The Vetiver Network International

Network People

Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand – Patron:
HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand is the Patron of The Vetiver Network International. She is a keen conservationist, and has along with her father, His Majesty the King of Thailand, been deeply committed to the research and development of the Vetiver System in Thailand and elsewhere in the world. She has participated in all the international Vetiver conferences. She has been patron since 2000.

Dick Grimshaw OBE – Founder
Dick Grimshaw, an agriculturist, founded The Vetiver Network International in 1994 having worked with the Vetiver System since 1986, when he and John Greenfield reintroduced the technology to Indian farmers during the latter part of the 1980s. Following his return to the US he promoted the Vetiver System world wide. He was responsible for its introduction to China and a number of other Asian countries. He lives in Bellingham located in the Pacific North West of the US.

Jim Smyle – Chairman/President and Director for the Americas.
Jim Smyle is a forester and natural resources/watershed management specialist. He started working with Vetiver Systems in the late 1980s and was editor of the Vetiver Network Newsletter. He has worked in Asia, Africa, and Latin America for over 40 years and has been responsible for the introduction of the Vetiver System into many projects. He now works as a consultant for multilateral projects/programs on watershed management, environmental, social, and climate change adaptation aspects. He is based out of San Antonio, Texas.

Dale Rachmeler – Secretary/Treasure and Director for Sub-Sahara Africa: an agronomist. He worked for many years with USAID mainly in Africa. He got involved with the Vetiver System when in Madagascar in the late 1990s. He was responsible for a vetiver based project in the Congo DR since when the Vetiver System has been used for highway stabilization and the reclamation of massive urban gullies. He lives in Oakland, California.

Criss Juliard – In Memoriam. He was Director for North Africa, Europe and the Middle East and Chair of TVNI Business Committee. He managed many agricultural related projects for a number of bilateral agencies. He first used the Vetiver System extensively in Madagascar in the late 1990s, he then introduced it to Senegal, Mali and more recently in Morocco. He currently lives in Portugal.

Paul Truong: Technical Director TVNI, Director for Asia and the Pacific
He is the leading vetiver research scientist and has especially focused on vetiver’s ability to improve water quality and control pollution. He started working with vetiver in Queensland, Australia in the early 1990, and since then has promoted the technology world wide. He has been instrumental in most regional and international workshops and conferences, and has over the past 7 years initiated and supported extensive vetiver RD in Vietnam. Paul lives in Brisbane, Australia.

Paul Zuckerman, a Director of TVNI, has been closely associated with TVNI since its inception. He is the Chair and CEO of Zuckerman & Associates LLC. His expertise is in Finance and Economics. He retired from full time investment banking in 1998, having been Managing Director and Founding Director of Caspian Securities, Ltd (1995-98); and before that Executive Director, S G Warburg & Co Ltd, London; Vice Chair, S G Warburg International; Chair S G Warburg Latin America Ltd (1981-95).
He spent six years at the World Bank as Senior Economist (1974-80); and before that was Research Associate at IITA (1970-72) and Training Associate, Ford Foundation (1968-70) based at IITA (a member of the CGIAR Consortium).
Since 1998 he has been on the Board of a number of international companies and is now on the board of, amongst others: and JMFinancial Ltd in India.
He was Chair of the Intermediate Technology Group (1990-95), Treasurer of the International Women’s Health Coalition in New York (2000-10) and on the board of The African Medical Research Foundation in Nairobi (2002-10).He was chairman of Bioversity International and on the CGIAR Consortium Board. .He is presently a Trustee of the Foundling Museum in London and on the Board of SAVE Britains’s Heriritage.
He is a Foreign Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and an Honorary Fellow of King’s College London. He has a BA & MA in Economics, Trinity College, Cambridge University (1964-67), a Higher National Diploma in Agricultural Economics, Trinity College, Cambridge University (1967-68), and a PhD in Agricultural Economics, Reading University (1970-74).

John Greenfield – In Memoriam.  After farming sheep and cattle in New Zealand, John Greenfield worked in the tropical wet and arid zones of developing countries throughout the world for 40 years developing a system of soil and moisture conservation that would be sustainable in extremes of climate. The last 18 years were spent with the World Bank as Senior Agriculturist. In this period he has seen how inappropriate the accepted constructed systems of conservation are and made it his mission to develop a simple sustainable system that is eco-friendly and affordable to the poorest of the poor subsistence farmers world wide. He introduced the Vetiver System concept to India in 1980s – he is the Father of Vetiver. He authored the Green Book, Vetiver Grass – A Hedge Against Erosion. He was a Director of the Vetiver Network International, and lived in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand. Sadly John died on February 22 2017 at the age of 85.

Alberto Rodriguez – Associate Director
Alberto, a certified vetiver grower, is a retired engineer and owner of Agriflora Tropicals in Puerto Rico. The story of his vetiver work is told in his blogs The Vetiver Solutions Blog and Blog Vetiver Puerto Rico. His contributions to the vetiver network on the Web include the coordination of the Vetiver Caribbean Network and the Facebook Vetiver Grass Network. Alberto’s work in the Caribbean includes vetiver system projects for the U.S. Federal Highway Administration, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (NRCS), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the P.R Department of Natural Resources, the P.R. Highways Authority, the University of Puerto Rico, and several local municipalities.

Suwanna Pasiri: A retired director of the Royal Development Projects Board of Thailand. She has been closely connected with the Vetiver System from the early 1990s. She has been closely involved with all five international vetiver conferences and has been associated with those in China and Venezuela. She provides support to the Pacific Rim Vetiver Network, and arranges vetiver handicraft training of overseas participants. She is very committed to the vetiver movement, and we are all indebted to her for her support and help to TVN. Thank you Suwanna.

Tran Tan Van – Past Coordinator Vietnam Vetiver Network, and TVNI Associate Director: As Vice-Director of the Vietnam Institute of Geosciences and Mineral Resources (VIGMR) in Vietnam, he is in charge of recommendations for natural disaster mitigation. Since being introduced to the Vetiver Systems six years ago, he has become not only an excellent practitioner of Vetiver Systems, but also a strategic leader, as coordinator of the Vetiver Network in Vietnam (VNVN). In these six years he contributed enormously to the widespread adoption of Vetiver Systems in Vietnam, now in nearly 40 out of the 64 provinces, promoted by different ministries, NGOs, and companies. His introduction of Vetiver Systems started with stabilization of coastal sand dunes, and now includes flood damage mitigation on coastal and river banks, sea dykes, anti-salinity dykes and river dykes, protection of slopes and roadsides against erosion and landslides, and applications to mitigate soil and water pollution. He was awarded the prestigious prize of vetiver Champion by The vetiver Network International in 2006 at the Fourth International vetiver Conference in Caracas, Venezuela.

Elise Pinners – Director. Elise started working with Vetiver Systems in NW Cameroon in late nineties, working in agriculture and rural roads projects. She participated in the implementation of VNVN’s first project, funded by the Royal Netherlands Embassy, on coastal dune stabilisation and other applications in Quang Binh and Da Nang. She co-authored Vetiver System Applications – A Technical Reference Manual In the summer 2007 she moved to Kenya, where she continued her contributions to the promotion and development of the Vetiver System. Elise has worked in multiple countries in Africa including Cameroon. Among others, she set up the Platform for Land Use Sustainability (PLUS-Kenya) www.pluskenya.org , and is also expanding VS to other East African countries. She is now based out of The Netherlands, UN and bilateral programs.

Tran Van Man MSc – Previously, Vietnam Vetiver Network Coordinator. He has a Certificate of Technical Excellence granted by the Vetiver Network International. He headed the ICV6 organizing committee, and has been involved in a wide range of vetiver projects from Australia to Vietnam. He is one of the four Vietnamese talents selected to attend the IATSS forum – Leadership Training Program in Japan 2017 on the theme of sustainable development. Currently TVNI webmaster and living in Australia.

Joachim (Joe) Boehner -Associate Director
Joe is a member of a small national vetiver network in Peru. His work involves the introduction of VS (Vetiver Systems) into natural resources projects in the province of Oxapampa, Selva Central Peru. He works with several institutions including the Institute for Natural Resources — www.inrena.gob.pe. Joe has been promoting VS (Vetiver Systems) for many years in Central and South America, including the Dominican Republic and Brazil.

Narong Chomchalow – Coordinator: Pacific Rim Vetiver Network. Narong Chomchalow has been involved with VS (Vetiver Systems) since its inception in Thailand in the early 1990s. He is the Coordinator of The Pacific Rim Vetiver Network, and the Continuing Committee Chairman for the International Vetiver conferences. The latter are held every three or four years, and Narong has been closely connected with their success.

Oswaldo Luque – Vetiver Consultant
Oswaldo Luquefrom Venezuela had a major role in the development of VS (Vetiver Systems) in Venezuela both in research and in practice (his brother has a vetiver company). Oswaldo can be credited for persuading POLAR Foundation to host the Fourth International Vetiver Conference in Caracas in 2006. He has promoted the use of vetiver grass for handicrafts and the involvement of women.

Roley Nöffke – Director: South Africa. Roley Nöffke of Hydromulch, South Africa is a Director of the Vetiver Network International with responsibility for South Africa. He is also a Vice Preseident of the International Erosion Control Association with global responsibilities. Roley has a construction company that works in many parts of Africa, in the course of which he introduces VS. He has sponsored a number of VS workshops, and is currently putting together an important collection of vetiver ecotypes from around the world.

Jonathan Barcant: Trinidad & Tobago based, Caribbean Coordinator and TVNI Director. Civil engineer specialized in soils, water and environment, has spent several years working internationally in the mining industry as a geotechnical engineer in Canada, Greenland and Panama, with special focus on slope stabilization and land rehabilitation. Founder and Managing Director of T&T based company Vetiver TT Ecological Engineering Solutions Ltd., and Co-founder/MD for grassroots, climate-action oriented NGO called IAMovement. Designed and implemented prototype “Vetiver Education & Empowerment Project (VEEP)” in T&T’s largest hillside farming community with UNDP GEF SGP, currently expanding into Quarry Rehabilitation and seeking to scale across T&T and to other islands in the West Indies.

Prof. Johnnie van den Berg – Scientist
Prof. Johnnie van den Berg is Head of Plant Protection, School of Environmental Science and Development , North-West University, Potchefstroom South Africa. His research includes the use of grasses such as napier and vetiver grass in integrated pest management systems. Principle research responsibility is development of integrated pest management (IPM) systems for grain crops such as maize, sorghum and rice. Research functions include basic studies addressing the ecology and injuriousness of key crop pests and research on control mechanisms such as host plant resistance, cultural control and chemical control. Various research programmes on a diversity of insect pests and crops are conducted. These include: stem borers in maize and sorghum, panicle feeding pests and aphids of sorghum, termites in maize and maize streak virus. He has received Vetiver Network awards for his research on vetiver’s potential in pest control.

Cameron Smeal – Associate Director
Cameron Smeal, Environmental Manager, GELITA Australia Pty Ltd. , Beaudesert QLD 4285, Australia. Cameron is an Associate Director of the Vetiver Network and has been prominent in Australia for introducing VS for industrial waste water treatment. He is currently developing vetiver “reed beds” as a constructed wetland for treating industrial effluent.

Oscar Rodriguez – A professor at the Central University of Venezuela where he is Head of Renewable Natural Resources Conservation and Conservation Agriculture. He began working with vetiver as a researcher some twenty years ago and has done extensive work on soil and moisture conservation in farming systems, including the calibration of vetiver hedgerows for use in the Universal Soil Loss Equation. Dr. Rodriguez was instrumental in the introduction of VS in Venezuela and in the organization of the Fourth International Vetiver Conference in Caracas in 2006. In 1997 he won the Eureka/General Motors Venezuela prize for research on “Vetiver: a plant for environmental protection”. In 2000 he won the King of Thailand Award for his work in dissemination of the VS for environmental protection and, in 2006, he shared the TVNI prize for Outstanding Country Program.

Ibrahima Diaw – Vetiver Consultant
Ibrahima Diaw is an engineer who has worked with Vetiver since 2000 in all types of applications, research, and project management. He is a vetiver system practioner, conducted successful applications of the Vetiver System for water treatment, soil erosion, watershed management, embankment stabilization and reforestation. He has provided training cycles in vetiver system in French speaking Africa and made numerous presentations to professional association and environmental groups. He presently heads a consulting firm in Senegal.

James Owino – Past coordinator, Kenya Vetiver Network
James O. Owino was a senior lecturer at Egerton University in the department of Agricultural Engineering where he taught and conducted research in the area of Soil and Water Conservation. He has been working with the Vetiver systems since 1999, during which he carried out research on the effectiveness of vetiver grass in soil erosion control in Kenya.

Pottekad Haridas – Coordinator, India Vetiver Network. Mr. P.Haridas has been working as Scientist at Research Development Department of Tata Tea Limited, Munnar, Kerala since 1984. He played a lead role in establishing RD Centre of Tata Tea at Munnar. He served as Head of RD, KDHP Co. (P) Ltd., which is the new company after restructuring of plantation operations of Tata Tea at Munnar from 2005 to 2007. Prior to joining Tata Tea he worked at UPASI Scientific Department from 1969 to 1983 first as Assistant Botanist and later as Advisory Officer. He was responsible for introducing Vetiver Systems in tea plantations in South India for soil and moisture conservation. Implementation of the Vetiver System in all estates of Tata Tea is one of his important contributions. Based on his work in environmental protection in Tea Plantations, TVNI (The Vetiver Network International) awarded certificate of excellence to him in 2005. Among 14 recipients of this certificate by end 2005, Mr.Haridas was first to receive it from India.

He is the coordinator of the India Vetiver Network and convener of the First National Vetiver Workshop in India

Warren and Melonie Sullivan – Vetiver users, Texas, USA. Warren has promoted this grass to many local, regional and state agencies from Chambers County Economic Development, Natural Resource Conservation Services, Chambers Liberty Navigation District, Chambers County Agricultural Extension Agency, as well as Galveston Bay Foundation, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Land Incentive Program, Texas Parks and Wildlife Biologist for our southern region which is to meet with Warren in February on site, as well as multitudes of people from all walks of life. He can say for sure that many are curious and interested in this amazing grass. Most of the agencies mentioned above have been on site to touch and feel this amazing plant and they will be back to monitor the progression.

Don Miller, a New Zealand soil scientist/ agronomist and agricultural engineer, started using Vetiver in the Cook Islands 20 years ago. He later developed a method of re-establishing indigenous forest on severe erosion sites in Vanuatu, controlling and trapping sediment with Vetiver hedges before it reached important coral reefs. Now he again lives and works in Vanuatu, continuing the earlier program and also developing ways to incorporate Vetiver into traditional Vanuatu shifting cultivation systems on steep land.

Debela Dinka – Ethiopian Vetiver Network Coordinator -Debela first involvement with the Vetiver System when he was manager of the Menschen fur Menschen program in Mettu, Illubabor Province of western Ethiopia. He and his colleagues did a terrific job in the introduction of vetiver for soil and water conservation. (TVNI made a $10,000 grant to assist that work – a very good investment as it turns out). Later Debela became deputy manager of Ehiopia’s Sustainable Land Use Forum (SLUF) with responsibility for moving new technologies through some 27 other NGOs. One of the technologies was the Vetiver System. Ethiopian Wetland Society was one of the NGO’s and with help from SLUF has vigorously promoted the Vetiver System. Following the March 2009 workshop Debela became the coordinator for the Ethiopian Vetiver Network.

Yoann Coppin – Coordinator – Madagascar Vetiver Network -owns La Plantation Bemasoandro in Madagascar. He has worked with vetiver Systems for some time now. Apart from supplying plant material he has developed VS based soil and water conservation for small farmers that replaces traditional slash and burn. He has worked with Roley Noffke on road stabilization projects, and is now developing waste water treatment programs for Madagascar’s urban locations.

Alain Ndona – Vetiver System Consultant and Applicator, and a Senior Technical Advisor to TVNI –is from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He got started with Vetiver working with Roley Noffke and Dale Rachmeler on highway stabilization and urban ravine reclamation using VS. In both instances his technical work was brilliant, and he demonstrated how urban communities can get together, and using a technology (VS) that was easy to understand, and be successful in their objectives. More recently he has been working on highway and gully stabilization in Congo Brazzaville.

Hassan Ali – Farmer:. Hassan Ali farms in Mettu District of Ethiopia. You can see a video of his farm and the way he has applied vetiver for soil and water conservation. He has been using vetiver on his farm for about 11 years. As a result his crop yields, (maize, coffee, and bananas) have increased by about 50%. There is no soil loss from his farm, and hardy any rainfall runoff. He uses vetiver leaves as mulch, thatch, forage and for lining the walls of his grain stores to protect against insects. Importantly he has transferred his use of vetiver to hundreds of nearby farmers. His improved income through the use of VS has enabled him to send two sons to university. He is truly a very notable vetiver farmer.

Gilbert Belneau – Vetiver Entrepreneur: Gilbert is a young Haitian who has been introducing VS to his village community. He lives in the village of Cazal – which is in the Cabaret area of the Artibonite region of Northern Haiti. He is relatively new to VS and recently attended a training session by Criss Juliard. Lets hope that Gilbert will become another Alian Ndona.

Yorlene Cruz: Costa Rica TVNI Coordinator and Director (since December 2016) of TVNI has worked with Vetiver for more than 15 years and has consulted with the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MOPT), which is experimenting with using the grass along highways to guard against landslides. She also has been a consultant to the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE), which has planted the grass near hydroelectric plants to prevent sedimentation of reservoirs. She has participated in different International Conferences Expos as speaker expositor respectively to promote the VS technology

Paulo Rogerio – Geotechnical Consulting Engineer: Private Practice, Pomerode,Santa Catarina, Brazil. Paulo has doggedly set out to show his fellow citizens that VS provides a good solution for mitigating the damage from slope slippage. He was also responsible for translating the Vetiver System Applications – Technical Reference Manual into Portuguese – Brazilian style! We can expect new ideas to come from Paulo.

Aloisio Periera: Owner and Managing Director of DEFLOR Bioengenharia. Alosio has a PhdD in Soil Science. DEFLOR was founded in 1984 to work in environmental protection and pest control. Its activities developed into hydraulic dam cleaning and the recovery of degraded areas. DEFLOR manufactures plant and coconut fiber anti-erosion biodegradable blankets and sediment retainers which are sold domestically and internationally. DEFOR is one of a number of companies committed to using The Vetiver System.
See: http://www.deflor.com.br.
Email: [email protected]

Paula Leão Pereira:  Project Manager of DEFLOR Bioengenharia. Paula is an Arquitecture and Civil Engineer, with Master Business Administration Degree. She introduced the vetiver system for Erosion Control Project’s in Brazil since 2009. She is IECA representative for Brazil on Iberoamerica chapter.

http://www.deflor.com.br.
Email: [email protected]

Shantanoo Bhattacharya: engineer from Assam, India. Shantanoo initiated and coordinates the Eastern India Vetiver Network some three years ago.. He introduced VS, using south Indian cultivars, for river bank and slope stabilization of approach roads to bridges. He has demonstrated the effectiveness of VS under very difficult flood situations relating to the Brahmaputra River and has developed some interesting techniques. From the start he has applied the technology correctly with good results. He is actively disseminating the technology in Assam.

Carolina Rivas – Chile. Carolina coordinates the Chile Vetiver Network. She took a major initiative in 2010 by organizing a Latin American Regional Vetiver Conference in Santiago. This conference brought together key vetiver users from the region and has provided a very useful boost for vetiver in the region.

Marco Forti – Italy. Marco lives in Sardinia and has been growing vetiver, and growing it well, for many years now. He is a Senior Technical adviser for TVNI, and the Vetiver Coordinator for Italy. He has an informative and useful blog at: http://www.diariodellacoltivazione.blogspot.com/. In 2010 he made a major contribution to TVNI by translating TVNI’s technical manual into Italian.

Paul Kombo – Farmer, Kenya: Paul Kombo is has a farm and vetiver nursery located at Voi, Kenya. He has been working with vetiver for at least 7 years and is the largest vetiver plant supplier in Kenya (supplying mainly the Kenya coastal areas). He produces very good quality vetiver plant material and has recently been awarded a certificate of technical excellence for his work.

Robinson Robo Vanoh – Associate Director of TVNI for the South Pacific Islands, and Country Coordinator – Papua New Guinea – owns Eagle Vetiver Systems in PNG (The only grower and supplier of Vetiver Grass in the country). Started working with Vetiver Systems for the last 9 years. Apart from just started supplying plant material to the University of PNG and an NGO group, is working on Soil Erosion Control in Palm Oil Plantations, Highway stabilisation and River bank stabilization Working very closely with Dr. Paul Truong in getting technical expertise to support the work of Vetiver System in PNG where little is known. He formed PNG Vetiver Network to be used as a tool to promote these vital system.

Octavio Torres Jimnez. Colombian Agronomist working with Vetiver since 1995 (Hobby) and since 1997 as a Contractor. Considered one of the pioneers of VS in Colombia. Named Colombian Vetiver Network Coordinator by TVN during several years promoting, through workshops, around the country, to engineers, government authorities, students and farmers, its benefits and applications.
He has Vetiver nurseries in Colombian North Coasts and his major works are in railroads, risk zones, roads and pipelines. Recently, begining works in Palm Oil waste remediation. His workhas been recognized by TVN managers. Today works in a National Horticulture Program leveraging this opportunity for promote VS to small farmers in Colombian Caribbean Region.

Jane Wegesa. Coordinator for Kenya Vetiver Network, and Secretary and a founding member of PLUS- Kenya. Jane is a committed supporter of the Vetiver System, and is an active and proven field worker. Note Plus Kenya is the home of the Kenya Vetiver Network

Caleb Omolo – A director and founding member of PLUS-Kenya. Caleb was one of the early pioneers in Kenya in introducing the Vetiver System to western Kenya.

Irma Hutabarat of Indonesia is well know on Indonesian TV and is dedicated to work with Vetiver System to help tackle some of the serious land and water related issues in her country. Fortunately she has a good working relationship with President Jokowi who shares her commitment to the environment. She is working with thousands of volunteers know as Laskar Vetiver (LV) – Vetiver Warriors. Her current focus is on the clean up of the “dirtiest river in the world”, the Citarum River, located in Java.The media and vetiver communities have given her the name Inang Vetiver or Vetiver Mother.

José Luis Cortés Cortés Network Coordinator for the Vetiver Network Spain. José is an architect and engineer. He got involved in using the Vetiver System because he had to solve a serious slope stabilization problem. From then on, five years ago, he started an indepth study of vetiver. Through his journey he discovered The Vetiver Network.
The Vetiver Network Spain’s mission is to introduce VS to Universities, Governments and private industries in Spain. The Netwokl would: (a) pay special attention to assuring that those who use VS use it properly; (b) create a national network comprising suppliers and technicians who are committed to VS. Web site: http://xn--vetiverespaa-khb.es/

J. DANIEL LONDONO G. Qualified Civil Engineer with focus on Infrastructure developments; main experience is in the construction of roads, earthmoving and urban infrastructure. Have 14 years of research and development (RD) experience applying Bio-engineering techniques and phyto-technologies between South America and Australia.
Background as researcher and developer involved all sort of learning skills and a strong compromise with the environment. Have wide experience in the developing of Bio-engineering solutions and the application and use of The Vetiver grass Technology addressing infrastructure developments, capacity to research and to develop non-conventional solutions.
From 2009 have been working and learning with Dr. Paul Truong conducting further research on Vetiver Grass Technology as a Phytoremediation tool for waste water management, prevention and treatment of contaminated soil and water, and the positive community developments related to it. We are now supporting the technology to be implemented in projects of this kind in South America.
Organiser of the Second Latin-American Conference on VS, Green Counciossness for a Sustainable Developmet held in Medellin Colombia in Octuber 2013. Has been promoting and working the use of Vetiver Grass around Colombia and South America, helping to create stronger networking and understanding through conferences, workshops, onsite jobs and social networking through the Internet.
Main objective with life’s project is to minimize the human footprint and have a positive effect on the environment. Focused on the development of an environmentally friendly, community friendly and financial viable technology with high levels of benefits, the main idea is to provide sustainable development solutions, creating high levels of harmony within the environment and the people.

Quyen Nquyen: works for the Vietnam Vetiver Network and is responsible for administrating the Central Highlands Vetiver Development Project (funded by TVNI).

Pablo Andrés Molina Bahamondes is an agronomist and founder of the Chilean company Bioingeniería Vetiver Chile SpA.  Pablo first imported Vetiver into Chile in 2000 and, since this time has carried out numerous Vetiver Grass Technology projects for agricultural, hydroelectric and mining enterprises in Chile. He currently works at the National Institute for Agricultural Development (INDAP), which is a part of the Chilean Ministry of Agriculture and whose mission is to promote small-scale agriculture.  In addition to being the Coordinator of the Vetiver Chilean Network, he is active in providing advice on the use of the Vetiver System in the South American region. Pablo’s work has won a number of prestigious awards and competitive grants to promote the use of vetiver in his country.

Paul Kombo propagates and markets vetiver plants, as well as applies VS to various contracted projects. He belongs to an environmental group, Mseto, and lives and works from Voi, Kenya

Russel Jardiolin, from the Philippines, is an active promoter of the Vetiver System and has a special experience in stabilizing steep slopes using vetiver and coco matting.

Noah Mary Manarang owns and operated Vetiver Farms Ltd in the Philippines. She is the most experienced vetiver growers and users in the country and had taken many initiatives to promote and expand the use of vetiver.

Ngo Duc Tho – TVNI Farming Advisor. Graduated (2007) from Hanoi University of Civil Engineering, majoring in Irrigation Engineering. He has worked the Department of Irrigation and Disaster Prevention, Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Phu Tho province, the Institute for Research and Application of Organic Agriculture. He specializes construction engineer for irrigation and hydroelectricity ,and is a certified organic agriculture consultant .
He built the Vietnamese Vetiver Farmers Community (farmers who cultivate vetiver grass) with more than 6,000 members, forming a market for vetiver seedlings between farmers and people wishing to apply the technology. He has planted vetiver grass in the Sin Cowe Island, Nam Yet, Southwest Cay islands… of the Spratly Islands, Vietnam. He Advises NGOs in Vietnam to use vetiver in sustainable livelihood projects (Plan International Vietnam, Bread for the World), Nestle Vietnam, iSee …) in Son La , Lai Chau, Cao Bang, Ha Giang, Quang Tri, Binh Thuan province. He has advised many organic agriculture projects for businesses and cooperatives using vetiver grass as a source of mulching biomass, controlling pests, reducing investment costs and adapting to climate change.

Mike Pease — Farmer, agriculturist, project manager, sailor, hiker, and once the coordinator and founder of the European and Mediterranean Vetiver Network. Whilst no longer involved (in his nineties!), he is remembered for his pioneering work in introducing VGT to Portugal and its spread to Spain.