My Nonprofit Reviews

PROBLEM AND NEEDS: My field is agriculture and i focus on working with developing countries. I have been disturbed during most of my life about two global issues: a) disappearing soils and their reduced capacity to produce more food and fodder; and b) reduced availability of water, needed to make crops grow and survive. I have had my own small production farms (in three different countries) and saw the degradation of both accessible water and quality soils. I was for five years assigned the management of an agricultural and rural infrastructure project in Madagascar, one of the countries that bleeds so much soil, it is the only place on earth that a satellite picture brings out plumes of brown, mud charged waters coming out the country's river into clear blue Pacific. Among other, the project was tasked to rehabilitate critical farm-to-market infrastructure, and we had to assure the sustainability and durability of all the construction/ rehabilitation work. It included rural roads, bridges, culverts, drains, river embankments, irrigation ditches, railroad, port. etc. that were constantly destroyed by the island's (larger than France in surface) heavy rain storms and annual cyclones. We wanted to find the best and surest system to protect what the US Gov't was paying large amounts to rebuild, but which in the past broke down or disappeared due to cyclones, floods and storms. The project organized a "soil erosion" workshop to which we searched for and invited about ten dozen projects and technical specialists to present their experience in reducing soil erosion, floods and infrastructure protection. Dale Rachmeler, a colleague, suggested inviting a representative from an organization in the US that specialized in erosion control. We managed to have Founder of the organization attend and be part of the workshop (he happened to be in China at the time). After two days of presentation by various practitioners, workshop attendees were asked to vote for technology or system that seemed the most sustainable, efficient and low cost technology. The vote was overwhelmingly The Vetiver Network; the simple, highly effective plant- based technology changed my life. In agriculture, one only has about 25 chances (harvest seasons) "to get it right." After less than several months into learning about the Vetiver system and the plant used, I recall saying: " this is what I have been looking for my adult life, and I am going to help propagate the system world wide." I was additionally motivated by reading a document that described the two major threats to global survival were: are population growth, and "the loss of agricultural land to grow food." The world’s cropland was losing topsoil through erosion faster than new soil could be formed, thereby reducing the land’s inherent capacity to be productive. Where losses are heavy, productive land turns into wasteland or deserts. ONE OF THE BEST SOLUTION: For the past 18 years, The Vetiver Network International (TVNI), a knowledge sharing organization, is composed of fifteen regional and national Vetiver networks around the globe. They have spawned and informed tens of thousands of applications of plant-based soil remediation and climate change adaptation practices now in almost all countries of Central and South America, the Caribbean,Sub-Sahara Africa, Mediterranean countries, South and South-East Asia, China, Australia and parts of Pacific Island States to reverse soil-loss trends. THE PLANT: At the base of the system is a most unusual one in the plant kingdom; it is one of the oldest on the planet, and one that developed adaptation properties over millions of years, being resilient to land slides, droughts, submergence, floods, fires, brackish waters and a variety of soil types, predators and diseases. In addition, the plant is non-fertile and non-invasive. THE APPROACH: The deep and massive roots of the Vetiver plant grow to two to three meters (6-9 feet), stabilizing soils, and through its stiff leaf/stems grow to about to meters, slowing rain water-run off, and filters and traps soil particles on the up-hill side of the plants, creating natural terraces . The "Vetiver system," which is a form of phytoremediation technique is applied through planted hedgerows of closely spaced Vetiver plants (Chrysopogan zizanoides), along the contour of slops and lowlands, retaining upward to 95% of eroding soils in the slopes and open fields. One of the dominant features of the Vetiver System is the simplicity of its application; it requires knowing only a few basic guidelines. It can be applied by anyone who knows how to handle a hoe or shovel, plant plants in rows perpendicular to the slope, and care for the plants for the three months of planting. The plant also retains soil moisture in sloped areas, facilitating reforestation and increasing the option of hillside farming, where usually soils are too dry to farm. OTHER ASPECTS OF VETIVER: The Vetiver plant and system have multiple applications and uses. The leaf/stem part is used as a raw material for "sustainable" handicraft industry, which provides for year-round income generation (developed at a national level in countries such as Thailand, India, Venezuela, Madagascar, China, Indonesia, Mali, Philippines). Vetiver plants are also used extensively to treat solid and liquid wastes; treating waste water and toxic and heavy metal contaminated soils. The applications, requiring more technical know-how and used in most tropical and sub-tropical countries that have contaminated mine tailing and waste water problems; Africa, South America, Madagascar, China, Australia, South East Asia and the US. HOW IS VETIVER SYSTEM TECHNOLOGY PROMOTED: All Vetiver Networks are peopled by volunteers. Globally, the main web site of the Vetiver Network is: www.vetiver.org. There are a 15 Affiliated Vetiver Network web sites, 10 email access affiliated country networks and four Vetiver Blog spaces; all are informed through contributions of research documents, Power Point Presentations, papers presented at International Vetiver Conferences (Five have been held over the last 1 years); in India, Venezuela, China and twice in Thailand; the latter two were under the auspices of the Kind of Thailand, an agronomist who has played an influential role in the research, application and dissemination of the Vetiver System not only in Thailand but neighboring countries and world wide in addition to Regional and Country specific Vetiver Conferences. The Vetiver Network International maintains a Google Picasa shared Photo album site covering some 20 different applications of Vetiver world wide; and a FaceBook site. Affiliates are invited both in a formal and informal manner, and expected to promote quality Vetiver System applications, use non-fertile cultivars (there are over 100 registered Vetiver plant suppliers word wide listed on TVNI's main web site) and contribute to global promotion of the Veitver System by sharing information. The content and the approach have given me much work but most importantly, quantifying satisfaction, as the Vetiver plant has been shown to be one of natures most effective carbon sequestration "system." Four vetiver plants sequester the same about of CO2 in 8 months than a grown tree of 4-5 yrs. Good news for the environment, good news for the farmer! The Vetiver Network International is a low key but high powered global group of several thousand concerned and involved professionals led by a tremendously capable Brit who started the whole process while he was an agriculture Technical Director at the World Bank. He set the NGO corporate culture, which is exemplary. Criss Juliard

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