The Odisha Tree Cultivation Project is a collaborative initiative between Tel Aviv University and Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, focused on understanding what drives success and failure in smallholder tree cultivation across rural communities. Through fieldwork conducted in multiple villages, the project analyzed a range of environmental, social, and economic factors influencing farmers’ outcomes. Key areas of focus included access to reliable water sources, exposure to human-elephant conflict, land conditions, crop selection, and local support systems. By combining on-the-ground data collection with community engagement, the project aims to generate practical insights that can inform more resilient and context-adapted agricultural practices.