Newsletter – Vetiver and Youth, Bio-engineering, Wastewater Treatment, Global Feedback (NL 2024-11)

This newsletter addresses Vetiver and youth, global outreach, feedback from users, and research news.

Sharing experiences and information.

The more this group and other vetiver users share their experiences the more people will use the technology. I see this happening in many countries and regions, recently especially in Latin America, India, Kenya, and Vietnam.   Key users, often with different approaches, are making real progress and creating interest for others. Sharing/information sources of current note include: the monthly webinar series “Conversatorio” hosted by Yorlene Cruz (Coordinator of the Costa Rica and member of Latin Vetiver Networks) are posted on TVNI’s Youtube channel;  the new Facebook page – Vetiver in Kenya – attracts a growing readership;  India’s Agricultural World Whatsapp, AW#VETIVER forum,  focusing on “all things vetiver” is expanding and contains lively discussion on a range of vetiver topics and applications. I am sure it will eventually reach all corners of the sub-continent and will have a profound impact. The India Vetiver Foundation will open its new website by November 30. It will be found at: www.vetiver.org.in 

Overall, feed back and discussions are improving in quality and could further improve if more descriptive text was added to some of the images that are posted. It would be helpful, where appropriate, if Lat Lon coordinates, annual rainfall, soil type and any special observations are included.  Some vetiver users worry that if they share information their competitors will unduly benefit. This is generally not the case, in fact sharing is  equivalent to promotional marketing and often benefits the sharer. Committed, experienced, and “exceptional” vetiver users with reputations for quality work should make special efforts of outreach to other potential users, community leaders, and local government officials — and inform, show and teach them the value of the technology. Such leading vetiver users can change (The Law of the Few) how people think and what they do.

It is difficult to measure progress, but feedback suggests that in most countries there has been a significant expansion of vetiver nurseries for propagation, with some cases supply unable to meet demand. Some vetiver plant orders are just for a few plants, others are for tens of thousands.

Vetiver and Youth

Teaching young people about Vetiver Grass Technology and the science supporting it, provides almost  a complete turorial in water, soil and plant relationships, and when combined with hands-on field training provides a great opportunity  for learning.

Vetiver can help revive communities especially when young persons are involved. Vetiver played a critical role in a children’s education program in Indonesia – 25 years ago – it was pivotal in establishing the East Bali Poverty Project in Indonesia – see this presentation where vetiver was used in many different applications in a very poor area of Bali.

Studies in Nigeria and experience in Vietnam show that younger persons are more responsive to new technologies. There is famous Chinese saying that ”any important things should start from children”. Children can be taught in the classroom, and through theater, and field (garden) demonstration.

In Kenya a small project, referred to later in this Newsletter will involve school children  in the rehabilitation of a small dam (Wuchuki) and its catchment to  reduce in silting and improving water quality in a semi rural/urban environment.

Global Outreach – and Feedback.

Bio-Engineering.

I am hearing grumbles that our newsletters have not giving enough attention to bio-engineering. So, I will start by highlighting some excellent examples of Vetiver Grass Technology (VGT) used for stabilizing constructed and natural slopes by local communities and/or by contractors. In most cases, when  well designed and correctly applied, the results are good.  I would like to recognize the work of Russel Jardiolin of the Philippines who has been applying VGT primarily to engineered slopes for well over 10 years and has generously shared his experience with us. He is also working with development of vetiver floating gardens suspended by bamboo poles and paths. You can see more of Russel’s work here https://www.facebook.com/groups/9168832759/user/100000292616818/

In Bangladesh, TVNI’s current Vetiver Champion, Mohammad Shariful Islam of BUET, continues to expand vetiver applications for stabilizing   embankments and sand islands in the flood prone delta areas of Bangladesh. Vetiver is planted to protect villages from riverbank erosion in Kurigram District. The soil is extremely sandy.  500 gsm geo-jute was laid first (cost of matting and installation 0.65USD/sqm), followed by vetiver planting. This will be repeated in several villages. The project is funded by UNDP.

 

VGT can play a vital role in protecting bridges and culverts from storm damage and wash-outs as well as for slope stabilization of public infrastructure and building sites. The following images were posted by Samuel Henandez of Puerto Rico.  Note the quality of applications and post planting maintenance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Colombia Claudio Ruben Daza Jimenez shared an image (above) of a vetiver protected highway bridge abutment.  The interface of soil and concrete is nearly always a weak spot. Under flood conditions soil and also rock facing can be washed away leaving an exposed and often isolated bridge. Vetiver provides excellent protection at such interfaces. On small rural roads washouts at culverts and bridges are frequent and can result in serious transport dislocation  – vetiver provides a community tool to prevent such washouts.  More images  of interest can be found on TVNI’s Facebook media section:

Vetiver services business opportunities.

Relative to bio-engineering aspects of VGT there appear to be increased opportunities to set up viable and profitable businesses that provide quality  installation of vetiver applications particularly in the non-agricultural sectors. Engineers are becoming receptive to bio-engineering techniques, and are more willing to use VGT for slope protection. Regional development banks (ADB, IADB) multilateral lenders, and other institutions  are  more aware of VGT. UNDP can be commended for providing small grants ($20,000) for community VGT programs. Some  companies have used vetiver on  large construction projects including railroads, highways, and mining. To support these and other vetiver bio-engineering needs TVNI set up a group to prepare bioengineering standards for vetiver resulting in a book authored by Mohammed Shariful Islam, in its final stage of completion, that will be available on line within the next few months.

Expanding  Vetiver Communities

BANGLADESH:

Local Government Engineering Department (LGED) of Bangladesh is involved to a large extent with rural engineering development and projects. Under LGED’s “My Village-My Town” initiative vetiver nurseries will be developed across the country to make Vetiver plant material more accessible. LGED’s interest in scaling up VGT is largely due to Prof. Mohamed Shariful Islam’s dedicated and very successful research, field applications and demonstrations over the past 20 years.

MALAWI:

Experience under the Agriculture Sector Wide Approach Project shows that climate-smart agriculture (CSA) is more beneficial when it is practiced on a larger scale compared to small fields, and when it integrates multiple practices. Therefore, beneficiaries in Chibuka village have adopted a catchment approach that ensures the entire catchment is restored and protected. Apart from vetiver planting on contours and ridge-making that serves as terraces, they have further integrated agroforestry, manure application and green cover in their fields through knowledge and inputs accessed from the project. Having invested for almost three years, the farmers are happy with the achievements attained so far.

PACIFIC ISLANDS: 

Robinson Vanoh writes: “ ….. After our training in Fiji, there seems to have been little if any follow up with the communities.  If it was done, it appears much of the  information disseminated was incorrect despite the availability of training manuals and the establishing of nurseries . …  To help correct this the Government should adopt TVNI’s VA concept.   In my view an important way forward for Vetiver or any other project is the use of independent and experienced independent Visiting Agents (VA) for regular and planned professional technical follow-up to assure and advise on proper design and technical application.

I am not sure if it’s our Island culture or a problem generally, in that when a new technology is introduced to a community, people are excited by the training, become initially active, BUT, a few months later it is forgotten. One other thing I see in Fiji and the Solomon Islands is when people are paid, they get things done, but if there is no monetary reward they tend to slack off. A survey indicated that the elderly are involved a lot more than the youths (contrary to some other countries). The youths are looking for the easy way out —  it is a frightening prospect if the youths cannot be future agents of change …. “

Vetiver grass is  nature’s dam builder. Its’ extensive and deep root system binds soil particles together, reducing soil erosion and promoting water infiltration. This is crucial for managing floodwaters. By slowing down surface runoff, Vetiver allows more water to soak into the ground, which mitigates the intensity and impact of floods. Plus, its dense foliage acts as a physical barrier, helping to break the force of moving water.

In regions prone to heavy rainfall and flooding, Vetiver grass can be strategically planted along riverbanks, slopes, and drainage systems to provide natural flood control. It’s a sustainable and eco-friendly solution that leverages the power of nature to protect communities. (Robinson Vanoh – Lae, Papua New Guinea)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

KENYA

Vetiver in Kenya – this Facebook group has updates on some vetiver applications in Kenya.

From Caleb Omolo (Rongo regenerative farmer and independent trainer):

We are getting excellent results from no-till Vetiver grass regenerative food forests that includes the Calliandra (a multipurpose tree for nitrogen fixing); vetiver grass for mulching that becomes humus to feed bacteria and fungi.  This is natural farming at its best. We don’t cultivate but allow our chickens to do the work for us, including controlling pests and shredding the leaves and the mulch. Pumpkins shade the ground protecting fungal communities against direct sunlight. The bananas are the main cash-crop they are also help  create a microclimate for better crop growth.

We are currently experiencing the short rains, so l am taking advantage to expand my Vetiver Regenerative permaculture garden. I made raised beds in a straight line. These beds consists of five layers: the first is wood ash which l collected from my neighbors (they just dump the ash in piles next to their kitchens as waste); the second is saw dust I collected from a furniture work shop in town; the third  is dry Vetiver grass straw: the fourth  is partially decomposed forest soil; the fifth and last is well made  bio complete compost manure. l will wait for two weeks for all to settle down, then l will plant my vegetables and mulch heavily with vetiver grass ….

Recently I have been engaged in small workshops in many parts of Kenya, Massi Mara, Ukambani , Bungoma  — Vetiver regenerative farming is attractive to small scale farmers and is slowly being adopted. I am happy that Peter Kingori chief training officer for  “Trees for the Future” has approached me to collaborate  to set up  a large food forest. “Trees for the Future” adopting the system, will greatly accelerate scale-up.

For my last workshop for this year l invited some NGOs to send trainers.  “Trees for the Future” (4 representing four counties), Deca Foundation (children’s education – 2), brought CREP (Food Security and environment – 5), Captain Eliud from Turkana (2), and Nancy Wambui from Kiambu (2).  Captain Eliud is a very serious man from dry and nomadic Turkana district. The area is really suffering from climate change and will be an ideal place to showcase Vetiver Regenerative Farming. The Turkana people attending the workshop are working with women and youths. …..

I am really going to push for some sort of a network among NGOs so that we can expand Vetiver Regenerative movement throughout all the counties in Kenya.

There are opportunities for experienced vetiver practitioners such as Caleb Omolo and others in Kenya to provide Visiting Agent services to NGOs to train staff and ensure that VGT applications are well designed and applied, and to offer new insights and management practices. There are many NGOs working in developing countries, and many are unaware of the potential community benefits and range of vetiver application. Including VGT in their programs would involve little cost and should provide large benefits.

From Peter Kingori and Nancy Wambui

Upscaling vetiver: ten champion farmers (Kiambu District) were issued with vetiver slips from the  bulk nursery to expand their nurseries. In April 2025, these farmers will plant hedgerows on their farms and will introduce VGT to neighboring farmers in their outreach groups. These new farmers will plant nurseries in Oct-Nov 2025 rainy season, and will also plant hedgerows. This coming year we are targeting 30 champion farmers.

We registered a group called “Reclaim your soil with vetiver” with a motto your “soil matters”. Our prayer and wish is to make vetiver a household resource for all the farming communities in Kenya.

 

Water quality improvement   Peter and Nancy have been approached by a team from “Earth Watch” that is supporting a youth group trying to save the Michuki dam from disappearing (siltation) and also improving the quality of water which has high levels of nitrates and potassium concentrations from a nearby coffee estate, and from neighboring domestic sewage. They gave a presentation on the potential of vetiver for mitigating the problem. This will also be a great opportunity to introduce vetiver to a major coffee farm. The youths will be visiting the demo site to learn what vetiver is, and how it is propagated before they start their own bulk nursery.

Mitigating the pollution issues of this dam at Michuki (Kiambu, near Nairobi) should be an interesting project to design and execute.  I downloaded at Google Earth image of the dam and took a wider look at the area. The sub-catchment (45 ha) lies between two dams (Tim’s dam at the west upper end of the catchment and Michuki at the bottom east end and comprises 15 ha coffee planted on the northern side (discharging eroded soil and polluted rain water); 15 ha of newly subdivided residential land 15 ha of land discharging large quantities of eroded soil and in the future, unless mitigated, serious sewage effluent; 10 ha of existing residential plots mainly discharging sewage effluent;  and a school.

This might make a useful and replicable vetiver based watershed model partnering the community residents, school, coffee estate, Reclaim Your Soil Vetiver Association, and Earth Watch. It could involve all the key vetiver applications: on farm erosion control, road stabilization and associated runoff diversion, pollution control using vetiver wetlands, floating pontoons,  septic system enhancement, rain gardens amongst others.This sub-catchment is typical of locations where urban and agricultural practices meet to the detriment of soil and water quality. 90% of the problem can be mitigated with vetiver.

West Pokot Land Restoration

– Jane Wegesa Fraser (Vetiver Network Coordinator for Kenya) is a leader in restoration of eroded lands using vetiver. These two before and after images are of a heavily eroded site in West Pokot County that was planted with vetiver in 2022 .  Vetiver slowed down runoff and now 2 years later, the gully is healing …

 

 

 

 

 

UGANDA

Imran Ahimbisibwe of Uganda has promoted Vetiver Grass Technology for many years, especially in efforts to reduce sediment discharge to Lake Victoria. On his own farm he uses vetiver hedgerows to reduce the velocity of rainfall runoff, spreading it out to improve infiltration, and for mulch on his banana crop.

MOROCCO 

Hayat Kribaï farm at El Gara.

Average annual rainfall 45mm. Black vertisols.  Started from a single vetiver plant, to more than 1,000 plants 2 years later. A plant that is easy to multiply and has endless advantages: Soil stabilization against erosion with roots reaching up to 3m; retains moisture in the soil thanks to its roots; medicinal, forage, mulch, pest control.  The farm is located on fertile vertisols that are not easy to protect using engineered systems

 

 

Wastewater/Effluent treatment (coffee processing and domestic applications)

It takes a long, long, time for some technologies to be adopted. Technoserve has done an excellent job in developing and applying vetiver for treatment of wastewater from coffee in a number of countries.  This article Decontaminating Coffee Wastewater with Vetiver  by Shavi Patel gives a general account of some of this work. The basis for this development  was Paul Truong’s research of the 1990s and his 2012 simplified  “Computer model for treatment of small volume wastewater”   (Spanish translation)

This simple design (see photo) could be used for treating effluent from septic tank systems, runoff water from residential lots, schools, and other community point source pollution sites. It is effective and low cost – in the case of coffee in Peru, less than US$100 per unit.

A more sophisticated, but simple,  vetiver based household sewage treatment system using sediment collection tanks and constructed vetiver wetland is described in this paper by Edwin Oyaro of Kenya. The green latrine: a low-cost sustainable sanitation solution for rural settlements (a case study of a pilot in a household setting in Busia, Kenya)

 

 

Following the Indonesian Tsunami of 2004 hundreds of vetiver toilets using vetiver constructed wetland as part of the reconstruction effort.

These models might provide an excellent opportunity  for small vetiver business ventures that could service, amongst others, urban and semi-urban customers.

Research

China Vetiver research – summarized list of  some vetiver research in China since 2018

Potential of ecological water treatment elements to reduce pollution of river water used for urban agriculture in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Terusaw Solomon · Kumelachew Yeshitela · Wondmagegn Taye Abebe

Cities such as Ethiopia’s Addis Ababa, and those in other developing countries face enormous challenges as a result of high demand for food and clean water, as well as from the generation of large amounts of urban waste that is discharged into natural water bodies, contaminating rivers, lakes, and other freshwater bodies used in urban agriculture. Farmers in Addis Ababa and nearby areas use polluted irrigation water diverted from the highly contaminated Little and Great Akaki rivers. The study aimed to assess how well a floating treatment wetland with vetiver grass could reduce irrigation water pollution at the Mekanisa-Gofa-Lafto Cooperative (MGLC) farm in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Additionally, the study sought to provide design recommendations that could be implemented at the farmer level. The irrigation water underwent a 7-day treatment using a Vetiver grass floating treatment wetland. A field test was also conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the floating treatment wetland in reducing pollutants at the study site. The results showed that the floating treatment wetland was able to reduce the Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) (73.68%), Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) (73.92%), Acidity/Basicity (pH) (0.39%), Chloride (Cl − ) (43.12%), Total Hardness (66.56%) and Total Suspended Solid (TSS) (96.21%) values, approaching the recommended irrigation water quality guideline values within 3 days. In contrast, there was an increase in Electro Conductivity (EC) (22.2%) and Sodium (Na) (15.2%) concentrations, which exceeded the recommended values, due to evapotranspiration or the entry of the surrounding soil into the irrigation water of the study site.

Effects of vetiver root on cracking of expansive soils and its mechanistic analysis

Yonggang Huang, Peng Deng , Guiyao Wang  & Hongri Zhang

The study investigated the reinforcing effect of vetiver root on soil by conducting outdoor planting tests and indoor root tests. The cracking indexes of soil specimens with varying root contents were analyzed, and a statistical model was established to determine the relationship between the cracking indexes, the number of dry and wet cycles, and the root content. ….. The study explored the mechanism of the vegetation root in inhibiting the cracking of expansive soil and determined the optimal planting density of vetiver grass through outdoor planting tests. The results indicate that: The surface crack rate (CR), total crack length (CL), and crack number (CN) in the root-soil specimen exhibited exponential growth with an increase in the number of wet and dry cycles. This growth was more pronounced during the first and second cycles. The vetiver root could effectively reduce soil crack formation, and the specimen’s cracking resistance is positively correlated with the root content. With the root content increased, the CR, CN, and CL decreased. …….. The development of the crack network was influenced by two key factors: the root content and the number of wet and dry cycles. Under the condition of planting roots, the development of crack networks in expansive soil differs from that of expansive soil with added roots, and there is no clear pattern to follow. The inhibitory effect of the vetiver root on cracking of expansive soil is related to the planting density of vetiver.

This presentation by Paul Truong expands on vetiver for treating vertisols:Practical application see:  Vetiver System For Strip Cropping On The Floodplains In Queensland, Australia.…

An experimental investigation on the effect of vetiver grass root system on the engineering properties of soil

The research described in this paper centered on exploring the potential of vetiver plant roots for reinforcing slopes and mitigating erosion. Vetiver roots act as a natural defense against erosion by shielding the soil from raindrop impact and securely anchoring the root system. A laboratory study was conducted to investigate whether hybrid vetiver roots could enhance slope stability and mechanically reinforce the soil. A shear strength test was conducted with fiber concentrations of 0 to 2% in 0.5% increments and fiber lengths adjusted between 20 and 25 mm in this study. In conclusion, the presence of vetiver roots significantly increased the soil’s shear strength. Silty clay soils were significantly affected by soil cohesiveness, especially in terms of shear strength. The study showed that adding vetiver roots to soil significantly improved the soil’s shear strength parameters (c) and optimal moisture content (OMC), while lowering maximum dry density and raising OMC slightly. In addition, root fibers were added in order to improve the California Bearing Ratio (CBR). The study also found that soil treated with vetiver root fibers had much lower discharge and permeability constants. Specifically, the permeability constant and discharge dropped by about six times in marginal soil treated with 1% vetiver root fibers. The enhanced soil properties resulting from vetiver root reinforcement suggest that reinforced soil can be effectively utilized for slope stabilization. This insight can be instrumental in leveraging plants as a natural means of erosion control and slope stabilization, providing technical justifications for their application in such contexts.

Soil Carbon Fractions under Vetiver Grass in Australia and Ethiopia Relative to other Land Uses

Bezaye Tessama, Jeff A. Baldock, Heiko Daniel, Paul Kristiansen, Zenebe Adimassu & Brian Wilson

In conclusion, vetiver has proven to be a valuable asset in accumulating stable soil organic carbon fractions, notably humus organic carbon (HOC), which exhibits long-term stability. Across sites in Australia and Ethiopia, vetiver showcased a superior capacity for HOC accumulation compared to particulate organic carbon (POC) and resistant organic carbon (ROC) fractions. This suggests its potential for enduring carbon sequestration. Our study also reveals that vetiver plantation leads to slower carbon turnover, with measured and predicted organic carbon levels falling within defined ranges across locations. The predominance of HOC in vetiver underlines its suitability for sustained carbon storage, particularly in deeper soil profiles. This emphasizes vetiver’s potential role as a sustainable solution for soil health improvement and engagement in carbon accounting initiatives such as the emerging voluntary carbon markets, particularly in developing regions like Africa. We therefore recommend the plantation of perennial grasses like vetiver and native pastures as a viable strategy for soil carbon sequestration in accordance with prompting further exploration and application of advanced carbon measurement techniques in diverse agro ecologies and land use systems.

The higher OC under vetiver probably resulted from the new carbon input due to its deep root system, root respiration and organic matter inputs (Dondini et al. 2009). Increases of OC stocks were found all through the soil profile but significance of the increase under vetiver diminished with depth. This effect was strongest at the soil surface implying that surface litter inputs dominate the sites.

Our results, therefore, confirm that using vetiver grass as a land management option does indeed result in accumulation of additional carbon relative to the previous land use but that, vetiver performs in a similar way to the other plant types studied at Gunnedah and Jimma sites.

Overall, our study showed that the dominant fraction in all sites (Australia and Ethiopia) was the humus organic carbon (HOC) for all vegetation types (vetiver, native pasture and coffee plantations) which is a more stable form of carbon and less vulnerable to rapid change than the POC.

This result implies that vetiver can accumulate the more stable form of carbon fraction which is less susceptible to rapid change/turnover. Therefore, growing vetiver could be a feasible strategy which has an implication for the high rate of stable carbon accumulation.

The result demonstrated that under vetiver the carbon loss was less which implies that vetiver production resulted in slower turnover. This result can, therefore, be an indicative to a large potential in carbon sequestration where the dominant carbon added by vetiver doesn’t change rapidly.

Videos of interest

Listed below are a selection of vetiver videos created by various users that might be shared as part of promoting and upscaling VGT.

My Climate Solution

Vetiver Grass Q&A  From The Field

Vetiver: Green Tech for the 21st Century

Vetiver, el amigo del agricultor   – Vetiver a Farmer’s Friend  (with English subtitles) (Most viewed vetiver grass video 130K views)

Vetiver en lineas de contorno en tu finca y en el paisaje

Vetiver on Contour Lines in Your Farm and in the Landscape

VETIVER GRASS | Bioengineering Technique for Slope Stabilization | Civil Engineering & Construction

Pasig River Clean up (Philippines):

Instructional video on how to prepare vetiver grass for  handicraft production

Building community resilience (Fiji) – Planting vetiver grass

Vetiver System: Philippines – – Creating a Vetiver Grass plant supply business