In Kaimur district, tribal women planted native lemon trees in protest against a JICA-funded, government-led plantation drive deemed to favour non-native species and undermine local forest rights. They organised mass tree-planting events using indigenous saplings to reaffirm their community’s ecological knowledge and assert control over their land and trees. Native species such as mango, mahua, neem, peepal, and banyan trees were also planted. These species hold ecological and cultural importance in the region and were chosen to counter the government’s plantation of fast-growing, non-native varieties like eucalyptus and acacia promoted under the JICA-funded scheme.