• Sahil Jha smiling beside his green touring bicycle, holding a helmet with a Save Soil sticker, on a stone-paved street in the United Kingdom

Sahil Jha

Environmentalist, author and founder of the World Soil Organization

United Kingdom

Cover of Bonding with the Beyond by Sahil Jha: a boy with arms outstretched toward the light beside his bicycle, with the subtitle Journey of a teenage boy across 3 continents, alone on a bicycle

Author Bonding with the Beyond

Coming soon

About Sahil

Sahil Jha standing with his loaded touring bicycle outside a stone building

Sahil Jha is an environmentalist, author and the founder of the World Soil Organization. Born in Kolkata, he has spent his teenage years on a bicycle, carrying one message across borders: the health of our soil decides the future of our food, our water and life itself.

On 1 May 2022, at the age of 16, Sahil set out alone to cycle across India in support of the Save Soil movement inspired by Sadhguru, riding through 15 Indian states. On 21 March 2025 the journey went international, beginning in Australia and continuing through Asia Pacific and Europe. In all, he has cycled 20,000 km across 15 countries on 3 continents.

Along the way he has spoken at more than 325 events and been featured in over 473 media stories, and hundreds of leaders around the world have publicly supported his campaign. His work has been recognised by organisations and national governments internationally.

Sahil founded the World Soil Organization to turn a personal campaign into a lasting institution that works with governments and international bodies on soil health. His memoir, Bonding with the Beyond, tells the story of a teenage boy who crossed three continents alone on a bicycle.

The Journey

3 continents, 15 countries, 20,000 km

The route so far Route map of the cycling journey through India, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Switzerland, Germany, Poland, Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium, France, United Kingdom. Europe (enlarged) 1 India 2 Asia Pacific 3 Europe
  1. 01

    India

    The journey begins · 1 May 2022

  2. 02

    Asia Pacific

    The international leg begins in Australia · 21 March 2025

    AustraliaNew ZealandIndonesiaSingaporeMalaysia

  3. 03

    Europe

    SwitzerlandGermanyPolandSwedenDenmarkNetherlandsBelgiumFranceUnited Kingdom

continents
3
cycled solo
20,000km
public speaking events
325+
media features
473+

Mission

Bare sand in the foreground giving way to green grassland and woodland, on land that was once covered in hills of sand at Indiana Dunes
Where hills of sand once stood, life has taken root. Indiana Dunes, United States.

To bring the world’s soil back to life, and with it the health of our food, our water and our future.

Soil is the living skin of our planet. A few centimetres of it feed almost every person on Earth, hold the water that sustains our farms and store about three times as much carbon as all the plants alive today. Nature takes around a thousand years to form just a few centimetres of topsoil, yet the United Nations reports that more than half of the world’s agricultural land is already moderately to severely degraded. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization warns that 90% of the Earth’s topsoil is likely to be at risk by 2050.

The World Soil Organization exists to turn that story around. Its mission is to help restore at least 3–6% organic matter to agricultural soil everywhere, so that farmers can prosper, food can nourish again and the next generation inherits fertile land rather than sand.

This is not a story of loss but of possibility. Soil is remarkably forgiving: given care, it comes back to life. Every conversation, every leader who chooses to act and every farm that turns towards nature is a step towards a living planet, and the World Soil Organization exists to make those steps multiply.

A smiling organic farmer holding a large basket of freshly harvested salad greens in her field
Living soil grows food that nourishes and farms that thrive.
Young green soybean plants coming up through a protective cover of rye on a farm field
Given care, the land comes back to life.

The Plan

Inspire people, stand beside leaders and support farmers, until healthy soil becomes the whole world’s priority.

Reviving the world’s soil is too large a task for any one person, organisation or nation, which is exactly why the plan is built around people. The World Soil Organization works on three fronts at once, each one strengthening the others.

  1. Six photographs of Save Soil awareness events led by Sahil Jha, each with hundreds of school and college students, some holding Save Soil placards

    Awareness

    Turning a quiet crisis into a conversation everyone can be part of.

    When people understand that soil is life, they become its champions. The World Soil Organization carries the story of soil to millions through social media, the voices of well-known personalities, walkathons and cyclothons, and in-person events, above all in schools, colleges and universities, where the people who will shape soil’s future are learning today.

  2. Sahil Jha in conversation with officials, seated in front of Indonesian flags

    Policy advocacy

    Standing beside the leaders who can change the course of a nation.

    Lasting change comes when leaders act. The World Soil Organization encourages citizens to sign petitions and to reach out to their leaders through social media, emails and letters. It also meets leaders in person, in private and in public, to show support and encouragement for soil-friendly policy and prioritised investment in soil health. Every leader who stands up for soil makes it easier for the next to follow.

  3. Sahil Jha planting rice seedlings in a flooded paddy field with local officials and farmers

    On the ground, across the world

    Helping farmers and communities bring the land back to life.

    Across the world, the World Soil Organization works alongside farmers and communities to make soil-friendly farming the natural choice. It inspires and supports the shift towards natural, tree-based, regenerative and organic farming, plants trees, runs educational workshops and builds communities of farmers. By helping farmers access carbon credits, it makes healthy soil a source of livelihood as well as pride.

Awareness opens hearts, policy opens doors, and work on the ground turns both into living soil.

Meetings & Voices of Support

  • Sahil Jha with Dr Shashi Tharoor in Thiruvananthapuram

    Impressed to meet @withsahiljha, a 16-year-old from WestBengal, who is cycling 25,000 km through India to raise awareness of environmental &social issues. He is now in Thiruvananthapuram on his way back up north from Kanyakumari.Have to admire his spirit of adventure!

    Shashi Tharoor Former UN Under-Secretary-General, Former Indian Minister of State for External Affairs & bestselling author via X (opens the original post in a new tab)
  • Sahil Jha with Sadhguru in front of the Adiyogi statue at the Isha Yoga Center, Coimbatore

    Dearest Sahil, with your Passion and Devotion for Humanity, you have paved the way for a brighter future for our Nation and planet. May you continue to touch the hearts of all those you encounter along the way. My best wishes & Blessings. -Sg

    Sadhguru Founder, Isha Foundation & Conscious Planet, Save Soil Movement via X (opens the original post in a new tab)
  • Sahil Jha in a Save Soil T-shirt with C. R. Patil in Surat

    17 year old Sahil Jha has been travelling across different states of India on a bicycle for the past two years, spreading the message of environmental protection and #SAVESOIL. By engaging with the youth of the country and discussing their role in environmental protection, he is doing important work to raise awareness about environmental conservation. Young people like Sahil are the future of our country. It was a great pleasure to meet Sahil today in Surat. Wishing Sahil all the very best.

    C. R. Patil Union Minister for Water (Jal Shakti), Government of India via Instagram (opens the original post in a new tab)
  • Ibrahim Thiaw speaking at the United Nations

    Go, Sahil! You have my full support!

    Ibrahim Thiaw Former UN Under-Secretary-General & Executive Secretary of the UNCCD via X (opens the original post in a new tab)
  • Sahil Jha with Philipp Ackermann in front of the EU, Indian and German flags

    Today is World Soil Day - worthwhile remembering how crucial healthy soils are for our livelihoods. I had a chat with @soilsahiljha, who is on a global biking tour to create awareness about soil health. He told that he saw one of the world’s greenest cities in Germany! 🌍🌱

    Philipp Ackermann Former Ambassador of Germany to India via X (opens the original post in a new tab)
  • Sahil Jha with Rasmus Abildgaard Kristensen in front of a “Cycle for Sustainability” mural

    A pleasure meeting Sahil Jha @soilsahiljha, a young Indian cyclist who has journeyed over 25,000 km worldwide, including Denmark, engaging communities on soil health and environmental awareness. Youth leadership matters, and his commitment is inspiring. Wishing him success as he continues his global ride for the cause in 2026 🚴

    Rasmus Abildgaard Kristensen Ambassador of Denmark to India via X (opens the original post in a new tab)
  • Sahil Jha showing his Save Soil helmet and bicycle to Kerry McCarthy
    Kerry McCarthy British MP and Former Minister for Climate
  • Sahil Jha in conversation with Arif Havas Oegroseno in front of Indonesian flags
    Arif Havas Oegroseno Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Indonesia
  • Sahil Jha and Mete Coban holding Save Soil cards at a café table
    Mete Coban MBE Deputy Mayor of London for Environment and Energy

News, Magazines & Awards

“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right.”

Henry Ford