Mohammad Shah Alam is a successful entrepreneur from a remote area on the outskirts of Teknaf upazila. He has built a wonderful nursery of local and foreign tree species through his own efforts, hard work, and utmost care.
Starting in 2001 with just a few mountain tree seeds and saplings worth only Tk3,500, the then 12-year-old Shah Alam’s collection has now become a well-organised nursery that has grabbed attention in Teknaf upazila.
This 60-decimal nursery is beautifully furnished with around 420 species of various trees including forest, fruit, medicinal, and woody plants, now a focal point for enthusiasts and tree lovers.
The nursery has a immense collection of fruits such as Myanmar’s sweet and sour “Maylam,” INC, Rangua Mango from Myanmar, various coconut species, American coffee, Japanese cherry fruit, Thailand’s red hog plum, red grapefruit, Vietnamese coconut, Malta, mango, red jackfruit, seedless jackfruit, year-round jackfruit, Australian Malta, Thailand’s avocado, rambutan, rangoon, various coloured Kashmiri grapes, Indian cardamom, Saudi dates, Egyptian “Sharifa,” Indian red “Sharifa,” improvised cashew nuts from Myanmar, Thailand’s sweet tamarind, Madhavi guava, improvised Indian drumsticks, tissue culture banana, and African dragon fruit.
Among the flowers are Chinese cosmos, American periwinkle, gazania, petunia, dentas, Dutch marigold, sunflower, various species of bonsai, and bougainvillaea.
Under the “Nature and Life” project of the private development organisation CODEC, this marginal entrepreneur has enriched his knowledge by receiving training and necessary support over the past years.
He has learned about producing bamboo saplings through the “Kanchi Kalom” method, producing improved varieties of local and foreign fruit trees, creating a natural fungus-resistant Bordeaux mixture (mixing 100 grams of copper sulphate and 100 grams of lime in 10 litres of water), and scientific tree care.
Over the past five years, saplings produced at Shah Alam’s nursery have been distributed among approximately seven thousand beneficiaries of the “Nature and Life” project as part of environmental conservation efforts in the Teknaf Wildlife Sanctuary.
In addition, Shah Alam earns Tk6-7 lakh annually by marketing saplings not only in this upazila but also across the country. What started as a hobby has now turned into a profession, providing employment for four people besides Shah Alam himself. His nursery contributes to environmental protection and inspires local unemployed and educated youth to become entrepreneurs.