Struggling with a life threatening disease like cancer hasn’t bogged the indomitable spirit of Said Hamoud al Habsi, a farmer from wilayat of Mudhaibi  in North Sharqiyah. Habsi has made his life’s mission to contribute tirelessly in making Oman green by providing tens of thousands of wild plants and saplings, which he grows in his own nursery.

Speaking to Muscat Daily, Habsi said that although he is a cancer patient, it has not stopped him from volunteering for a cause. “I started distributing wild plant saplings a few years ago. I created a small nursery and till now have successfully grown 42,000 saplings.”

Recognising Habsi’s efforts, the Ministry of Environment and Climate Affairs (MECA) chose him as a volunteer for his initiative to cultivate 10 million indigenous wild plants by 2030. “Last week, I gave them 3,710 wild tree saplings as the first volunteer.”

In order to support the healthcare staff who are at the frontline fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, Habsi said that he will give 500 wild plant saplings to doctors and nurses at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital.

“I will also give Muscat Municipality 250 saplings to help beautify the Governorate of Muscat. I hope to continue planting and distributing seedlings in all the wilayats of the sultanate to make Oman’s environment green,” he said, adding, that preserving biological diversity and protecting wildlife is everyone’s responsibility and an obligation of every individual, whether a citizen or a resident of the sultanate. “My initiative aims to cultivate seedlings from the local tree varieties, such as Sidr, Ghaf, Samar, which are among the most important plants that can be grown in the arid climate of the sultanate.”

Habsi said, that in the first phase of his initiative, he aims to distribute 30,000 trees to make Oman green and to spread the culture of planting trees among the members of society.

In the future, he intends to increase the number of saplings to 100,000, to be distributed throughout the sultanate. “I will distribute 300 Sidr trees to Sultan Qaboos University and 3,000 seedlings to Dhofar Municipality very soon.”

Talking about the challenges, he said that life is all about overcoming odds. “I have faced many challenges, such as my brother Ahmed’s kidney failure, which made me donate one of my kidneys for him, in 1991. Now, I am suffering from cancer but, with hope and a strong will, I am determined to overcome every struggle.”