‘When I was married into this village, the sea was very far away. Now it has come very close,’’ says Bengalata Rout from Odisha’s Tandahara village.

A witness to the super cyclone that hit Odisha in 1999, Bengalata describes its catastrophic impact.  “It uprooted many of our trees. Yet, those trees helped our village survive.”

Puri district in Odisha has recorded a four-fold increase in the frequency of extreme floods and a three-fold increase in the frequency of extreme cyclones since 2000.

Source: CEEW

To protect the village, women from 90 families formed self-help groups to replant casuarina saplings along the coastline.

The casuarina forest would act as a buffer against cyclonic storms and seawater intrusion, which often destroy paddy fields in the village.

"The district forest department also provides the women with saplings and some financial assistance", says Bengalata.

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Faces of Climate Resilience is a CEEW documentary series in partnership with India Climate Collaborative, Edelgive Foundation and Drokpa Films. It captures 16 diverse stories of how India’s climate vulnerable communities are building resilience.