. The wells that had remained dry for

years started overflowing with water, even during peak summers. The temperature became much

cooler too.

4. Kareem hopes that when children hear about his story, they learn how one person can make such

a difference. He also hopes that children will understand the importance of protecting nature and

will work towards it.

C. (Suggested answer. Accept all suitable answers.)

1. It means that one person can bring about huge changes in the world around him or her. It might

seem like that big changes happen only when a lot of people come together and work towards it,

but Kareem’s story shows that if a person is determined, she or he can make a positive difference

in the world around.

2. It is important for children to know this because they should know that they are capable of

making huge difference in the world on their own. Even if nobody helps them or believes in them,

they should have confidence in their abilities to make a difference.

D. 1. (Suggested answer. Accept all suitable answers.) Being confident is an important quality because if

we don’t believe in ourselves, then we won’t be able to achieve anything in life.

2. (Free response. Accept all suitable answers.)

Grammar

A. 1. Eating too many sweets is bad for two hours now.

2. The crow dropped pebbles for your health.

3. Did you leave your books in the pitcher.

4. Mita has been driving at home?

B. 1. P 2. C 3. P 4. P 5. C

Vocabulary

1. fertile 2. saplings 3. grove 4. deserts 5. barren

Listening

oak, aspen, sycamore, beech, peach, willow, fir, poplar

Writing

(Suggested answers. Accept all suitable answers.)

1. I think this photograph was taken at a factory.

2. In the photograph, we can see there is a factory. There is a lot of smoke coming out from the

factory. There is a tree in the foreground, but there are no leaves on it.

3. I like the photograph because of the colours, and how it’s been taken. But I don’t like what’s shown

in the photograph, which is air pollution caused by one factory.

4. “Smoke from the factory”

Listening Text

The Oak is called the king of trees,

The Aspen quivers in the breeze,

The Poplar grows up straight and tall,

The Peach tree spreads along the wall,

The Sycamore gives pleasant shade,

The Willow droops in watery glade,

The Fir tree useful in timber gives,

The Beech amid the forest lives.

KAREEM’S FOREST

A. Answer in brief.

1. What did Abdul Kareem love to do even as a child?

 Ans: Abdul Kareem always loved trees. Even as a little boy, he enjoyed spending all his free time

among the small groves around his family’s house in Kerala.

2. Why was the seller happy to sell Kareem five acres of the land on the hill?

 Ans: The land was barren, dry and rocky and couldn’t grow anything and the seller was only too

happy to get rid of it. Kareem bought it with his life’s savings.

B. Answer in detail.

Why did people laugh at Kareem and what did Kareem think?

 Ans: Kareem bought a piece of barren land where nothing grew. He planted saplings in the land.

To water the plants, Kareem brought pots of water tied to his motorbike, from a well about two

kilometres away, since there were no wells or ponds near his land. People laughed at this sight. But

Kareem did not care because in his mind, he could already see his forest growing thick and green.

C. Read the lines and answer the questions.

1. “I knew there was not much soft soil in the area and it was very dry, but I watered the saplings daily

and waited.’’

 a. Who waited and for what?

 b. Where did he get the water from?

 c. What happened to the saplings?

 Ans: a. Kareem waited for the saplings to grow.

 b. He got the water from a well about two kilometres away.

 c. The first batch of saplings died within a few days.

2. “Students from as far as Germany and the US have visited my forest.’’

 a. What makes Kareem’s forest unique?

 b. Why did the students visit the forest?

 c. Who lived in Kareem’s forest?

 Ans: a. Kareem’s forest has grown on a barren, rocky land.

 b. They visited the forest to know about how to grow a forest on a barren, rocky land.

 c. Birds, insects and small mammals have made Kareem’s forest their home.

D. Answer in brief. (Think and answer)

1. How do you know that Kareem’s forest helped the surrounding areas?

 Ans: The temperature in the forest was much cooler than outside. The wells in the neighbourhood

villages started filling. Many animals started living in his forest.

2. What does Abdul Kareem’s story teach us?

 Ans: Abdul Kareem’s story teaches us how one person can make a difference in protecting the

environment, and work towards keeping the planet green.

E. Answer in detail. (Think and answer)

How can we say that Kareem believed in not giving up and trying again and again till he succeeded?

 Ans: When the first batch of saplings that Kareem had planted, died within a few days, he did not

give up. He went back to the forest officials and requested for more saplings. For two years, Kareem

worked hard without stopping. In the third year, all his efforts finally showed results and his plants

started to grow.