My Nonprofit Reviews

The Vetiver Network International (TVNI) is a philanthropy that teaches people how to use Vetiver grass to hold their soil in place, clean their water, and decontaminate their soils. Vetiver is a sterile clump grass with dense, fibrous, strong roots 12-15' deep. When grown in a continuous line or row, the grass slows and disperses water that would otherwise dig out gulleys as it speeds from high to low ground. Holding soil on the land where it belongs protects our reefs from silt that suffocates them. This green technology is beautifully simple, economical, and very effective. In addition to anchoring soil, the roots capture heavy metal and other contaminants, including TNT, arsenic, lead, chlordane, and heptachlor. The plant grows in a variety of nasty conditions, and also captures excess herbicides and fertilizers. The founders of TVNI are former World Bank senior agronomists, who served during the period when expertise--not dollars--was exported, realizing the promise "if you give a man a fish, he'll eat a meal; if you teach a man to fish, he'll always eat." One of the early patrons of TVNI was--and remains--the King of Thailand, who recognized Vetiver's utility in the early 1980s. To his credit, he established national nurseries, and planting protocols that preserve Thailand's soils. Rows of Vetiver line Thai freeway cuts. The United States is late to the party, having adopted a "more is better" philosophy that it adapts to remediation. Unlike rigid construction, including cement, rock, reinforced concrete, etc., Vetiver grows stronger with age.

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