By: Vivek Thapar, Founder of Green Vision Eco
In the pursuit of real-world impact, understanding the land, trees, and communities we work with isn’t just important—it’s essential. I’m Vivek Thapar, founder of Green Vision Eco, and this is the story of my 9-week immersion into the heart of Vietnam, where I explored the vast potential of the Paulownia tree and the farmers who nurture it.
✈️ Stepping into Vietnam: The Beginning of a Learning Expedition
In pursuit of scaling Green Vision Eco’s impact, I embarked on a transformative 9-week journey to Vietnam — a country rich in biodiversity, tradition, and agricultural resilience. This wasn’t just a business trip. It was an immersion into the very soil we hope to regenerate. Vietnam’s unique ecosystem presented the ideal testing ground to understand the full lifecycle of the Paulownia tree — a fast-growing, carbon-absorbing species central to our afforestation plans.
👣 Living the Land, Learning from the Roots
Upon arrival, I spent time on multiple plantations across rural Vietnam, observing first-hand how Paulownia saplings take root and flourish. I worked side-by-side with our research team and local farmers, immersing myself in traditional farming techniques while integrating modern regenerative practices.
We studied the entire growth cycle — from planting methods to nutrient requirements, sunlight exposure, and the best irrigation patterns for optimized tree maturity. I witnessed the power of nature in action: in just a few weeks, Paulownia trees that were knee-high had already gained remarkable height and leaf density.
📚 Training with Experts & Local Wisdom
Green Vision’s ethos is built on collaboration, and this trip brought that philosophy to life. I trained directly with Vietnam’s leading agroforestry researchers who have decades of experience in sustainable land use and biomass science. These training sessions helped fine-tune our afforestation protocols — identifying which soil compositions yield the best growth, how to naturally enrich the land, and how Paulownia trees can be cultivated alongside crops to increase land utility and farmer income.
I also sat down with village elders and farming families, learning from their stories, generational practices, and their passion for protecting the land. Their wisdom emphasized the importance of maintaining biodiversity while building scalable afforestation models.
♻️ Utilizing the Whole Tree: Circular Sustainability in Practice
What sets the Paulownia tree apart is its multi-utility nature. I explored its economic and ecological potential across all stages of growth. We developed training modules to help farmers utilize:
- Leaves as nutrient-rich compost or animal feed, reducing dependency on synthetic alternatives.
- Trunks for biomass and bio-pellet production — a clean energy source for rural communities.
- Branches and fallen foliage to enhance soil fertility and support micro-irrigation practices.
These modules will be part of Green Vision’s farmer training programs, ensuring each partner not only grows trees but thrives from them.
🌳 Planting Seeds — Both Literal and Visionary
One of the most rewarding parts of the journey was physically planting Paulownia saplings with the farmers. Each tree we planted wasn’t just an act of restoration but a symbol of trust, partnership, and future prosperity. Watching local youth take pride in the process filled me with hope — that climate action is possible when the community becomes the center of the mission.
🛤️ Bringing it Home: A Roadmap for Green Vision
This journey has profoundly shaped our protocols and vision for scaling globally. From improved composting methods to better irrigation designs, and from cultural collaboration to advanced data collection — the lessons from Vietnam are now embedded in Green Vision’s core.
As we continue our journey to plant 1 million trees, Vietnam’s story becomes part of our DNA — a reminder that regeneration starts not in boardrooms, but in fields, forests, and friendships.
🌍 Let’s keep planting hope.
More stories from the field, our technology updates, and community voices will be shared in the next post.