Cleaning - Site prep
From dumping ground to a living ecosystem
Before anything could be built, planted, or restored, the land first had to be reclaimed. Chapter 1 of The Healing Valley begins with the most unglamorous but most essential act of all — cleaning up what others had left behind.
Overview
The Challenge
The site that would become The Healing Valley had been used as an open dumping ground for years. Layers of garbage — household waste, plastic packaging, construction debris, food scraps, and discarded materials of every kind — had accumulated over the natural landscape. The dumping had been going on for so long that the garbage had become part of the terrain, buried under successive layers of new waste, compacted by rain and the weight of more dumping on top.
The trees on the site were still standing, but many were struggling — their root zones contaminated, the soil around them stripped of nutrients and structure by years of waste accumulation and the leaching of pollutants. The ground was uneven, hazardous, and in places, completely inaccessible.
This was not a site that could be cleaned by a weekend volunteer drive. It required professional equipment, a dedicated team, sustained effort over multiple days, and a clear plan for how the waste would be removed and disposed of responsibly.
What We did
Earth Healers Foundation organised and funded a comprehensive professional cleanup of the entire site. A dedicated team was hired — equipped with the tools, protective gear, and waste management capacity needed to handle the scale and nature of the problem.
The team worked systematically across the site, removing accumulated waste layer by layer. Garbage was separated, bagged, and transported to appropriate disposal points. Construction debris was cleared. The ground was levelled where necessary to begin restoring the natural contours of the land. Every part of the site was reached — including areas that were difficult to access and had not been touched in years.
The cleanup took significant time and effort. It was physically demanding, unpleasant work. But the team approached it with professionalism and commitment, understanding that without this first step, nothing else that followed would be possible.
Once the garbage was cleared, the true character of the site began to emerge. The existing trees — freed from the weight and contamination of surrounding waste — stood taller and cleaner. The natural slope and form of the land became visible for the first time in years. The site that had been defined by what had been dumped on it was now defined by what it actually was: a beautiful piece of natural hillside land in the heart of Kheel Jasli.
Impact & Current status
The completion of the cleaning phase was the moment The Healing Valley became possible. Without it, the project could not have proceeded. But its impact extended beyond the physical — the sight of a professional team systematically clearing the land sent a message to the entire community that this site was being claimed back, that someone cared enough to invest in its restoration, and that the era of open dumping there was over.
Residents who had walked past the site for years without seeing it properly began to stop and watch. Some offered to help. The cleanup became a visible, public statement of intent — and it changed the community's relationship to the space before a single plant had been put in the ground.
What's next
With the site cleared, the foundation was laid — literally and figuratively — for everything that followed. The next phase, Stone Work, began immediately after the cleaning was complete, bringing structure, stability, and character to the newly reclaimed land.
Before & After
Ecological Impact
Revival of Natural Water Flow
As the site was cleared, a natural waterfall that had long been buried under waste began to re-emerge. During the monsoon, it returned to full flow, revealing the valley’s original water pathway.
Earlier, this flow had been blocked, causing water to spill onto nearby roads and create flooding-like conditions. Restoring the channel not only revived the landscape but also reduced this overflow.
