Vetiver Systems Hawaii LLC

Vetiver hedges, neat and trim(med)!

2010-09-03T11:54:00.000-07:00

All of us recognize Vetiver's effectiveness in many applications. It's certainly a workhorse! However, while appreciating Vetiver's subterranean abilities, some customers want their new resource to be smart AND beautiful--all the time! Vetiver in neatly trimmed hedges presents itself as a lovely ornamental, and it can easily be maintained as such.

Posting his review of a particularly sharp hedge trimmer, a law professor in LA reported: "We had a problem. We planted 500 running feet of Vetiver grass for hillside retention. Vetiver is great for bio-engineering, in our case retaining a steep hillside, but when Vetiver is fully established, we found it too tough to cut with a Fiskars hedge shears. So we tried a power hedge trimmer, which broke the grass instead of cutting it cleanly. Then we discovered that the Japanese make hedge shears with really sharp blades. So we ordered this ARS model (ARS 28- to 41-1/2-Inch Hedge Shears HS-K900Z, Ed.). The blades are razor-sharp. The tool is light; the handles are excellent. And best of all, the shears did a great job on our Vetiver hedges."

Saipan uses Vetiver to protect its reefs!

2010-08-26T12:03:00.000-07:00

According to our friends at the Saipan Tribune, "fifteen volunteers from three groups, along with staff from the Division of Environmental Quality and Coastal Resources Management Office, spent Saturday morning planting 90 plants within the Laolao Revegetation Project site.

The Volunteer Planting Day was part of a continuing restoration effort, started in 2005, to help reduce soil erosion, which causes sediment to wash into Laolao Bay and damage its coral reefs.

The Laolao Revegetation Project intends to plant over 1,000 saplings and 2,500 linear feet of Vetiver throughout the upland planting area. This volunteer tree planting was a way to show the community how important these projects are for Saipan.

DEQ Field Coordinator Nick Swaim demonstrated proper planting techniques and fertilizer placement. Six native plant species were used, propagated by DLNR Forestry at its nursery in Kagman.

Volunteers from the community included members from Teen Talk, NMC's Phi Theta Kappa, and NMC's Environmental Natural Resources Organization. The volunteers carried plants and tools as they hiked up to the planting site. Along the way they passed rows of Vetiver propagated at CREES Agriculture that had been planted by Tropical Gardens Landscapers. The planting was spread across two of the 16 sites in the project area. Fortunately, the volunteers were able to plant in the sites that boast the best views of the bay.

Volunteer Lorremel Hocog said, 'It was a fun exercise, and I'm doing it for a good cause. So it's worth every effort, and the view is amazing.'"

Vetiver's a beach- and coral-saving green shield!

2010-08-12T13:03:00.000-07:00

Thursday, August 12, 2010

This just in from our friends in Bangalore, India.

Alarmed by the rapid degradation of the coastal ecosystem and the potential danger it poses to people living along the coast, the Karnataka forest department has devised a plan to prevent further damage to the beaches.

An increase in population density and economic activities in the coastal zones is pressuring the ecosystem, which can lead to loss of biodiversity, coral reef bleaching, new diseases among organisms, hypoxia, reduced water quality, and a threat to human health due to toxins in fish and algae.

Since about 60 percent of the world’s population lives within 62 miles from an ocean, any catastrophe along coastlines will cause huge loss of life. The forest department wants to prevent such disaster by fortifying the coastal regions. It is planning a "green shield" at all the beaches in the three coastal districts of the state — from Thalapady near Mangalore to Karwar, a stretch of 192 miles.

The "shield" will be a three-tier green cover with different types of coastal vegetation. Said Manjunath Shetty, asistant conservator of forests, Kundapur subdivision, “A green carpet of ipoma biloma, a creeper which grows at beaches and pins sand to the ground, will comprise the first tier. It will provide adequate cover to the beach wildlife, like small amphibian crustaceans, turtles, and snakes.

"The second tier will be made of Vetiver, an aromatic plant known for its thick network of roots and medicinal applications.

“A thick cover of trees like casuarina, calophyllum and honge (pongamia pinnata) will make up the third tier.”

A 109-mile “green shield” will soon come up in the three coastal districts of Udupi (between Karnad and Shiroor), Uttara Kannada (from Bhatkal to Karwar), and Dakshina Kannada (from Thalapady to Karnad).

Another ‘green shield’ had been set up at Kodi Kanyana sea face in Kundapur division, Shetty said. “Chief minister BS Yeddyurappa will inspect it on August 13,” he said.

“Over the centuries, due to human intervention, beaches have lost their natural vegetative cover,"said Ananth Hegde Ashisara, chairman, Karnataka Board of Biodiversity and also Western Ghats Task Force. “No human effort will be able to arrest the advance of the sea under such conditions. But nature can repair some of the damage if we initiate natural re-generation," he said.

“The green shield will protect people from disasters like tsunami, hurricane and metallic corrosion due to saline winds,” Sundar Naik, additional principal conservator of forests, added.

Sugar cane : arsenic :: love : marriage

2010-06-30T18:19:00.000-07:00

Whew! Deriving today's title required summoning dusty recollections of analogies from the recesses of my mind. Anyway, many locals know one of Hilo's worst-kept secrets: that Hilo Bay and environs are polluted with arsenic, a by-product of the Canec industry. Canec is a building material, made only in Hawaii, that was popular and cheap, and made from sugar cane stalks treated with arsenic.

From 1932 to 1963 the Hawaiian Cane Products plant in Hilo manufactured Canec from bagasse, the fiber left after sugar cane stalks are crushed for their juices. The process included treating Canec with arsenic to deter insects and minimize mildew. Although Canec hasn't been manufactured in decades, contamination survived. At least one study reported arsenic concentrations in the sediments of Hilo Bay as high as 6370 ppm, approximately 34 times higher than anywhere else in the state.

A few years ago the plan was to cover shoreline soils with three feet of fresh soil. I'm not quite sure what that would--or did--accomplish, since the proposed fix seemed as ineffective as the discredited "solution to pollution is dilution." Nevertheless, as recently as late April, the Hawaii Tribune Herald reported that work was continuing on efforts to cover up contaminated soil on the site of the future Target and Safeway stores in Hilo, where high levels of arsenic, dioxins and petroleum compounds were found.

So, if covering up a heavy metals problem, well, only covers it, what's the alternative? Yup, you guessed it. Vetiver!

Research conducted at least since the mid 1980s confirms that Vetiver tolerates a wide range of soil acidity, alkalinity, salinity, sodicity, and elevated levels of Aluminium, Manganese, and heavy metals such as Arsenic, Cadmium, Chromium, Nickel, Lead, Zinc, Mercury, Selenium and Copper in the soil. (Truong, P., et al).

It also absorbs large quantities of heavy metals from industrial waste and, in the process, protects ground water from contamination, claim a duo of researchers at India's Kerala University.

In a paper presented at the Kerala Environment Congress 2010, concluded on Saturday, researchers D.S. Jaya and G. Dhanya report that the penetrating roots of fast-growing
Vetiver can effectively remove hazardous heavy metals from industrial effluents.

Since industrial waste poses a great threat to the environment, Vetiver will become a great boon, say the researchers, who are the faculty members of the Department of Environment Science of Kerala University. Vetiver planted around industrial firms that flush out metal-rich waste water will remove the metals from the water. "Thus the soil and ground water of the region will be protected without being degraded," Jaya said.

Large numbers of Vetiver plants could be grown in artificial wetlands around factories and industrial units and thus protect the environment, she said, adding that technologies were also available to recover the metals from the plant material.

"Another interesting fact is that the plants have shown different efficiency for absorbing different metals. Good results are shown for zinc, lead and cadmium," Jaya said.

Has Vetiver gone to the dogs? Grrr, not exactly...

2010-06-11T17:07:00.000-07:00

From the author of the Smartdogs' Weblog 6/10/10 entry, called Animal Attraction

I like to experiment with essential oils. I love perfume. Good perfume, not cheap drugstore stuff. And essential oils not only give me a way to experiment with different scent combinations, I can also use them make my own scented soaps and cleaning products.

One day as I was playing around with mixtures of different scents while surrounded by a pack of curious dogs, I thought “I wonder what the dogs think of these?”

Anyone who’s spent a bit of time with dogs understands that they don’t make the same kinds of value judgments about smells that we do. Seriously. In case you have not already noticed the obvious, your dog adores smells like shit and week old garbage and rotting flesh and he probably thinks that smells like fabric softener and Glade air freshener are utterly revolting.

It’s easy to find scents where dogs and humans disagree. I wanted to see where the dogs and I agreed. So I collected a dozen or so vials of essential oils and four dogs (the number I had on hand) and conducted an informal experiment. I put a drop of each oil on a small piece of paper then held the sample out toward each dog in turn and let each one decide whether they wanted to explore it more intimately or not.

The results were interesting.

Being courteous beasts, the dogs politely and carefully sniffed each sample offered. They seemed to react neutrally to most of the scents, generally taking a quick, cautious sniff or two then looking at me inquisitively. All four turned up their noses at eucalyptus and avoided it. Three expressed similar distaste for tea tree and two for violet. Wintergreen made one dog sneeze; the other three refused to sniff it. I didn’t force the issue. They showed a somewhat marked interest in sandalwood, patchouli and ylang-ylang, taking a few extra sniffs and pausing thoughtfully between them.

All the dogs were mesmerized by three scents – vetiver, frankincense and oak moss. Vetiver was the clear winner. All four were entranced by it. They didn’t just take a few polite whiff of the sample – they inhaled slowly and deeply, and then paused to process the aroma between each sniff. Charlie even tried to follow the bottle into the cabinet.

While an interesting little experiment, I didn’t intend to follow it up. That is, until last week, as I browsed the beauty products while waiting for my stylist.

A row of fragrances in the Aveda aisle caught my eye. I sniffed each one cautiously. Most were a lot sweeter and more citrusy than the scents I prefer, but one hit the jackpot. Chakra 1 is a blend of vetiver, frankincense (olibanum) and patchouli, strong and woody but not overpowering. Although it wasn’t something I’d ordinarily buy, it was relatively inexpensive and, given the results of my recent experiment, I suspected that the dogs might enjoy it. So I brought a sample home.

I’m glad I did. Chakra 1 has been a big hit with the beasties. When I apply it they sniff me like a freshly decorated hydrant. And if I spritz a little on one of the dog beds, the boys will roll on it in evident ecstasy.

Because the dogs and I seem to share a preference for grassy and woodsy fragrances, I decided to test their reactions to my perfume collection. While distinctly unimpressed by most of the products, Muschio di Quercia was the paws down favorite and young Charlie displays a clear and consistent interest in Privet Bloom (lemon, bergamot and verbena on top; white hyacinth in the middle, and base notes sea grass and cucumber).

It appears that I’m not the only one checking my critters' reaction to fragrance, or even the first. Tuesday’s Wall Street Journal has the details:

Zoos have long spritzed perfumes and colognes on rocks, trees and toys in an effort to keep confined animals curious.

In 2003, Pat Thomas, general curator for the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Bronx Zoo in New York, decided to get scientific about it. Working with 24 fragrances and two cheetahs, he recorded how long it took the big cats to notice the scent and how much time they spent interacting with it.

The results left barely a whiff of a doubt. Estée Lauder’s Beautiful occupied the cheetahs an average of just two seconds. Revlon’s Charlie managed 15.5 seconds. Nina Ricci’s L’Air du Temps took it up to 10.4 minutes. But the musky Obsession for Men triumphed: 11.1 minutes. That’s longer than the cats usually take to savor a meal.

Ann Gottlieb, the “nose” who helped create Obsession, believes that a a number of factors in the fragrance might render it irresistible.

“It’s a combination of this lickable vanilla heart married to this fresh green top note—it creates tension,” she says. The cologne also has synthetic animal notes like civet, a musky substance secreted by the cat of the same name, giving it particular sex appeal, she adds. “It sparks curiosity in humans and, apparently, animals.”

According to Basenotes.com, “Obsession for Men” includes topnotes of mandarin and bergamot; heart notes of lavender, myrrh, sage, clove, nutmeg and coriander and amber, musk, sandalwood, vetiver and patchouli as base notes.

Combining Obsession’s formulation data with the results of my informal research on my dogs, I’ll say that if I was interested in animal attraction I would experiment with scents featuring simple sweet heart notes like vanilla, orange and lemon combined with strong animal and woody basenotes, like topnotes lemon, bergamot, verbena; white hyacinth as a middle note and base notes sea grass and cucumberMuschio di Quercia – a deep, woodsy scent that my dogs adore.

California dreamin'...of help from Vetiver!

2010-05-30T00:13:00.000-07:00

California's myriad problems, from tempestuous wildfires to torrential rains, scream for relief. And Vetiver's been tried by the most austere conditions and been found true--in California, in the mid-1990s. Today Wolfram Alderson (Wolfram's World) dug up the history:

Worst case scenario provided for Vetiver grass planting at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

Vetiver grass was given an opportunity to demonstrate its tolerance of poor soil and environmental conditions in a "worst case scenario" at Land Lab, an 340-acre environmental study area at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. During the summer of 1994, 44 Vetiver plants were installed along a cut face slope leading up to the Land Lab Information Center.

Vetiver was among plant materials included in a revegetation project implemented by the Casa Colina Horticulture Therapy and Training Program, a Pomona-based program that provides employment and training for people with disabilities.

The goal of the revegetation project was to restore the ability of the native California Black Walnut trees on the site to seed new generations of tree saplings. Before the project, mostly old growth trees and very few young trees had survived unfavorable conditions that had previously included overgrazing, construction activities, a canopy of invasive exotic weeds, and few surviving native or understory plants. Soil conditions were very poor and heavy erosion and landslides were prevalent.

Only "moondust and shale" soil was left after construction of a road leading to the Land Lab Information Center. Topsoil and more than ten feet of earth were removed, leaving a dry, shale-pocked substance entirely devoid of organic matter. During the summer, wind and sun pummeled lifeless dust and rock that crumbled and cascaded down the slope face onto the asphalt roadway. In winter months, rains turned the material into a gray mud that frequently slipped downhill in mudslides or simply washed down the driveway in a milky flow. As a general reference, temperatures in the Los Angeles area range from 28F to 110F, with a mean of 64.4 F. Normal Los Angeles rainfall is 14.68 inches/year. Vetiver can survive with as little as 12 inches of annual rain, but average rainfall of 27.5 inches is preferable.

When the 4‰ container-sized Vetiver was planted, portable Rainbird sprinklers provided some irrigation during the initial months following planting. However, frequent waterline breaks and other challenges starved the plants for water and attention during the first year. No irrigation has occurred at all since the sporadic watering of the first year. After a three-year revegetation period, project funding was discontinued and site maintenance was abandoned.

Remarkably, as of December 1999, 90% of the Vetiver planted at the site survived the soil, the blazing sun, the afternoon winds, and even a large population of voracious rabbits that get its water and food from the vegetation. Although the Vetiver that remains would clearly look happier if they were to get a little more water, it's amazing that Vetiver survived when other native plantings did not. When Vetiver is stressed, it "hunkers down," growing lower and exhibiting more dry bades. But, as you seen here and in other Southern California Vetiver images, Vetiver has survived here while native sages and plants considered to be more drought tolerant have not. Quite an accomplishment for this simple little clump of tropical grass!

Vetiver Shows Promise for Removing Antibiotics from Water

2010-04-13T14:34:00.000-07:00

What goes in must come out, and when animals are given antibiotics, they can find their way into the water supply. Now, a Michigan Tech senior has identified one way to sop them up.

Antibiotics, like many pharmaceuticals, pass through the digestive tract largely unchanged. The resulting drug-laden waste from farms and feedlots (or for that matter, apartments and subdivisions) may be treated, but conventional methods don’t break down excreted antibiotics.

Although the concentrations are small, probably not enough to have an immediate effect on anyone drinking a cup of water, scientists fear that releasing antibiotics indiscriminately into the environment encourages the development of antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria and make it harder to treat deadly infectious diseases, such as drug-resistant tuberculosis.

“There are also problems with using this contaminated waste to fertilize crops, or the water to irrigate,” says Stephanie Smith, who graduates in May with a BS in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. Working with Rupali Datta, an associate professor of biological sciences, Smith designed an experiment using sterile Vetiver to address the issue.

Vetiver is a native of India often grown in constructed wetlands to cleanse wastewater. It is both vigorous and noninvasive, and has been used to clean up some tough customers, including TNT.

Smith grew Vetiver hydroponically in a greenhouse, exposing the plants to various concentrations of tetracycline and monensin, two antibiotics commonly used to treat dairy cattle. “We wanted to see if the Vetiver would uptake them, because if you give these antibiotics to cows, 70 percent is excreted in active form,” Smith says. “We worry that they’ll leach into the groundwater, get into drinking water and compound the problem of antibiotic resistance.”

At the end of the 12-week study, all of the tetracycline and nearly all (95.5%) of the monensin had disappeared from the hydroponic solution. Tests confirmed that the Vetiver had absorbed and metabolized both drugs into its tissue. The result)s are preliminary, says Smith, but they show that Vetiver holds promise for remediating antibiotics in wastewater.

Smith also recorded a peculiar side effect. “The Vetiver in the tetracycline solution grew faster, much faster than the controls,” she says. “The plants in monensin grew somewhat faster.”
Next, the plants will be analyzed to determine what ultimately happens to the antibiotics within the plant tissue.

Smith’s research project was supported by a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship, funded by Michigan Tech.

Lyza and Karen say, "Vetiver works!"

2010-04-10T13:28:00.000-07:00

In every movement, a time comes when "the word" becomes part of the lexicon, a time that it needs no introduction. We're not there--yet. However, glimmers of hope appear. In Hawaii, we're finally meeting people who can pronounce "Vetiver" and, in some cases, even enthusiastically relate how it can help our environment.

This week two separate bloggers embraced Vetiver--for different reasons. Thank you, Lyza Danger Gardner (lyza.com) and Karen Caplan(whatsonkarensplate.blogspot.com). Their abbreviated narratives follow.
By Lyza:

VETIVER: MIRACULOUS GRASS SMELLS FANTASTIC, PROVIDES ENVIRONMENTAL BENEFITS

Vetiver’s present in nearly 90% of Western perfumes and its aroma is a complex weave of smoke, earth, wood, secrets, calm, nuance, and sap. The fragrance has almost no edges; in its distilled form, it’s a viscous, amber syrup that you could almost put on pancakes.

The grass is native to India and related to lemongrass, and seems calibrated to the current needs of our world. It’s grown widely in Haiti, India, and Indonesia for the perfume markets of the world, but its other talents are promoted by organizations like The Vetiver Network International.

Vetiver forms the basis of the “Vetiver System,” an interplay of the plant’s unique characteristics with its environment. It provides excellent erosion control, is easy to grow, doesn’t mind toxins like heavy metals or weird algae or phosporus blooms and, by dint of its way of propagation, is non-invasive and easily controlled.

Aromatic essential oil is distilled from its roots, which grow 12-15 feet nearly straight down and control erosion. Oil from roots 18 to 24 months old is highly prized. Like other complex and wonderful smells in the world, Vetiver oil is made up of 100 or more components. One of its most prominent is Terpinen-4-ol, a terpene shared with tea tree and nutmeg oils.

While the antiseptic effects of tea tree oil have been widely tested and documented, recent research has shown that the anti-inflammatory effect of Terpinen-4-ol may also suppress tumor necrosis factor (TNF), a primary antagonist in Crohn’s Disease.

By Karen:

Mudslides, Fires and Vetiver Grass

Mudslides. Fires. It seems as if Southern California experiences these plagues every year. And this year was no exception. We had terrible fires in the fall and, as our rainy season arrive, many areas in the South experienced flash flood warnings.

My most dramatic memory was after my mother and I drove back from Palm Springs to Orange County. A few days after our trip, the news reported that the very transition road we had traveled, from Highway 60 to Highway 57, was closed due to mudslides caused by heavy rains, saturated soil and fire damage.

All I could think of was, “Why aren't they planting Vetiver grass?”

What is Vetiver, you ask? According to my friends Noel Vietmeyer and Mark Dafforn of the National Research Council, this little-known tropical grass is relatively cheap and effective at preventing soil erosion. When planted in lines along the contours of slopes, Vetiver quickly forms narrow but very dense hedges. Its stiff foliage then blocks the passage of soil and debris, and slows any runoff, giving the rain a better chance of soaking into the soil instead of rushing off the slope.

Remember the horrific 2005 mudslide in La Conchita, California (near Santa Barbara), in which ten people died when an entire mountainside collapsed on top of their homes? Well, that location was also home to the only banana plantation in the western United States – Seaside Banana Gardens. (Before the 2005 disaster, a 1995 mudslide had knocked out most of this plantation.) Fortunately, the grower, Doug Richardson, only lost his bananas – he and his family were spared.

Doug still grows bananas, however, and a few years ago he wrote us about the success of his Vetiver planting (and more exotic bananas).

So, if I had a wish, it would be that someone reading this blog would pass along this information to the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, Sunset Magazine and others, and that Vetiver would get great publicity and be planted all around Southern California so we'll NEVER have to worry about mudslides again.

So, please pass along this information…and I’ll keep you informed about how this message spreads!

Conventional v. Creative? The Father of Vetiver weighs in.

2010-03-23T17:24:00.000-07:00

John Greenfield, the author of the groundbreaking Green Book, Vetiver: The Thin Green Line Against Erosion, and the "Father of Vetiver," just posted his views about well-intentioned but misguided efforts to help developing countries conserve soil and water. They're well worth considering:
Misguided Aid to the Third World: the ‘Poverty’ Gap

“The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” It most certainly is.

Eighty percent of Third World poverty occurs among rainfed farmers and their extended families in the tropics. More than 40 years spent on the ground in these countries exposed me to a huge variety of well-intentioned aid agencies, donor countries and myriad alphabet agencies from the United Nations. Their researchers, engineers and theoretical economists have battled for decades, and battle today, to develop a workable solution to the poverty and hunger in these areas. I've met many outstanding individuals over the years, but these brilliant minds are no match for the lack of coordination and different demands and agendas of the many and varied donor agencies involved in every developing country.

Donor countries with no experience in the tropics send their "experts" into the field and make multi-million dollar investment in schemes that are doomed to failure right from the start. Government heads and UN departments listen to economists who lack field experience and allocate aid according to textbook assumptions.

A major reason for near universal failure is the myth perpetrated by successions of aid experts from developed countries that the poverty of subsistence farmers resulted from a complex historical process that does not lend itself to simple or quick solutions. Economists are injected to explain the situation, anthropologists to analyse farmers’ needs, and then engineers to construct interventions developed for temperate climes, all without seeming to reach an understanding of the basic problem. However, an interesting historical fact is that very advanced agricultural civilizations developed and flourished in some of the most arid zones of the world – in the Near East, North Africa and Central America – and then disappeared, either because they failed to conserve precious soil, water, and fuel wood, or because they employed irrigation schemes that lacked a drainage component, and ultimately salinized the most fertile alluvial areas.

The world’s population is growing at a rate close to two percent annually, and by as much as four percent in parts of Africa. Typically there are two methods of farming – irrigated and rainfed. Irrigated land accounts for about 20% of worldwide cultivation and 40% of global crop production. However, the cost of irrigation and drainage in the 1990s averaged around $10,000/hectare but could be as high as $25,000/hectare in the drier parts of Africa. Can developing countries really be expected to establish and maintain irrigated agriculture?

No.

It's quite obvious that the additional food production needed in future years must come from the 80% of cultivated land that is rainfed. The only way to address the hunger and poverty situation on a sustainable basis for subsistence farmers in the tropics is through moisture conservation, specifically by controlling runoff and making the best use of the rainfall in an area. Because of increased pressure on the land, the average subsistence rainfed farmer today, loses as much as 60% of his rainfall as runoff to the drainage network, which also causes major flooding in delta areas (Bangladesh, for instance). The runoff also carries off his soil and any remaining nutrients. Annual rainfall of 1000mm is thus reduced to an effective rainfall of only 400mm, which, if it arrives at sporadic intervals, cannot sustain a good crop, and another “drought” is declared.

Over the years, many organizations have recognized the need to control runoff and resulting soil erosion and loss and have invested a lot of effort and money in rainfed regions to address the problem mechanically, employing a battery of engineering "solutions." Contour banks, diversion banks, absorption banks, waterways, retainer walls, gabions, low dams and water harvesting schemes have proven to be unsustainable in the long term. The subsistence farmer lacks the equipment and labour required to maintain such interventions, and also takes issue with the amount of productive land taken out of production by such schemes.

The upshot is that all of this aid into rainfed areas has increased erosion, compromised production which reduces food and water, and increases poverty. The increased runoff doesn't recharge the underground aquifers that supplied fresh water to village wells or sustained perennial streams, and the resulting floods are becoming horrendous.

Lesotho, a little country in Southern Africa, is a classic example of a well-intentioned but totally inappropriate constructed soil and water conservation system that virtually destroyed it. Diversion banks and waterways have eroded into gullies and canyons, making it impossible for farmers to cross from one side of their fields to the other. Erosion is unchecked. Aid agencies have abandoned the country to its fate, never admitting their constructed conservation system was a tragic mistake.

Man’s efforts to intervene in nature have failed miserably. We are too impatient. We demand an immediate fix. Companies bring in the bulldozers, get paid and get out. The results are worldwide engineering disasters. Levees (stop banks) that are expected to control rivers in a meander plain, end with the river 30 feet above the town. Diversion systems that deprive an area of its natural runoff concentrate it in drainage networks that were never meant to handle it. All of these systems requirie massive construction and maintenance costs before ultimately failing completely and disastrously. Hurricane Katrina, for example, burst through unprotected levees in Louisiana.

What subsistent rainfed farmers need throughout the tropical world is in situ moisture conservation to produce their crops on a sustainable basis; in situ moisture conservation to produce their fuel wood; in situ moisture conservation to replenish their aquifers and once perennial streams; in situ conservation systems that farmers can install themselves and maintain without assistance.

Decades of field trials and research by dedicated scientists, extension workers and organizations across the globe have proved there is an alternative, cheaper, biological solution to resolve our erosion and pollution problems that doesn't include complicated, expensive engineering and structural designs, and contrived bureaucratic accounting and bidding procedures. It's a grass – a quite remarkable and astonishing plant known as Vetiver (Chrysopogon zizanioides).

High intensity rain storms in the tropics that cause runoff severe enough to cause erosion, landslides and mudslides, is a dynamic system that can't be controlled by static measures such as gabions, retainer walls, contour banks or even trees.

Use nature to control nature!

When planted as a single line, Vetiver forms a stiff, dense hedge that prevents erosion, forms natural terraces, increases soil moisture, and doesn't compete with companion crops. Once established, Vetiver can withstand droughts, fire and floods, and will grow on highly acid or alkaline soils. It can reclaim mine dumps, stabilize road cuttings, embankments and river banks, is economical to propagate and install, and requires only labor and hand tools.

Vetiver roots can absorb surplus nitrates and phosphates, can tolerate high levels of toxic elements such as arsenic, mercury, aluminium, and manganese, and can protect dams and harbours from siltation. This plant increases crop yields through moisture and nutrient conservation, grows only where planted, and is not a weed. Vetiver hedges will grow anywhere on any soil in the tropics (and subtropics), and, once established, will last for more than 100 years.

Over the past 20 years, The Vetiver Network International has had a major impact in the private sector and through worldwide NGOs (Non-Government Organisations), promoting Vetiver contour hedges to subsistence farmers in rainfed areas. Vetiver Systems are breathtakingly simple, and they work.

Vetiver.org provides a wealth of information, evidence, case studies and extensive references from field people who have successfully installed the Vetiver System, for those willing to open their minds and tackle sustainable development in a truly sustainable manner.

Thank you, California!! Come in, please!!

2010-03-23T16:43:00.000-07:00

California Cleans Up Waste Water Using the Vetiver System

It is always exciting to see that Vetiver can be applied so successfully to resolve a problem, and its versatility in application. Bio Clean Environmental Services in Oceanside, which specializes in storm water treatment, used just a few Vetiver plants to "scrub" highly contaminated water. Zack Kent, Storm Water Engineer, reported that the Oceanside project was an interesting opportunity because it's a very dirty site that treats wash down water from a harbor boat wash site, along with many smaller sewer spills coming from recreational vehicles (RVs) on a continuous basis. In the last two years, the system removed more than 4,000 pounds of oil-laden sediment from the pre-treatment chamber, treating 2,000 to 8,000 gallons of water daily.

Kent said that Bio-Clean chose Vetiver because of its ability to grow in saline water and address the high pollutant loads that characterize the installation. "It was a great choice and a real success story." A power point containing images and data about this project are available for viewing on TVNI's website: http://www.vetiver.org/USA_oceanside02.pdf

Approximately 18 Vetiver plants were installed in a concrete treatment box containing a special media. Said Kent, "One of the ways we get the Vetiver to grow so quickly is we don’t use any soil. It’s a soil-less media made consisting of expanded aggregates and a proprietary hydroponics media. This allows for fast growth." Within 15 months the plants developed a massive root system, which collected high uptakes of N, P and a range of heavy metals. Trimmed periodically, the Vetiver was dug up after 15 months.

The key data includes removal efficiency when comparing effluent inflow to outflow: nitrate 76%, phosphate 70%, TSS <15 microns 82% , copper 53% (undetectable), lead 100%, Zinc 79%, TPH (gasoline) 42%, TPH (diesel) 100%; TPH (motor oil) 100%, fecal coliform 84%,E. coli 79%, and Enterococci 70%

Guyana (yes, Guyana!) takes the lead. Oh, USA, is anyone there?

2010-03-16T11:42:00.000-07:00

Guyana leaps to the fore as its agricultural minister allows that Vetiver, the simple, complex plant that we love, just might be the solution to some of his country's coastal woes. The shocking convergence of international economic meltdown and horrific natural disasters might, just might, pave the way to increased adoption of Vetiver Systems on a scale heretofore unseen! It's about time, don't you think!?

"The use of Vetiver grass as a form of sea defense protection may be considered by the authorities but planting of the perennial grass will have to be tested first before widespread planting can begin, says Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud, when asked by the Stabroek News last week for a comment on use of the plant as a sea defense protector.

He stated that the authorities are studying the use of the plant, and has identified the Mon Repos Beach area as an excellent site for the test planting.

According to the Agriculture Minister, a mangrove specialist will establish the areas and try different methods of planting. He noted that the perennial grass has “great potential in the area of mud bank stabilization.”

According to Persaud, Vetiver is an effective, low cost bio-engineering technology that strengthens infrastructure protection and marsh replenishment by reliably enhancing control over soil and water management. He stated that using the plant as a form of sea defense involves planting Vetiver in a geometric or natural pattern that reinforces the dynamic processes of flow and deposition.

Vetiver is a uniquely dense, erect, deeply-rooted clump grass that is non-fertile and non-invasive. The grass, whose roots mat together, can grow as high as 1.5 meters and its roots grows downwards between six and 12 feet deep, making it an excellent erosion control plant in the tropical climate. It is also utilized for perfumery, aromatherapy and medicinal purposes in some parts of the world.

For more than a year now, Joe Coxall, a commenter on Stabroek News’ website, has extolled the virtues of Vetiver. In one of his December 2008 posts, he said “This grass can grow anywhere, but it does not spread. Instead it grows thick root bundles over 12 feet long, straight down into the earth.”

The grass itself is good cow fodder. The roots hold the soil to the land and stop the silting. Oils can be extracted from the roots, which can be twisted into string. This grass will hold together high mud embankments.

When contacted for a comment on the issue, Engineer Charles Sohan expressed reservations, recommending that authorities pursue sea and river defense infrastructure works of a more stable and permanent nature that have stood the test of time. [Perhaps Mr. Sohan should review Fiji's century-long history of Vetiver stabilization. Ed.]

Minister Persaud, while addressing the vulnerability of Guyana’s coastland to flooding and the high cost to maintain rigid engineered structures during a workshop on mangrove restoration at the Cheddi Jagan Research Centre on March 5, opined that there are other “least cost” techniques which the Mangrove Management Implementation Comewmittee (MMIC) could examine, listing the cultivation of Vetiver as an option.

Meanwhile, the Agriculture Minister outlined several areas that the Mangrove restoration project, for which some $125 million have been allocated in this year’s budget, will adopt in accordance with the Ecological Restoration of Mangroves Protoco, including:

-understanding the normal hydrologic patterns controlling the distribution and successful establishment and growth of the targeted mangrove species,

-determining the modifications and stresses of the previous mangrove environment that are currently preventing natural secondary succession, and,

-designing the restoration program to first establish the appropriate hydrology at an appropriate restoration site, and then utilizing natural volunteer mangrove propagules for plant establishment.

The MMIC, which was formed last month, is spearheading the restoration project. The committee includes ten relevant agencies, including the National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) which is coordinating the technical aspect of the implementation of the restoration program. NARI has since advertised for a Community Development Specialist to lead the Guyana Mangrove Restoration Project.

Vetiver saves beaches in Lombok...are Oahu and Kauai beaches next?

2010-01-11T23:35:00.000-08:00

Our Indonesian friends, specifically the Jakarta Post through its contributors Marcella Segre and Gil Trawangan, report Vetiver's success in stabilizing beaches and halting the erosion that killed reefs in Gili Trawangan and Gili Air.

Imagine diving off one of the beautiful shores of the Gili islands in Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, and finding yourself face to face with fishermen equipped with dynamite, intent on destroying the coral reef.

This was the reality as recently as 2002, before the Gili EcoTrust, a not-for-profit environmental organization, was established and signed an agreement with fishermen a few years later. Although the bombing has now ended, thanks to the action of local conservation officials, a need remains to continue supporting the action to ensure that fishermen, now limited to fishing in two designated areas, do not return to their old habits. Fishermen receive a monthly compensation that will be slashed if they are caught fishing outside the designated areas or using destructive cyanide and dynamite. Funded by a fee collected by dive centers, the compensation system is very successful.

“It was hard to convince the fishermen, but now our islands are more beautiful and more and more tourists come to the Gilis. It has helped all of us,” says Hari, a Gili Air resident.

The Gili EcoTrust now engages in a broad range of actions to protect the islands' environment. Its goal is to raise the awareness among people to reduce their environmental impact on a delicate ecosystem that already has been irreparably damaged. Information boards provide tips about such eco-friendly behavior as taking a shower and walking on the beach. A Clean-up Day is held the first Friday of every month, and local students attend ecology classes.

The Gili EcoTrust is actively involved in the success of a Biorock project in the Gilis. Biorock structures are electrified steel structures that encourage mineral accretion to speed up the growth of the pieces of coral attached to them. “They're not very nice to look at, but they're working,” says dive master Seb. “You can see them sticking out of the water at low tide. They look like a bunch of steel, cement and building material. But in only ten months, the beach is already back.” Thanks to 33 Biorock structures, the reefs off the Gili islands are now experiencing rapid regeneration.

The Biorock project is only part of a comprehensive anti-erosion scheme in the islands, where soil erosion is a real problem and beaches are rapidly disappearing. In Gili Air, futile attempts have been made to counter erosion by growing mangroves or placing rubble on the shores.

The Gili EcoTrust has introduced Vetiver plantings. Says Gili EcoTrust manager Delphine Robbe, “This is the best and most sustainable way to preserve our beaches.” Hotels and businesses tend to stack sandbags or build seawalls, short-term solutions that only deflect the waves, which remove more and more sand from the beach. Since Vetiver's roots can reach as deep as five meters (15 feet), it holds the sand much more effectively and also looks more natural, she says.

Vetiver makes the News!

2009-12-17T00:33:00.000-08:00

Oh, what fun it is to...be featured by veteran KHON TV news anchor Kirk Matthews on his Go Green2 segment. This week marks the anniversary of the December 11 '08 flood that submerged huge swathes of the Windward and Leeward coasts. That fact was not lost on Kirk, who masterfully added flood footage to our interview. Thank you, Kirk and KHON TV2, for your role in educating the Hawaii community about this remarkable plant!

Holiday wishes to all...in vineyards, in backyards, and everywhere!

2009-12-14T10:08:00.000-08:00

Dick Grimshaw, the executive director of The Vetiver Network International (TVNI), shares his wishes for the new year and a note of appreciation for Vetiver-enhanced wine:

"Just thought I would send you all an email of good cheer for 2010. In doing so I add this image of Vetiver and grape growing in Robertson, Western Cape of South Africa. Anelia Marais, who sent it to me, tells us that it is cut four times a year for mulching and has done a terrific job in weed suppression. She says, 'To my (very uneducated) personal taste the Vetiver wines are wonderful, with a subtle flavour. I find that the normal triticale/wheat cover crop's wine has a sharp taste.' Sounds as though Roberston might be a suitable site for a Vetiver conference!!

Dubbed the 'valley of vines and roses', the Robertson district's lime-rich soils make it eminently suitable for racehorse stud farming, and of course, for good wine. The construction of a major dam at the beginning of the century brought reliable and inexpensive irrigation which led to the proliferation of Robertson's many wine estates and cooperatives.

Situated in the Breede River Valley region, the average annual rainfall is around 400 mm. Although summer temperatures can be high, cooling coastal winds - less than 100km away - channel moisture-laden air into the valley. Today, Robertson wine is renowned. While traditionally considered white wine territory and known for its Chardonnays, Robertson is also the source of distinctive fortified dessert wines and some of the Cape's most revered Shiraz.'

If Vetiver does this for grapes, imagine what it can do for other perennial cash crops!

I am really pleased with the progress that the Vetiver System has made in the past year, starting with an exceptionally good visit to Kenya, and Ethiopia where the Vetiver System is strongly moving forward. I'm pleased to report expanded use of Vetiver in India, China, Philippines, and Madagascar, among other countries, and a lot of new interest in Central and South America, USA, Italy and southern Africa. The internet offers many more references to Vetiver Systems and this unique plant.

Although I normally don't select special people for attention, this year I want to recognize the efforts of: Jack Bertel and Warren Sullivan, who are working hard to employ Vetiver in the coastal areas of the southern United States; Alberto Rodriguez for his dissemination of Vetiver information in Puerto Rico and throughout his region; Don Miller in the Pacific, who has captured the imagination of the Coral Reef folks; Fernando Costa Pinto and Paulo Rogerio of Brazil, Carolina Rivas of Chile, Yooleny Cruz of Costa Rica; Shantanoo Bhattacharya in India; Debela Dinka in Ethiopia; Elise Pinners in Kenya, and Liyu Xu in China; and Yoann Coppin in Madagascar.

Of course I thank all the old Vetiver stalwarts - Paul Truong, John Greenfield, Roley Noffke, Mark Dafforn, Criss Juliard, Narong Chomchalow, and Jim Smyle - along with many others who continue to provide feedback and support. Thank you to all of you for your support and for sharing information about Vetiver.

The use of forums and discussion boards has allowed us to share our ideas and feelings with many others, and the feedback on their usefulness has been positive.

The Vetiver System is now accepted by many people looking for appropriate technologies that can address the problems at hand. We are lucky that Vetiver has many applications, is low cost and relatively simple to understand; and meets some of the challenges of the changing and more extreme climatic conditions that we face today.

As our gift, you will, by Christmas day, be able to buy from Amazon.com the Spanish version of the Vetiver System Technical Manual that Oscar Rodriguez - coordinator of the Latin America Vetiver Network - was so kind to translate, or get a free download from Esnips.

On that note I wish you all well."

I join Dick in wishing you a peaceful holiday season, and a prosperous, healthy New Year!
Mary

Just cruisin' with....Vetiver??!!

2009-12-07T07:47:00.000-08:00

Alarmed that people are diving off cruise ships to meet their demise? Horrified that some are tossing others overboard? Sleepless because of the worry?? It's time for Vetiver to step in!

Although alarm and horror haven't been cited as (prime) motivators, it seems that our Oil of Tranquility is due for subtle introduction into the otherwise stressful avocation of --- you guessed it, luxury lining!

"We've heard of cruise ships that smell like bunker oil and suntan lotion, but figs and almonds--and Vetiver?

These are some of the essences that will comprose a signature fragrance that MSC Cruises plans to infuse into its newest ship, the five-month-old MSC Splendida, according to a report today by industry watcher Seatrade Insider.

The news outlet says the fragrance, which will feature overtones of Vetiver, a perennial grass, was designed to enhance passengers’ sense of well-being and luxury by evoking the Mediterranean.

'Fragranced hotels are becoming a big thing and research proves that holiday memories are composed of a myriad of sensory experiences, with scent playing a key role. Seatrade Insider says the fragrance, dubbed MED by MSC, will be subtly dispersed in select areas aboard the ship via the air conditioning system and infused into cabin toiletries, table linens, bedding and towels.

MSC's fragrance announcement comes two months after luxury line Silversea said its next ship, the Silver Spirit, would have a menu of scents that can be infused through cabins upon request.

Renowned Italian perfumer Laura Tonatto has developed three options for Silversea passengers: Oltre, designed to evoke the boundless sea; Albi, made with lavender and touted as a de-stresser; and the orange-infused Fiori d'Arancio, billed as calming."

ALSO ONLINE: Sexually-charged 'cougar cruise' sets sail; Facing complaints, a cruise line no longer will add tips to bills; Recent attacks on tourists in Nassau have some passengers on edge

Vetiver...sweet (er, savory)!

2009-12-06T22:15:00.000-08:00

Always attuned to the use of Vetiver as or in fragrance and food, today I noted Veronique's post concerning "The Best Chocolate in the World." If you can swallow her initial, immodest premise that French chocolate is the best (she's tossing the gauntlet, Hawaii chocolatiers!!), then consider that Christian Constant is using botanicals in his chocolate.
"Christian Constant adds a touch of essential flower oil and spice to enhance the taste. I loved the cinnamon and jasmine green tea chocolate, and the Yemen flavor. If you dare, try Vetiver, neroli, frangipani, ylang-ylang or lemongrass," she writes. Christian Constant 37 rue d’Assas Paris 6e 01 53 63 15 15 www.christianconstant.fr
I love learning the ways that chefs employ Vetiver in their culinary creations. Those of us who delight in its fragrance appreciate Vetiver's addition to a crisp gin and tonic, and ice cream (not necessarily together!). It also makes a lovely, savory martini. Bon appetit!

Vetiver...it's not just for the birds.

2009-12-04T11:57:00.000-08:00

This feed by G. Mahadevan of The Hindu just in from Kerala, India, the birthplace of Vetiver. Our favorite plant will take a lead role in stabilizing a lake and creating a forest-like environment for birds:

Polluted and stagnant water, crumbling banks and dwindling fauna may soon be a thing of the past at the lakes inside the Thiruvananthapuram zoo. The old-world charm of the 3.5-acre lake is being recreated as part of a substantial cleaning and beautification project being implemented by the Centre for Science and Technology for Rural Development (COSTFORD).

The de-silting of the small lake at the zoo has already started. The silt from the small lake and the large, 3.5-acre one, will be deposited at the island in the middle of the latter. Clumping bamboo and Vetiver (Raamacham) will be planted along the perimeter to prevent soil erosion. In addition to purifying the air, Vetiver plants also soak up heavy metals present in the lake’s water, COSTFORD director P.B. Sajan told The Hindu.

Varieties of fish endemic to the State, and quickly reproducing, will be introduced in the water body to ensure an adequate supply of food for the large number of birds, including migratory ones, that visit the lake every day. The 1.5-acre patch of land that straddles the lake and the zoo’s boundary wall will be densely planted with trees, creepers and climbers.

The idea is to create a forest-like environment for the birds to rest and nest. Visitors will not be permitted to access this part of the lake.

An observation deck and a tower will allow visitors to see the birds at their natural best. While the deck will jut out into the lake to allow visitors to see the fish, the tower will be tall enough to allow a clear view of the lake’s island. The designs of the deck and the tower will complement the lake’s ambience.

As part of the project, rainwater that now drains from the zoo compound will be directed to a settling pond near the small lake, and then flow to the small lake. Water will enter the city’s drainage system only when the large lake overflows. Intermittent flow of rainwater through the two lakes will keep their waters fresh. A spring that feeds the small lake has temporarily been diverted to facilitate de-silting activities.

Once the lakes are cleaned and beautified a fishpond—with a fountain—encircled by benches and seats, will be created on the lawns near the Museum’s Corporation gate. This will replace the present visitor center, which is the bandstand opposite the Museum compound. March 2010 is the targeted completion deadline, Mr. Sajan adds.

Granny (Goose) Goes Green!

2009-10-06T16:47:00.000-07:00

Aloha! This month Hawaii's own Granny Goose, aka George Groves, features Vetiver Systems Hawaii on his "Lyfestyles" segment. Granny's among the best known local media personalities, having been a radio and television personna for many years. Check us out! Granny does know best!

Vetiver: deeply rooted in Happiness

2009-09-20T00:08:00.000-07:00

I just knew there was a reason that Vetiver--the plant itself, not even its myriad applications--makes me feel positively giddy with delight. Apparently my pleasure is well grounded, er, founded. This just in from our Indian friends Sathyanarayana Bhat, Ph.D, and Narayana Upadhyaya, from Aditi Organic Certifications Pvt. Ltd., in Bangalore:

Vetiver Systems for Rural livelihood and Prosperity

Usheera Grass

Indians have known Usheera or Lavancha for at least 5,000 years. Although this humble Indian grass travelled abroad just 25 years ago, people from more than 100 countries now teach us how to use it for applications from organic farming to tsunami prevention.

Ramayana stories teach that twins of Lord Rama, raised by sages, were named after two Natural beings. "Lava" is a type of small bird, and "kusha" is a grass. Fragrant-rooted Khus (from Kusha - Sanskrit)is Vetiver grass! Khus means joy and happiness. Thus Vetiver's aromatic root is considered to be not only useful in Vedic rituals but also as grass that brings happiness. As a matter of fact, Vetiver conserves our nature. It's a life-saving drug, and it is a panacea for all problems of Environment and Farming.

Vetiver has leaves that grow up to six feet and roots as deep as 30 feet! People often call it a living nail. Without exaggeration, this is a fact! Imagine the height of one coconut tree under the ground. This is the depth that this clump reaches underneath the ground! The soil binding and water holding capacity of your land is facilitated by planting Vetiver in your village or farming land. Even bulldozers cannot uproot its strong, deep root system. So this plant definitely can work as a “living nail” particularly in coastal areas, not only to prevent erosion during monsoon months, but also protect against dreaded tsunami currents! Many experiments using Vetiver to prevent landslides have confirmed that it keeps soil together without using cement.

Other uses of Vetiver plant:

Well-grown plants yield lot of leaf material, which is very good mulch.
Its tender leaves are wonderful fodder for livestock. It enriches the quality and increases the amount of milk.
The leaves are used for thatching roofs. Eco-friendly sheds and houses minimize the use of cement.
The grass blades are a good source of raw material for handicrafts and hand-made paper. Thus Vetiver is a good resource for rural employment.
The root system effectively rejuvenates soil, improving soil fertility. In the course of time, Vetiver will convert fallow lands to fertile lands.
Grown in contaminated or heavy metal water, Vetiver can definitely purify it. This is helpful when industrial sewage water flows onto fertile land.
The aromatic oil distilled from Vetiver root is very expensive, so it has good market potential.
Vetiver roots are considered very good Ayurvedic medicine. They are used in Human and Livestock medicine, curing hyperacidity, piles, bleeding disorders, skin diseases, and urinary tract problems.
Senegalese farmers have found that yield is increased when Vetiver is intercropped with horticultural crops. Farmer Tony Cisse says that augmenting fruit trees with Vetiver conserves water and facilitates the increased absorption of nutrients.
Vetiver withstands hostile climates and situations, and even grows in mine dumps, where it gradually improves the soil. It even grows in waterlogged and coastal areas.
Even if fire destroys the leaves, its roots can generate the shoot system.
Diluted Vetiver oil is a very good pesticide and termite repellent. It can also prevent many plant pathogens. A leaf concoction is also mildly fungicidal.
Vetiver leaves are very good raw material for vermi-composting.

Maui--and Vetiver--are No Ka Oe!

2009-07-13T00:19:00.000-07:00

Earlier this month, Deb and I spent a couple of days in Maui checking on Vetiver installations and enjoying the company of new and old friends. Our first stop was Lahainaluna High School, the oldest high school west of the Rockies, where history and a sense of present purpose converge. As I gazed at the juvenile planting, vivid memories of the lovely March 31st installation washed over me. Under the capable direction of working managers LHS Ag Instructor Keith Ideoka and LHS benefactor Gunars Valkirs, among others, a small group of bright, enthusiastic students nimbly clambered up the bare slope to plant Vetiver slips. As school resumes, and fall relaxes into winter, I trust that these kids--and school leaders--will recognize that the rain has finally met its match. Rushing water will no longer slice topsoil off this slope, leaving its mess on the greenhouses below!

After the school visit, we visited a beautiful Kapalua hillside estate, where a remarkable 10-month old Vetiver installation occupies a prominent place in the landscape design. Kudos to Inoke Taufa and his Friendly Island Landscaping crew, who installed a striking perimeter border and stabilized slopes using plant material from Vetiver Systems Hawaii. In another couple of months, the hedges will be dense and sturdy enough to contain the owners’ four dogs--not that they'd ever want to leave their very special Eden!

It's hot...and Vetiver's cool.

2009-06-17T11:35:00.000-07:00

Vetiver Systems Hawaii just completed its first exhibition at Pacific Expos' 32nd Annual Home and Garden Expo at Honolulu's Blaisdell Exhibition Hall this weekend. Largely an educational opportunity, I was struck by the number of people who desperately need effective slope stabilization that won't leave them penniless. Vetiver was warmly received, and I look forward to visiting those who'd like to explore Vetiver's specific application to their sites.

We've barely reached the middle of June and the weather in Honolulu is sizzling. Oahu farmers are not immune to water shortages. Ever helpful, Dick Grimshaw sent along this link to a Thai paper addressing (and quantifying) Vetiver's ability to maintain moisture and recharge groundwater:
http://www.vetiver.org/ICV4pdfs/DAS01.pdf.
a hui hou,
Mary

A Tale of Two Islands, one w/Vetiver, one w/o: Vanuatu and Molokai

2009-06-03T13:57:00.001-07:00

This follows on the heels of 5/31/09 front page articles in Honolulu's two major newspapers, Honolulu Advertiser and Honolulu Star Bulletin, addressing the suffocation of Molokai's reef. Unfortunately, both articles gave solutions short shrift, and cursorily presented fences as a solution. Appallingly absent was mention of the use of vegetative barriers to halt the flow of sediment to the ocean--a low-cost, highly effective, permanent solution to the problem.

How do we know this?

Because we can evaluate the results of a decade-long effort in Vanuatu, whose problems mirrored those of present-day Molokai. From 1995 to 2002, Don Miller, an experienced erosion expert, led a band of dedicated local volunteers armed with sacks of Vetiver slips into Vanuatu's southern gullies, where they systematically installed rows of plants into weathered volcanic tuff and breccia on grades of approximately 35degrees where no plantings had survived. When awash in heavy rains, the bare slopes were dumping high volumes of silt onto nearby coral reefs.

Although the erosion control project was closed down shortly after the installations (the government cited "lack of funds"), the good work had been done. Vetiver slips and indigenous plantings grew into semi-permeable hedges that filtered out sediment before it reached the island's coastal waters and the reef.

Today the Fisheries Department reports dramatically improved conditions on the reefs down current from areas that have been stabilized by established Vetiver hedges for several years. Large volumes of sediment have been retained and some areas now boast a nearly-complete cover of indigenous shrubs on previously infertile, bare, eroding land. Along with the reef, the shellfish industry has recovered, and ni-Vanuatuan fishermen are happy--and grateful.

Could this success story be repeated in Hawaii? Absolutely. Success requires completion of four steps: coordination by stakeholders (landlords and land-users), an installation plan, Vetiver plants, and installers. Whaddya say, eh?! Call me: 808-536-5444. I'll answer.

To see Don Miller's remarkable work on Vanuatu, visit vetiver.org and enter Vanuatu Vetiver to access Don's Picassa gallery.

Vetiver! Now there's a plant you can take to the (em)Bank!

2009-04-19T10:49:00.000-07:00

During the last couple of months, I've met many people on Oahu who were affected by the December flooding. Mother Nature's handiwork is pretty remarkable. She quickly carved out huge hunks of earth, displaying none of her typical finesse. Owners of property adjacent to waterways lost as many as 15 feet of land. Dwellers in the affected areas cleaned up silt and debris for weeks. I don't need to tell Hawaii residents that the dirt ultimately landed in the ocean. The governor declared a disaster and a flood of federal money was finally released. Now's the perfect time to take a measured approach to stabilizing our banks--not only the multinational institutions that profited mightily while ruining our economy, but the embankments that protect our waterways and ensure that our homes remain "flood-free" areas.

Not surprisingly, Dick Grimshaw has wise perspective on the subject. Refreshed after his recent trip to Africa, where farmers still sing praises to the World Bank agronomists, like Dick, who introduced them to the Vetiver System more than 20 years ago, he shares some prescient observations:

We face major economic and environmental problems from river bank erosion and the collapse of dikes and levees. Climate change accelerates these changes by bringing extreme wind and rainfall events. Although many people are familiar with the Vetiver System and have carefully studied the supporting research data and results of actual site applications and promote its use to stabilize water-related structures, others find it difficult to accept the fact that Vetiver is uniquely suited for such purposes. The latter normally cite three main reasons for not using Vetiver: (1) a preference for native plants; (2) fear that Vetiver will escape and invade the environment, and; (3) other species are better suited to slope stabilization.

Let me address these concerns.

1. Native plant preference. If native plants can solve the problem at reasonable cost and for the long term, we certainly support their use. Remember, though, that native plants typically are very site specific, and perform well under some conditions. They generally cannot withstand the wide range of challenges posed by a particular site, including prolonged flooding, wave action, erosion, changes in soil composition, human activity and misuse.

2. Vetiver might become invasive. All evidence suggests otherwise for cultivars of Chrysopogon zizanioides that have been derived from the south Indian non-fertile Vetiver. These cultivars are named "Sunshine," "Monto," "Karnataka," "Silent Valley," and others. DNA research performed by Adams and Dafforn clearly link these cultivars as a single clone that is widely used throughout the tropics, and are all non-fertile.

The USDA Forest Service maintains a risk assessment data base called Pacific Island Eco-system at Risk (PIER). Applying 50 criteria, this data base classifies all potentially risky plants based on their potential for invasiveness. Plants with ratings of 1 or less are acceptable. Vetiver's rating is -8, the lowest risk of invasiveness. Compare Vetiver's rating with some other plants commonly used for soil conservation and bank stabilization:

Bahia grass (Paspalum notatum) Rating 18
Bermuda grass (Cynodon dactylum) Rating 5
Elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum) Rating 18
Guinea grass (Panicum maximum) Rating 17
Kikuyu grass (Pennisetum clandastinum) Rating 18
Rhodes grass (Chloris gayana) Rating 18
Switch grass (Panicum virgatum ) Rating 11
Vetiver grass (Chrysopogon zizanioides) Rating -8

You can review these ratings and those of other species at: http://www.hear.org/pier/index.html

3. Choice of species for river and levee stabilization. River banks collapse because of current damage, wave action, the wetting and slumping of non-cohesive soils and/or by piping caused by the rotting of dead lateral tree roots. A cardinal engineering rule is not to allow trees to grow on embankments next to water. Past designs for bank protection have included rock and rip rap or a combination of rip rap and turf grasses such as Bahia grass. However, under extreme flooding and storm conditions, these measures have failed quite dramatically and expensively. On the other hand, the Vetiver System is an effective alternative. Forty provinces in Vietnam now use VS to stabilize sea dikes and levees, with a high degree of success and at great cost savings. Research underlying this work has been completed by the Vietnamese and by Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, one of the world's leading centers for hydraulic research.

Let me quote some concluding remarks of the study entitled "Vetiver Grass for River Bank Stabilisation" by D.J. Jaspers-Focks and A. Algera, Delft University of Technology, C.B. van Bossestraat 11, 5612 SC Eindhoven, The Netherlands (d.j.jasperfocks@gmail.com)

Vetiver grass is a sustainable and innovative solution to protect river banks and dikes. It thrives under a wide variety of conditions. Although growth rates are lower with a high groundwater level, it still thrives around the SWL, in contrast to sod-forming grasses. This clearly shows that Vetiver can be used at SWL as well as on dikes where the phreatic level can be low.

Vetiver is able to establish a full-stop of bank erosion caused by rapid drawdown. Therefore it provides us with strong indications that it is highly suitable as an anti-erosion measure. A combination of cohesive soil and Vetiver provides the best protection against erosion, which implies that it is highly suitable for banks in delta areas, which consist predominantly of cohesive soil.

A single hedge of Vetiver planted on the outer slope of a dike can reduce the wave runup volume by 55%, in contrast to sod grasses that provide no reduction. Planting multiple hedges along the contour of the outer slope might result in even more reduction. Installing Vetiver on existing dikes may substantially reinforce them.

The advantages of Vetiver over conventional methods with the use of stone are many:

Vetiver is not invasive and no significant diseases are known. Vetiver will, in contrast to traditional methods, increase in strength over time. Vetiver is an economically attractive solution. In most Southeast Asian countries countries Vetiver can be planted cheaply, while solutions consisting of stone and concrete are expensive in delta areas.
Vetiver allows people to protect their own property. Since its cost is low and it is easy to use, local initiatives can be easily achieved.
Vetiver can be an aesthetically good solution and is a socially-acceptable solution for bank protection.

This research study also found:

Influence of soil type and phreatic level on Vetiver:

* Cohesive soil reduced the growth rate of Vetiver by approximately 50% compared to a noncohesive soil, which is significant. Further, a decrease in phreatic level of 0,17 m resulted in significantly higher growth rates, in the order of 10-20%.

Vetiver as bank protection against vessel-induced loads:

* The influence of Vetiver on small scale mass failure was tested using a physical model test. The drawdown caused by passing ships was reproduced using a wave flume. The amount of eroded material of cohesive soil (clay) was approximately 8-10 times smaller using Vetiver. The erosion of non-cohesive soil was also reduced dramatically. A combination of cohesive soil and Vetiver had the lowest amount of erosion and, after approximately 800-1000 cycles,the erosion fully stopped.

Given its high evaporation rates, Vetiver in hot climates can act as a pump to remove excess water in embankments and thus reduce hydraulic pore pressure in the soil. The likelihood of slope collapse increases significantly when hydraulic pore pressure increases. Add to this Vetiver roots' high tensile strength (4-6 times greater than Bahia and other grasses), and we have a very formidable and useful plant for slope stabilization.

Although other nations are using VS applications, I remain very concerned that Vetiver's potential is not being exploited here in the United States. We certainly recognize that people have different agendas. However, although the profitability of using hard engineering techniques is much higher and undoubtedly more attractive to the designer and vendor, it's not to the taxpayer who ultimately shoulders the cost of porkbarrel or ill-conceived Federal and state projects, as well as the cost of their damage and failure.

The greatest block to wider use in this country is the unfounded fear that Vetiver might become an invasive plant--which it most definitely is NOT--and an often deliberate neglect and even scorn of good science (of which there is A LOT) by people who should know better and who fail to properly investigate the true value of this remarkable plant and its applications.

A rose by any other name is still...Vetiver

2009-02-27T19:44:00.000-08:00

Whether you call Vetiver grass Vetyver, Vetivert, Akar Wangi (Indonesia), or Khus Khus (India), it's the same plant, and a quite remarkable one at that! Dick Grimshaw crunches the numbers and summarizes the benefits of the Vetiver System:

As resource and infrastructure protection, Vetiver
Reduces soil loss by up to 90%, and rainfall runoff by up to 70%.
Improves soil moisture, reduces nutrient losses, and reduces the impact of drought--increasing crop yields up to 50%.
Improves the survival and growth of planted trees by as much as 80%.
Stabilizes inhospitable areas, creating a welcoming environment for re-establishment of indigenous plants. (Rick Barboza, this application has your name on it!)
Improves groundwater, stream and spring flow, and regeneration of wetlands.
Improves water quality and reduces pollution by containing and treating waste.
Protects farm canals, drains, roads, and buildings, and reduces maintenance costs.
Protects land and property from floods.

Vetiver helps farms and farm families by generating
Long-lasting mulch which holds soil moisture, organic matter and nutrients.
Forage, up to 70 tons of dry matter/ha (high-yield) if managed and cut regularly.
Durable thatch and rope that last much longer than other thatching material.
Fuel, since mature grass has a high energy value, and potential as a community energy source (direct burning as green fuel and as feedstock for biogas plants).
A pest-control system of push-pull maize/sorghum stem borer reduction.
Handicraft material. Vetiver leaves are long, slender and stiff; like lauhala, it's wonderfully suited to weaving.
More Vetiver plant material. Sales of plant material can be highly profitable.
Fragrant roots for use in cooking, medicine (internal and external), and aromatherapy.

What an extraordinary plant!!

The Vetiver Solution, or, why we do what we do

2009-02-15T10:33:00.000-08:00

Sometimes people wonder at the passion we Vetiverites display when discussing Vetiver and its applications. Friday I found our zeal matched by that of Ray Anderson, Time Magazine's "green CEO" and featured luminary in the movie, The Corporation. I attended his address at the University of Hawaii and learned the reasons that, 14 years ago, he totally revised the business-as-usual focus of his successful carpet company.

Quietly compelling, Anderson, 74, speaks in a warm Georgia drawl with persuasive authority and unmistakable commitment. His personal epiphany occurred in 1994, when he considered how he would answer a journalist's question, "What is your company doing for the environment?" The query led him to Hawkins' Ecology of Commerce, specifically the chapter entitled "The Death of Birth." He resolved then to become part of the solution and to lead his company to sustainability, "one mind at a time." Since then, he's presided over a dramatic shift in the way carpet companies manufacture and reclaim their products, so-called "life after life," dispelling the arguments of contrarians along the way.

Anderson believes this culture shift is the second in American life. The first was the industrial revolution. He calls the second "Rachel Carson's revolution. Stakeholders have to decide their relationship to the Earth. The choice is to hurt it or help it." He's watched the green building movement develop momentum and tremendous clout in the marketplace. He witnessed attendance at the annual Green Building Conference grow from 134 in 1997 to more than 25,000 in 2008, and credits the rising levels of public awareness. "How many of you know an ex-environmentalist?" he queried. When no one raised a hand, he remarked that the response mirrors that of the approximately 150 audiences he addresses each year. He's convinced that, given the opportunity to change "global climate disruption" and improve our environment, the vast majority will change their lifestyles. The others will ultimately die.

So, why do we Vetiver pioneers buck the status quo? Because we believe that businesses and individuals, given the opportunity, will choose to use a proven, green technology to improve the environment.

My credo?

I believe that people, given a viable, economical solution, want to eliminate the runoff that creates a deadly brown lei around our coastline and chokes our reefs.
I believe that our municipal entities want to stabilize and green the slashes and gaping red holes in the hillsides that line our highways and roads.

I believe that the military wants to restore and heal the earth that it regularly ravages during its training exercises.

I believe that homeowners would rather establish small Vetiver leachfields than suffer inevitable blankets of sh*t created by overflowing cesspools and septic tanks following heavy rains.

I believe that homeowners, given the choice, would choose a vegetative barrier over conventional concrete and re-bar to stabilize the slopes on which their homes perch.

I believe that Vetiver is bioengineering for the 21st Century whose time is now.

Vetiver is a soft engineering solution that protects slopes, banks and cuttings that, in many cases, is environmentally, technically and economically superior to hard engineering solutions. It's green, economical, and permanent. And its formidable root system has a documented tensile strength of 75 mPA (one-sixth mild steel).

Infrastructure protection. Planted on slopes, banks and cuttings, Vetiver is a permanent, stabilizing solution.

Vetiver stops excessive soil erosion. (Tantalus? Kahekili Highway? Kailua Road? Pali? Waianae?)
Vetiver planted on unstable slopes reduces rockfalls and landslides. (Hawaii Kai? Nuuanu?)
Vetiver protects causeways and floodways. (Laie? Waialua? Haleiwa?)

Sewage/wastewater/sanitation treatment. Planted in constructed wetlands and leach fields, Vetiver filters wastewater.

Vetiver roots filter wastewater outfalls and landfill leachates. (Lake Wilson? Waimanalo Gulch?)
Vetiver dries soakage areas and improves percolation.

Land management. DLNR, Marine Corps, Navy, Army, OHA, KS/BE?

Vetiver contour hedges promote sustainable farming on slopes. (Coffee, tea, banana, grapes, basil...)
Vetiver stabilizes eroding river banks. More economical than gabions, Vetiver reduces sediment loads from run-off, improves water quality, and reduces nutrient loads and eutrophication risk.
Vetiver stabilizes and protects storm water and irrigation canals. Its leaves filter sediment and rubbish, and its roots filter soluble nutrients and chemicals.
Vetiver stabilizes aquaculture ponds and access paths.
Mature Vetiver and fencing wire effectively confine livestock.

Fore!! Of course Vetiver takes on "rough" challenges

2009-01-26T08:26:00.000-08:00

We Vetiver enthusiasts admire Vetiver as a truly multi-faceted plant. We tout its ability to stabilize slopes and stop erosion. Its roots smell great and disgust the Formosan ground termite. Vetiver removes contaminants from water and soil. However, it looks great, too! As a landscaping plant, it adds height to ornamental settings, and individual plants and hedges can be shaped and manicured. When allowed to bloom, its sterile purple flowers are striking.

Dick Grimshaw reported last week that the premier course Golf du Chateau in Mauritius features Vetiver on its links. Agriflora's Alberto Rodriguez was hot on the story. He reports:

It takes a spectacular setting such as the golf course Golf du Château in the island of Mauritius to drive this point home and give us new appreciation for our hard-working plants. Landscape artist Patrick Watson selected the grass for this course, and Peter Matkovich of Matkovich and Hayes Golf Estates Solutions in South Africa transformed his vision into reality, using Vetiver to line the fairways. Vetiver was selected not only because of its beautiful contrast to the green paspalum at different times of the year, but for its ability to stabilize the soils on its steep slopes, particularly since Mauritius is subject to high rainfall. Needless to say, you don't want your ball to land in this “rough!”

As with most landscaping grasses, Vetiver needs care and maintenance to maintain this elegant look. Consistent watering, fertilization and bi-annual cutting and cleaning are required, but, for those up to the task, the results can be amazing.

Hawaii landscapers, course designers and developers, take note!!

Madagascar--Vetiver a savior in desperate times

2009-01-11T13:38:00.000-08:00

Through Dick Grimshaw, Yoann Coppin of Madagascar reports that he and his fellow Malagasy farmers are convinced that the Vetiver System can solve their many problems related to soil fertility, depleted water resources and other natural resource issues, particularly those implicated by the loss of tropical forest, and destruction of coral reef:

Since the end of December I have been in the village where in 2003 I undertook my first project with Vetiver on the East Coast: to conserve soil on sloping lands following cut and burning, and to promote sustainable agriculture. Although it has no electricity, no phone network, and no internet access, some rainforest remains, with an impressive biodiversity, and that is now rare in Madagascar. This village is a wonderful place, but the widespread deforestation, resulting from traditional agricultural practices, and exploitation of its precious wood resources, destroys more and more of its wealth. Cyclone Ivan and a particularly dry 2008 have impacted the vegetation, soil and groundwater. My 70-year-old friend has never seen the village's coconut trees in such poor shape: their leaves are brown, and only a few trees produced coconuts last year. We're supposed to be in the rainy season but the weather is dry and the sun shines hard. Educated people know that, apart from climate change, these changes are the result of the way we manage our environment. On the mountains, where some small forests survive, farmers cut and burn before cultivating, which reduces water and vegetation. No one takes care of the soil and maintains its fertility, even on sloping lands with fine, cultivable soils. During the rainy season, erosion strips the soil and leaves rivers full of sediment that ends up on the coral reefs. Mangroves are cut and burned for real estate development, resulting in more coastal erosion (fewer and fewer coral reefs and mangroves), less protection against cyclones, less groundwater, less fertile soil, and fewer forest and marine resources. Even as we watch our environnment diminishing year after year, no efficient initiatives are undertaken. The Vetiver System could be the solution, and I would like to start a new project.

In any case, since 2003 a lot of villagers have adopted Vetiver in this area. Before I initiated my project the area had no Vetiver. Only a few farmers adopted it to conserve soil and water because there was neither money nor time to sustain the project. In contrast, in another area where I worked for nearly two years for an NGO and introduced Vetiver, many farmers use Vetiver for farm soil and water conservation at their own initiative. They saw its benefits, especially for ginger and tumeric. When I first promoted the Vetiver System there, I gave farmers plant material and money to plant it on their land. Now they use Vetiver at their own expense. This proves that Vetiver is an efficient solution that farmers can apply on a large scale with huge potential for other applications. Now is the time to act, because the environnmental situation in Madagascar is desperate; the thermometer reads that only 10% of the rainforest remains.

TVNI awards Vetiver Systems Hawaii a "Certificate of Technical Excellence"

2008-12-20T19:46:00.000-08:00

This week The Vetiver Network International awarded several of its members well-deserved Certificates of Technical Excellence. These certificates recognize high quality work and a demonstration of a high level of knowledge in specific areas of the Vetiver System technology.

Classification of those certified and their area of excellence make it easier for potential customers to assess their capability and expertise. Vetiver Systems Hawaii LLC is very pleased to announce that it has received its Class 2 Certification for "Vetiver propagation and nursery management, soil conservation, and Vetiver information dissemination." VSH appreciates the support of its customers and readers, and congratulates its international friends and colleagues who also received certifications. The 2008 list includes:

Class 1: Qualified in at least three areas of specific applications:
Doug Richardson - USA Vetiver Propagation and Nursery Management, Slope Stabilization, Landscaping and Agriculture
Mary Noah Manarang - Philippines Vetiver Propagation, Erosion Control, Slope Stabilization, and Contaminated Land Rehabilitation
Roley Noffke - South Africa Propagation, Erosion Control, Slope Stabilization, Contaminated Land Rehabilitation, and Vetiver Community Involvement

Class 2: Qualified in at least two areas of specific applications:
Norman Vant Hoff - Indonesia Vetiver Propagation and Nursery Management, Waste Water Management and Pollution Control
Yoann Coppin - Madagascar Vetiver Propagation and Nursery management, Slope Stabilization, and Vetiver Community Involvement
Don Miller - New Zealand Erosion Control, Watershed Conservation, Vetiver Propagation and Comunity Involvement
Marco Forti - Italy Vetiver Propagation and Nursery Management, Erosion Control, Soil Conservation and Vetiver Information Dissemination
Alberto Rodriguez - Puerto Rico Vetiver Propagation and Nursery Management, Soil Conservation, and Vetiver Information Dissemination
Mary A. Wikowski - Hawaii Vetiver Propagation and Nursery Management, Soil Conservation, and Vetiver Information Dissemination

If it's raining, it's Vetiver weather!

2008-12-14T13:47:00.000-08:00

It doesn't take much to return Vetiver's true mission to front and center. Well, I suppose it depends on whether you consider 14 inches of rain in 12 hours to be "much."

Heavy rains on Oahu swamped local homes and farmlands on its North Shore, central island, and leeward coast, hitting hard the communities of Laie, Hauula, Haleiwa and Wailua, Waipahu and Waianae, among others. Raw sewage overflowed from Ewa Beach cesspools, and that problem resurfaced (!) in North Shore communities which historically suffer when their septic systems cannot handle heavy rain. Wahiawa and Sand Island wastewaster treatment plants overflowed, too. Honolulu Harbor and the beleagered Lake Wilson were the depositories. Military waste treatment facilities were equally unprepared. My Marines at MCB Kaneohe Bay lost thousands of gallons of untreated sewage into Kaneohe Bay and the Mokapu Central Drainage Channel. The army at Schofield Barracks deposited nearly a million gallons of effluent into Kaukonahua Stream and into its storm drains. Coastal waters turned brown from runoff, and motorists were greeted with the first mudslides of the season.

A levee in Waianae Valley constructed by the city to prevent water from flowing into residents' backyards along Puuhulu Road burst, forming a brown stream that destroyed the very yards it was intended to protect. Homeowner Virgil Haynes lost her beehives.

AND...a very simple technology could have anticipated the annual devastation and mitigated the results: the VETIVER SOLUTION.

Cane Fire! Vetiver hedges protect sugar cane, too

2008-12-10T21:02:00.000-08:00

This is the second story today that I've cockaroached from The Vetiver Network. The following exchange between Dick Grimshaw and John Greenfield addresses the application of the Vetiver System to agriculture dear to Hawaii: sugar cane fields and native forests.

From Dick Grimshaw:

The recent fires in California remind us of its devastation to property and to the local ecology. Often these fires are so hot that they burn off most of the ground vegetation. Recovery is
slow and, during the delay, the land is exposed to rainfall and resulting erosion, high rainfall runoff, and sometimes land slippage.

Plenty of evidence shows that it's difficult to burn green Vetiver. Although Vetiver may burn off, sometimes completely, when it's dry, it recovers quickly within weeks. This enables the hedge to meet its design objectives.

Green vetiver hedges are very dense, and fire has difficulty penetrating them. Under these conditions, the hedge acts as a fire break to slow creeping fires. Where Vetiver in Fiji was grown in conjunction with sugar cane it survived the annual fire that was set before the cane harvest.

On Vanuatu (South Pacific) Vetiver hedges were used to improve moisture and soil fertility to facilitate the replanting of forests destroyed by fire. This successful process is described on the TVNI website. The new forests were also subject to fire; those that were burned recovered quite quickly because the Vetiver started regrowing (ex-hibernation) as soon as the tree canopy was incinerated. The revived hedges reduced erosion and runoff which helped the trees to recover quickly.

Find representative images of this Vetiver recovery at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/VetiverNetwork/VetiverSystemsAndFire#

John Greenfield responds:

Dick has made a valid point here: green Vetiver hedges in the tropics are virtually fireproof. Let me make a slight correction to keep the record straight.

Dick reports that Vetiver in Fiji grown in conjunction with sugar cane survived the annual fire that was set before the cane harvest.

Unlike nearly every other cane-growing country, no cane in Fiji was burned before harvesting. If it was, the sugar company penalized the grower, because burned cane results in slightly caramelized sugar that costs more to refine. In Fiji, growers burn the trash generated by the cane harvest. (Like Hawaii,) Fiji has no snakes, or dangerous vermin that would require a pre-harvest fire, but you do have to watch for hornets.

The amazing thing about Vetiver hedges in the cane fields is that, following harvest, the cane grows rapidly and in a matter of months completely shades the vetiver from the light. At the next harvest, (12 months later for ratoon crops ,18 months later for plant crops) the hedge is plunged into full sunlight, then must survive the heat of a trash fire before once again being shaded again by the next ratoon crop. This process repeats for years but doesn’t effect the Vetiver's viability. I don’t know of many plants that can withstand this rough treatment.

Vetiver breaks wind (!) and nurtures banana trees

2008-12-10T11:31:00.000-08:00

Alrighty, then! Back to business--monkey business, that is.

California's "Dr. Banana," Doug Richardson, has worked with bananas and Vetiver for many years. A couple of years ago he and I chatted about Vetiver, bananas, and Hawaii's climate. I wondered whether Vetiver's proven effectiveness as a moisture barrier would contribute to mold in Hawaii banana trees. Doug assured me that Vetiver is an interesting chameleon. When conditions are wet, Vetiver acts as a wick to release moisture; it retains moisture during dry times.

Enjoy the following excerpts from a recent exchange between Doug and Criss Juliard, and John Greenfield's response:

From Criss:

Vetiver surrounds banana plantations as a windbreak along the coast in Morocco; in Senegal, we set up an erosion trial on a banana plantation. On a slight 3-degree slope, we planted one-half hectare with Vetiver hedgerows following the contour, and, next to it, one-half hectare without. Surprisingly, the banana trees planted next to the hedges produced ripe bunches about 4-6 weeks earlier than those without. We concluded that the Vetiver hedges retained moisture and made that moisture available to the plant, both strategic conditions for better growth and yield. While neither plot had drip irrigation, both had received the same amount of gravity-fed water.

In Senegal, I gave some vetiver plants to a plant pathologist friend, who transplanted them near some of his banana trees. He was surprised to observe the superior growth and development of the trees near the vetiver, compared to those further away from it, even though he didn't water the vetiver. When he dug a small trench around one of the banana trees to check its roots, he found its root system decidedly turned towards the vetiver, and concluded that a symbiotic relationship had developed between the two plants. He suspected that vetiver roots were better at dispersing water than his own watering regime. One of the problems we faced early in our relationship with Senegalese banana growers was their preference for flood irrigation. Slowly, large and small plantations converted to drip irrigation, measured and timed. Senegal has now been transformed from net importers of bananas to net exporters! Candidly, part of that shift resulted from the persistent civil disruptions in neighboring Ivory Coast countries that could no longer supply the Senegalese banana market.

I hope your expanded banana plantation is highly successful. Try installing Vetiver on some parts and not on others. In Morocco we've been planting bananas using a technique we learned in Lebanon. Plant a banana plant at each corner of a square meter (3') hole, and install an irrigation outlet at each hole. We found that planting the banana plant 50 cm below the surface eliminated nematode problems, and that one simple tie around the four grown trees eliminated the need for individual “tutors” and the risk of anything touching the bananas.

Doug's response:

I tried to obtain some photo images of a banana/Vetiver planting I did in California in 1999. In my experience, bananas and Vetiver work very well together. However, I found Vetiver's beneficial influence was not limited to bananas. Along with bananas, I planted dozens of other subtropical fruit trees that are considered marginal specialty crops in our area. Almost without exception their growth exceeded our expectations.

I agree that Vetiver greatly improves the moisture regime for the plants in its vicinity but I suspect that an equally powerful factor is the microbiological activity in the rhizosphere of the Vetiver and its attendant impact on the nutritional status and vigor of nearby plants. Vetiver's potential as a nurse crop has been touted in the literature and my experience is consistent. Its use as a windbreak is also a strong contributing factor to the rapid development of plants grown with Vetiver. I have used drip irrigation and microjets with bananas, and both produced acceptable results. Some papers suggest that drip is superior to sprays in the subtropics because it doesn't wet and cool the banana's pseudostems in our heat-deficient environment. However, the sprays provide more humidity. I need more time with a new planting to discern.

John's observations:

Let me add my 10 cents' worth. In the 1950s I set up two large banana plantations on sugar estates that were being closed in Fiji. We didn't use Vetiver because the plantations were on alluvial plains in a 6,000mm rainfall area too wet for sugar cane, but ideal for bananas. Bananas need about 40 litres of water a day to reach full production in nine months. The humidity created by high rainfall or too much irrigation encourages Cercospora leaf spot which affects the bunches reaching maturity. Once the tree has thrown a bunch it no longer will produce leaves, and Cercospora can wipe out the essential leaves before the bunch has filled out or ripened.

Irrigation is costly, and, in your case, Criss, Vetiver hedges would do a great job conserving moisture and holding it in the root zone, without humidity problems. But I think that another factor may be in play, and that is the role played by Vetiver’s Mycorrhiza in stimulating banana growth.

Moisture conserved by Vetiver hedges planted across the slope will stimulate and sustain the crops grown by subsistence farmers, and will become increasingly important as the global recession expands. Developing countries will have to support themselves as aid agencies exhaust their funds. Using Vetiver hedges to conserve moisture in Andhra Pradesh, India, farmers actually produced an excellent crop of millet in an area that had been declared a drought disaster.

Criss:

Your 10 cents is always worth more than a gold mine!

Bananas and proper drainage:
I have not lived in areas with 6,000mm rainfall, but Cercospora leaf disease devastated plenty of small Senegalese banana farms because of overwatering, excess dampness in the roots, and poor soil drainage. Specialists in the Caribbean suggest that healthy banana plants need less than the 40 liters you suggest; they recommend 14 liters/day, spaced over a period of not less than four hours. Bananas that get more water than that are prone to root-based diseases, at least Grand Nain, the variety we were battling. We used raised beds with deeply planted Vetiver. During the rains, Vetiver absorbed and evapo-transpired excess water; during the dry season, Vetiver reduced drought stress by maintaining humidity in the root zone.

Mycorrhiza:
At the time, I was not familiar with Mycorrhiza mycelia and the way it worked. As you addressed, mycelia increases roots' ability to absorb nutrients from the soil beyond those the root system can grasp on its own. Nabil El Chowk, my partner in Morocco, has been researching for several years the effect of inoculating plants with Mycorrhiza mycelia he collects from and near roots in different parts of parched lands, where plants grow in a continuous state of stress. He explained to me that Mycorrhizae found near and in vetiver roots have unusual capacities to increase growth and survival of fruit trees, vegetables and ornamental flowers grown on the farm. www.cropdevelopment.org

So our challenge is how to add to our already bulging Vetiver tool box that the plant not only improves food crop production through soil moisture retention, but also establishes a symbiotic relation, examined through a unique Mycorrhiza in and near Vetiver roots, that allows food crops to develop more efficiently in poor soils. Doug simply refers to the phenomena as the “microbiological activity in the rhizophere.” How do we better market these two advantages in regions where Vetiver is most needed?

"Alchemy Works" weighs in

2008-12-09T20:15:00.000-08:00

Are talk of the ruinous economy and its actual effects on you and your business getting you down? Well...it seems that the scent of Vetiver may help!! (It certainly can't hurt...) Our friends at Alchemy Works provide outta sight insight, and a recipe for success!

The roots of this Earth plant (Vetiver) are ground and added to incense mixtures to give them an earthy, sensual scent. Vetiver is uplifting and helps maintain emotional calm, especially when flashbacks are experienced. Its essential oil is called the Oil of Tranquility. This magick herb is sometimes helpful in processing grief and promotes restful sleep and calm dreams. It is said to help in overcoming negative or fallow times as well. This protective herb is sometimes used magickally to promote love, especially between gay people (showing some Mercury here). Consistent with Mercury/Hermes as the patron of merchants and thieves, some businesspeople keep a bit in the cash register to attract money and repel thieves.

Non-Magickal Uses
The fibers of this lemongrass relative are often woven into sleeping mats that release a cooling fragrance when slept on. Rats and bugs hate the smell, so it makes a great sachet, keeping away moths and adding a pleasant scent to clothing. It works as a fixative in perfumery and soapmaking, and is a nice alternative to orris root. Add it to fix Earth-based potpouri that includes mosses, lichens and nuts, or combine 1:1 with white sandalwood to make a Vetiver incense. Vetiver is sometimes associated with Capricorn (December 21-January 20).

Musings about Vetiver fragrance and melancholia

2008-11-23T20:29:00.000-08:00

A damp Honolulu evening, my wandering fingers, and an insatiable appreciation for the smell of all things Vetiver led me to the Forest Rat's musings:

« Furry Little Creatures
Trees to Thoreau to Terroir

Lately I have been noticing a lot of connections among things. I think about one thing and, while researching it, I run across other interesting things that often connect to something else I've been thinking about.
Well, a couple of posts back (Silent Skies) I was hanging around a woodpile, watching the evening deepen. I commented about the unique scent of the freshly cut logs:
“To me locust wood has an earthy, mossy, slightly sweet, and almost but not quite musty scent. It reminds me of the wonderful sweet perfume of the flowers that cover the tree in white raiment each spring, only it is muted and mixed with the dark richness of the soil that feeds the tree’s inner life.”
At the same time I happened to be reading “The Essential Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson.” I reached the end of the book and read a reprint of Emerson’s eulogy following the death of Henry Thoreau, which includes this observation:
“He thought the scent a more oracular inquisition than the sight - more oracular and trustworthy. The scent, of course, reveals what is concealed from the other senses. By it he detected earthiness.”
Interesting. I was just thinking about the scent of wood and its earthiness. I thought I'd look into just what makes earth (dirt, soil, mould) smell the way it does.
Even though we might not know what causes it, we've all smelled it: the smell of a freshly plowed field, or the smell of the soil when you dig a hole in the garden to plant a tree or a rose bush, or the scent on the air after a summer downpour (which smells like worms).
That scent is caused by a chemical called geosmin and it is produced by bacteria in the soil called actinomycetes. No one knows why the bacteria produce this compound or why humans find it pleasant. However, I ran into this interesting tidbit - this “friendly” bacteria can serve as an antidepressant which leads researchers to wonder whether we should spend more time playing in the dirt.
This led me to an article about how bacteria in the soil alter the composition of certain essential oils. Investigators have learned that they can alter fragrance by controlling "food" for bacteria, and conclude: “This finding may go some way to explain why the properties of Vetiver oil change significantly depending on the environment in which the Vetiver was grown.”
This path lead me through tangled vines of related words to the french word terroir. Terroir brought me back to the soil. Terroir seems to translate to something like “a sense of place” or “a taste of the soil” or, as one author wrote: somewhere-ness. It's a quality imparted to a crop, grapes in particular, by the locale in which it is grown. So some might say that part of what makes a great French wine great is that it comes from grapes grown in France, in a particular French vineyard, and maybe even in a particular section of a particular vineyard in France.
Although terroir is a complex and controversial concept in the wine world, I just like the idea that places have a taste.
In Silent Skies I wrote:
“Each species of tree has its own unique scent, just as each one has a unique grain pattern, color, and texture. Veteran woodworkers can identify species of wood by smell alone, the same way oenophiles can identify vintages. If you think about it, wooden barrels figure prominently in winemaking, and the type of wood used is critical to imparting just the right flavors and aromas.”
This was before I learned about terroir. Maybe the scent of the wood, like the taste of a wine, depends not only on the species of tree, but also on the plot that reared it. Maybe locust wood near my home has a slightly different scent than wood from Pennsylvania - I’ll bet that it does.
MDW
P.S. Another quote from Thoreau where he mixes his senses: “I put on some hemlock-boughs, and the rich salt crackling of their leaves was like mustard to the ear, the crackling of uncountable regiments. Dead trees love the fire.”

We CANNOT wait forever!!

2008-11-18T11:50:00.000-08:00

In the early 1960s when I first started my professional career as a conservationist and agriculturist in Zambia, soil erosion was a major problem. Nearly 50 years later worldwide erosion is worse. When I worked in Ethiopia 40 years ago, the cost of highway maintenance was very high because of bad drainage and erosion, which are still major and worsening problems in most developing countries. When I worked in eastern Nigeria 30 years ago, the formation of massive gullies was so bad that houses were engulfed. Today the situation is even more dire. When I worked in India 20 years ago, irrigation without recharge was depleting groundwater. Water issues are even worse today. In the past 10 years, water supplies throughout Asia have become increasingly contaminated by agricultural and industrial waste, resulting in serious health problems. Climate change and global temperature changes are causing more violent weather, which results in more frequent and serious storm-related disasters.

What is the world doing about all this?! VERY LITTLE! Why? Politics, cost, the enormous scale of the problem, wrong technologies, agenda conflicts, APATHY, LACK of COURAGE, and LACK of LEADERSHIP. If ACTION is not undertaken on a wide scale many people will die, and our natural resources will be destroyed. The CHALLENGE is to do something, and to do it SOON. Achieving quick results simultaneously in many locations requires community involvement and commitment, and the use of relatively simple technology that can be applied at micro scale.

Very few technologies can meet this challenge. The VETIVER SYSTEM (VS) is one that can. It is easy to train community leaders in VS fundamentals; the work is documented and readily available in the public domain. Vetiver plant material is quickly and easily propagated, and people, given some fairly minor technical support, can identify key locations that require VS application. Here's just one example: A few weeks ago I described the way erosion sediment had destroyed inshore fisheries and coral reefs in Vanuatu. VS stabilized the area and allowed reforestation to occur. By stopping sediment flows, Vetiver allowed the reef and fisheries to recover. This is just one example of thousands of sites that needs help. One publicized application every decade will not solve our problems! Every time a tropical storm strikes the Caribbean, tons of island sediment land in the sea. Effluent from leaking septic systems and other point sources (mines, industrial sites) washes onto beaches and into the sea, and personal property is destroyed. This devastation is predictable and can be prevented. On a small scale, VS can control septic tank effluent. The application of VS followed by tree planting can stabilize point source erosion sites, including watershed minetailings - a source of water borne contaminants. Similarly, VS can stabilize sea walls/dykes, riverbanks, bridge abutments, and roadscan, which can minimize infrastructure and flood damage. The list goes on. This one technology can do it all!

Tens of thousands of paid persons in developing countries are doing very little and making even less impact. They should be retrained and put to work. I can guarantee that these workers will respond positively to good leaders. Schools should introduce VS as part of the curricula for rural children. We know it works! The East Bali Poverty Project changed the lives of 10,000 families by introducing Vetiver to children. No more starvation. No more unbalanced diets. These communities now enjoy good clean water and improved health, roads that don't collapse, and hillsides that don't slide. See http://www.vetiver.org/g/community.htm If nothing is done, developing communities will eventually vanish, and, so, too, the world's resources. As President-Elect Obama says, "We CAN." I say, "We MUST." Now is the time for ACTION - not TALK.

Dick Grimshaw

Vetiver hedges work with nature to curb erosion

2008-11-13T00:22:00.001-08:00

The following is excerpted from a recent letter to Elise Pinners by John Greenfield, author of Vetiver Grass: The Hedge Against Eriosion (1990) and The Vetiver System for Soil and Water Conservation (the 2008 update of his 1987 manual), and widely regarded as the Father of the Renaissance of the Vetiver Movement:

From my 50+ years of experience starting with the Soil Conservation Service, and comparing its widely published schemes with yeomans, border listing, deep ripping, ridge and furrow, through to Fanya Juu – I noted they share one thing in common: all are constructed unnatural systems that work against nature rather than with it. They either move runoff out of the area that it fell in, or accumulate it in "puddles" or ponds that render it unavailable to crops without a lot of effort.

Compare these with the vetiver hedge properly installed across the slope or on the contour. It controls runoff, spreads it out, and allows the runoff to “ooze” through its entire length on its way down the slope, effectively watering the whole area and benefiting the plants. Vetiver hedges welcome the rain; more rain means more moisture is spread over the area. When we first discovered the world’s oldest vetiver hedges in Gundalpet, India, (where they were used to mark farm boundaries), the resulting crop in areas where these hedges crossed the slope had grown in so evenly that it looked as if it had been irrigated. Two reasons support this fact --the hedges eventually level the land because collected silt fills low areas behind the hedge, and the water spends a longer time on the surface, which breaks up surface sealing and allows the water to penetrate to depths where the moisture is needed. Since the hedges do not convey the runoff, it backs up and waits to ooze through the hedge.

When runoff is being conveyed to another outlet like a natural drainage outlet, spillway, waterway, pit or dam, it moves continually. Water from a useful rain does not remain on the ground long enough to break up surface sealing before it's lost as runoff. The more intense the rain, the faster it moves and the less moisture is stored. This pattern results in more damage to a constructed system. A constructed conservation bank can only operate safely for 300 m before it discharges the water it is conveying or storing. Otherwise the bank will overflow and burst. A vetiver hedge, on the other hand, can be run safely for kilometres because it doesn’t convey the water --it filters the water through its entire length. Since constructed systems are built from the same soil you're trying to protect from erosion, they are exposed to the same dangers of erosion and runoff as the unprotected bare ground. They are not "anchored" into the ground. In contrast, the massive root systems of Vetiver hedges anchor them to the ground.

Ridges and furrows, Fanya Juu, contour banks and their ilk are a lot of pain for very little gain. Given his plowing and planting program, the average subsistence farmer lacks the time to put them in place. Once in place, he lacks the time and labor to maintain or reconstruct them. However, once a vetiver hedge is in place, the farmer has little to worry about.

Elise, as you say in Dutch, “We get too soon old and too late smart”

Regards,

John Greenfield.

Thai students apply Vetiver Solution to solve water problems

2008-11-04T09:24:00.000-08:00

Thailand's monarch, His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, has been an ardent supporter of Vetiver Technology for nearly 25 years, and recognizes Vetiver's importance to water conservation. More than 400 high school students from 20 schools nationwide responded to the King's first Junior Water Challenge this year. In Thai, the contest is named Pi Num Nong Raknam Tam Naew Pra Rajdamri, which means "Elder Students Lead the Younger Ones to Conserve Water Resources by Applying His Majesty the King's Initiatives."
The project is a collaborative effort by the Coca-Cola Foundation, the National Council on Social Welfare of Thailand, the Hydro and Agro Informatics Institute, the Royal Irrigation Department, the Ministry of Education, and the Office of the Royal Development Projects Board. It intends to educate students about, and raise their awareness of, sustainable water management and conservation. Each participating school generated its own water conservation project and developed water conservation networks in their community and nearby schools.
Among the competitors were students from Huai Yot School in Trang province, the southern region winner, which presented its "Vetiver Planting on the Banks of Huai Yot School's Reservoirs According to the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy." The project aimed to protect two precious reservoirs near the school, which are also its community's major water sources.
During the rainy season, heavy rains usually collapse the reservoirs' banks and reduce the water levels. The annual collapses also contaminate the water with garbage and leaf debris.
The students planted vetiver grass on the reservoirs' banks, using Vetiver's deep thick roots to stabilise the soil and prevent it from collapsing. In addition, "we will use the grass for roofing. Also, we intend to produce paper from vetiver grass in the future," said a Huai Yot School student. They also plan to use their school as a vetiver grass distribution centre.
More information about the Raknam project is available at http://www.raknam.com

Bacteria may hold fragrance secrets

2008-11-01T09:23:00.000-07:00

Washington, Nov 1 (ANI): The day is not far when bacteria will yield perfume, says a new study, which has discovered bacteria in the root of Vetiver, a tropical grass, whose oil is used widely in the cosmetic and perfumery industries. The bacteria apparently boosts production of essential oils, and changes the molecular structure of the oil, giving it different flavours and termicidal, insecticidal, antimicrobial, and antioxidant properties.
The researchers, led by Italian microbiologists Pietro Alifano, Luigi Del Giudice, and the plant biologist Massimo Maffei, focused their study on Vetiver grass through interdisciplinary research. They found that Vetiver root cells produce a few oil precursors, which are then metabolised by the root bacteria to build up the complexity of the Vetiver oil. The researchers found the bacteria in the oil-producing cells as well as in root locations closely associated with the essential oil.
Vetiver grass is the only grass cultivated specifically for its root essential oil, which is made up of chemicals called sesquiterpenes, which the plants use as pheromones and juvenile hormones.
Also present in the essential oils are alcohols and hydrocarbons, which are used primarily in perfumery and cosmetics. The perfumery and flavouring industry could benefit from the increased variety in fragrance and taste that these bacteria provide to these oils. The bacteria responsible for this transformation include alpha-, beta- and gamma-proteobacteria, high-G+C Gram-positive bacteria as well as microbes which belong to the Fibrobacteres / Acidobacteria group.
This research opens new frontiers in the biotech arena of natural bioactive compounds. Pharmaceutical, perfumery and flavouring industries may now exploit the selected microbial strains and widen their metabolic libraries, said Professor Alifano. The metabolic interplay between a plant, which offers a few simple molecules, and root bacteria, which biotransforms them into an array of bioactive compounds, increases fitness and reveals economical new survival strategies, said Professor Maffei.

Ethiopia and Vietnam report Vetiver successes

2008-10-29T10:12:00.000-07:00

From Debela Dinka - Sustainable Land Use Forum, Ethiopia. According to our partner NGO in Illubabor, Ethio-Wetlands and Natural Resource Association (EWNRA), 17 of 22 districts in Illubabor Province are using vetiver technology, or about 17,000 households. The remaining five districts are expected to adopt the technology. The major impacts of vetiver are: decreased rate of soil erosion; increased yield of maize, sorghum, vegetables – as much as 50% - resulting from soil and water conservation; reduced siltation of wetlands and streams; groundwater recharge which then improved flow of springs, streams and wetlands; survival rate of tree and coffee seedlings reached more than 80%. Vetiver is also used as mulch in coffee plantations; thatch for houses, stores and shades (vetiver grass gives long time service); mattress making (it repels fleas and other insects); homestead hedgerows for beautification; making rope; income (farmers sell vetiver clumps as planting material); and the green leaves of vetiver are cut and spread in and around homes during holidays and social gatherings, including weddings.

In 2001 Paul Truong (Australia) visited his native country, Vietnam, and introduced the Vetiver System to his former colleagues.

From Tran Tan Van - Vietnam. Vietnam, like most countries, suffers natural disasters and environmental degradation. The threat from future rising sea levels puts Vietnam in the top five most endangered nations. Yearly 1000 people die during storms; as a result of toxic pollution of waterways, annual average property damage is $300 billion U.S. The government understands the need to mitigate these effects but has resorted to using piecemeal, conventional engineering works that are very expensive, technically complicated and are not durable. The introduction of VS into Vietnam seven years ago was, for Vietnam, “a timely glass of fresh water to the thirsty desert traveler.” The Vetiver System has been tested, demonstrated and adopted by the government, the research community, the private sector and individuals. The speed of its adoption over large landscapes attests that it is indeed the solution to our myriad problems. Vietnam represents one of the world’s most successful cases of VS use.

Going green in Panama's cloud forests

2008-10-27T00:57:00.000-07:00

FARMERS IN PANAMA'S CLOUD FORESTS ARE FINDING THAT ORGANIC FARMING SAVES MONEY -- AND LIVES
Special to The Miami Herald
CERRO PUNTA, Panama -- BY TRISTRAM KORTEN
Angel Aguirre suffered some strange looks from neighbors a few years ago when he began refashioning his farm into a model of sustainable agriculture -- using organic fertilizers made from chicken droppings and rice husks, and making pesticides from chili peppers and water.
''They thought I was crazy,'' he said, standing on a hillside above his onion fields. ``Ten years ago nobody used organic products here. My father told me this wasn't going to work.'' Not only is it working, Aguirre, the president of a local environmental farm support group that goes by the acronym FUNDICCEP, said his farm is thriving and the philosophy of sustainable farming is spreading. Especially today, with the rising cost of fuel and farm supplies, his methods are beginning to make sense to others.
''My neighbor has asked me to help him with the type of irrigation I use,'' Aguirre said.
Even in the best of times there is nothing convenient about farming in Cerro Punta, a tiny town perched 6,000 feet above sea level. The fields are planted on hillsides so steep that tractors can only drive vertically up and down the crop rows. If they tried to drive horizontally, they would risk rolling over. This means water from rain and irrigation runs off quickly.
But the advantages outweigh any problems. The rich, dark soil -- the Barú Volcano, Panama's highest peak, towering overhead -- coupled with the moist climate creates perhaps the most fertile region in the country, one with four growing seasons a year. As a result, the nearly 900 farms of Cerro Punta, population 7,000, grow 80 percent of Panama's vegetables -- excluding rice, wheat and corn. Every patch of dirt, whether it's next to the little market in town, or in someone's precipitous backyard, sprouts onion bulbs, carrot tops, heads of cauliflower and feathery-leafed herbs. Cerro Punta is Panama's salad bowl.
The town occupies another important environmental niche. It is the gateway to a forest corridor between two large and environmentally important parks -- Barú Volcano National Park and La Amistad, which is shared with nearby Costa Rica.
The farmers here, however, have not always been the best stewards of their land. For at least three decades they have relied on synthetic fertilizers to grow their crops and man-made pesticides to protect them. Environmentalists say the pesticides, including Paraquat, which is banned in Europe and is available in the United States only with a special license, poison people, land and water. And harsh fertilizers strip the soil of nitrogen, requiring more and more fertilizer to compensate, leaving the ground weakened and vulnerable to unwanted fungi. Additionally, because of the steep topography, these chemicals wash off the fields with the first rain, coursing down the mountainside into rivers that provide drinking water to communities downstream.
Aguirre said the number of farms like his in the region is maybe 10 percent of the total. ''But 80 percent of the farms use some organic methods,'' he asserted.
The problem is that the industrial way is cost-effective, at least in the short term. Sustainable farming is labor intensive. Aguirre has planted barriers of vetiver, a grass with a dense root system, so he can plant his crops horizontally in stepped fashion. This prevents the rains from washing off the nutrient-rich topsoil, but requires more manual labor because tractors can't be used.
José Abdiel, who also uses sustainable methods on his farm, concedes, ``You need a lot more men to help with with the harvest. And a lot more money.'' But over time, the ''green'' farms reap savings in gasoline (no tractors), mechanized equipment and expensive industrial chemicals like the alternative fertilizers and pesticides. And the savings can be significant.
A 100-pound sack of synthetic fertilizer costs about $56 at the local supply store. The fertilizer Aguirre and Abdiel use, made by an environmentally-oriented farmer's collective called Amipila, costs only $5 for the same amount, according to Amipila. The collective sold 6,744 sacks by July this year, compared with 6,344 for all of 2007. It only started selling them in 2001. The savings can't always be measured in money. Hundreds of residents and farm workers have been poisoned (some fatally) from overexposure to farm chemicals. And although no study has been done to provide a conclusive link, healthcare workers here say the town's rate for asthma, leukemia, and stomach and liver cancers is about 1 percent to 3 percent higher than the national average.
''When I first started working in this town 15 years ago, we had about 60 cases of acute poisoning a year involving agricultural chemicals,'' Dr. César Vega Miranda said. But with gradual education and environmental awareness ``we're down to about eight or 10.'' The farmers' dependence here on synthetic chemicals is not necessarily their fault. It was, some say, thrust on them.
In 1968, a military coup ousted Panama's democratically elected President Arnulfo Arias. A military junta seized control and a series of strongmen ruled the country for the next 20 years. ''We weren't allowed to organize, and if there was a farmer's group or cooperative, it was controlled by someone in the state,'' recalls local environmentalist David Samudio. There was virtually no contact with the outside world. The years of military rule occurred amid momentous change sweeping the agriculture industry worldwide -- the so-called ''green revolution.''
Scientists had developed high-yield varieties of corn, rice and wheat and were aggressively exporting them as a means to stamp out famine. These were hybrid seeds that absorbed a lot of nitrogen from the soil, helping them grow quickly, but requiring synthetic fertilizers loaded with nitrogen. These crops were also more susceptible to pests and disease, requiring synthetic pesticides. In Cerro Punta, it essentially became government policy to saturate crops in chemicals, according to George Hanily, former program director for the Nature Conservancy in Panama and great nephew of President Arias.
The dictatorship ended in 1989, when the U.S. military invaded and ousted then-ruler Manuel Antonio Noriega. Within a few years of democracy's return, environmental groups that had been working in Costa Rica to save La Amistad reached across the border. The result so far are local groups like FUNDICCEP and Amipila, as well as partnerships with international groups like the Nature Conservancy, which has teamed up for a widespread environmental outreach campaign.
The organic fertilizer plant is such a success that one was built in a nearby town, and a campaign is underway to work with neighboring coffee farms.
''Now even my father sees, little by little, it's working,'' Aguirre says.

Vetiver traps sugar cane and corn borers

2008-10-15T15:11:00.000-07:00

Those of you involved in sugar cane and corn production might appreciate that Guatemala's largest sugar plantation is now using large numbers of Vetiver slips to stabilize its fields. An interesting side observation is that Vetiver has reduced the incidence of sugarstem cane borers. As in the case of the maize borer, the moth prefers to lay its eggs on Vetiver leaves rather than on the cane or corn. The moth does not damage the Vetiver, however, the larvae, when hatched, dislike its hairy leaves and tumble onto the ground where they die or are gobbled by other predators. This follows Johnnie Van den Berg's (South Africa) "push-pull" proposals for the use of the Vetiver System. See:http://www.vetiver.org/ICV3-Proceedings/SA_stem%20borer.pdf

Dick Grimshaw

The Vetiver System shields coral reefs from sediment

2008-10-12T14:28:00.000-07:00

Dick Grimshaw writes:

I have frequently written about the need to use the Vetiver System to rehabilitate eroding land and thus stop eroded sediment from moving downstream to coastal waters where it destroys coral reefs and coastal fisheries. VS is particular useful for small island erosion rehabilitation.

Since erosion on small tropical islands tends to be massive and close to the beach and sea, stabilizing a particular area will generate immediate benefit to the adjacent water and coral. Don Miller, a New Zealander who works on Vanuatu in the south Pacific, has, over many years, inspired local people to reforest a particularly badly-eroded area near Port Patrick. [By the way, Vanuatu is 1,090 miles east of northern Australia, 310 miles northeast of New Caledonia, west of Fiji, and south of the Solomon Islands. Thank you, Wikipedia!] The results have been spectacular. View a modified Power Point presentation at http://www.vetiver.org/VAN_REEF/VAN-reef2.htm).
In my travels around the world I've seen many instances of coastal waters turned brown by sediment flows. If you don't travel, take a look at Google Earth images of Hawaii, Fiji, Jamaica, Honduras, the Indonesian islands, and many more. The Vetiver System is the best, cheapest, and greenest way to address the problem. In addition to halting sediment flows to the sea, it prevents sewage and other pollutants from reaching pristine beaches, improves groundwater (reduced ground water on many islands is becoming a major problem), increases crop yields and generates biomass for fuel, forage, and, as value-added products, handicrafts. The Vetiver System is available to everyone who wishes to use it, and, if applied correctly, it will work.

We grow grass...Vetiver!

2008-10-12T11:21:00.001-07:00

Well, it's true...we grow grass...and so much more!

Our six-year-old dream is reaching fruition, as our farm is now producing commercially-viable numbers of vetiver plants that are improving the complexion of Hawaii.

Vetiver IS changing the world. It's changing the environment. It's holding moisture in arid land. It's securing top soil, and restoring top soil to areas where it's been depleted for years. It's recharging aquifers. It's enabling farmers and communities to maintain viable farmland and potable water.

Vetiver hedges are stabilizing moisture and increasing the yields in coffee and banana groves.

Vetiver's sterile...it has no rhizomes, and its seeds are sterile. Ours is not the first island to embrace the Vetiver System. It's welcome and working in Fiji, Guam, Haiti and Indonesia, among others. It's a non-invasive clump grass, two feet in diameter at maturity. And...it won't grow larger!

The roots form an amazing vertical net that penetrates 12 feet deep!

Help spread the word, and this grass...so many countries are decades ahead of us. Vetiver works...hard!