Patron - H.R.H. Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand

Board of Directors

The Vetiver Network International (TVNI) promotes the worldwide use of the Vetiver System (VS) for a sustainable environment particularly in relation to land and water. The Network is a true network of individuals, groups, communities, entrepreneurs, and social organizations working together. The "networking" part is all voluntary - no managers and no remuneration! We believe that it is one of the most effective non profit environmental organizations in the world and is impacting greatly on all levels of society. The VS provides significant economic, environmental and social benefits. VS is now used in most tropical and semi-tropical countries, north to Italy and south to Chile.  Based on research and demonstrations through TVNI “partners,” including research institutions, development agencies, NGO's and the private sector, VS has expanded from a technology primarily for farm soil and water conservation to include major applications for: ..... more

TVNI history, achievements and time line presentation

TVNI POLICY STATEMENT ON VETIVER VARIETIES AND USE. TVNI is aware that a number of varieties of vetiver grass are being used for various purposes of land management and conservation, and at times this may cause confusion and in some instances concern as to what variety falls legitimately under TVNI's "Vetiver System". Here follows TVNI's current policy:

"The Vetiver System (VS), as characterized and supported by TVNI, is based on the application of sterile varieties or cultivars of Chrysopogon zizanioides (L.) Roberty. All other Chrysopogon species (syn. Vetiveria) that are fertile may be used for similar applications to those covered by VS, but cannot be guaranteed to be effective or meet the technical specifications attainable with the known, tested, proven, and sterile C. zizanioides. Fertile vetiver grass varieties may be utilized just as any other useful, native plant might be for soil and water conservation and land management; however, TVNI does not specifically promote their use, and it actively discourages the sales and export of viable seed or plant material of fertile vetiver to countries and regions where such plants are not native and thus may pose a risk of being invasive."

DONATIONS. TVNI is administratively very small and is managed by volunteers around the world. Our budget rarely exceeds $20,000 a year. We need donations to ensure that this website, publications, and training can continue. If you have benefited from TVNI please consider a small donation. Even if you haven't, but would like to participate in this world wide environmental initiative we would appreciate you contribution however small. Donations are tax deductible.

NEW - The King of Thailand Vetiver Awards. These prestigious awards relating to the Vetiver System have been awarded, since 1996, every four of five years as part of the International Conferences on Vetiver (ICV). The next award, as announced, in this flyer will be made in October 2020 at the time of ICV7. The six awards are made for outstanding research and development presented at the conference.  Please share this announcement.  Coincident with these awards TVNI makes some awards the details of which will be announced shortly. Note ICV7 theme will be "Vetiver for Soil and Water Conservation". A second announcement relating to conference details can be expected in the next few months.

CONTROL OF RICE STEM BORER IN SOUTH CHINA - NEW

More data and text

The Vetiver Network West Indies (TVNWI) NEW -has recently been established to "... serve as a platformto facilitate interested partners and stakeholders to learn more about The Vetiver System (VS), the VEEP model, as well asother individuals and organizations implementing projects regionally using vetiver grass and VS solutions; and to support expansion in awareness and growth of this simple and green solution, that can become an important addition to our 'toolkit' as a region, on our pathway to climate resilience and sustainability." More information bout TVNWI can be found on its website.

CROWD FUNDING INITIATIVE -- NEW -- We welcome the initiative of the Vietnam Vetiver Network for setting up a crowdfunding platform for global vetiver initiatives.

Vietnam is a coastal state, three quartersof which is made up of low mountains and hilly regions. An average of 10 typhoons and tropical depression hit the country annually, causing major erosional hazards, resulting in disastrous landslides and other events that damage nearby schools, houses, and crops; destabilising infrastructures such as roads, bridges, and influx of salt water; and often results in contaminated land and water. Fortunately, the Vetiver System has been developed and used in Vietnam for disaster mitigation, infrastructure protection, and clean up of contaminated land (including remediation of (Agent Yellow) dioxin contamination) and water for more than 10 years. Currently with an increased awareness and demand for vetiver, Vietnam Vetiver Network has moved to a new phase in its promotion — this new website included with a crowdfunding platform is one part of it. This crowdfunding platform will offer individuals, community groups, or non-profit organizations a chance to successfully carry out their Vetiver programs to conserve soil and water, improve soil fertility, remove contaminants from land and water resources, stabilize soil based structures, and provide community trainings, etc. For those reasons, we hope to have your support and participation in developing and advancing this Vietnam initiative. For more information visit https://vetiver.com.vn/ and for the crowdfunding mechanism: https://vetiver.com.vn/how-it-works/

The Vietnam Vetiver Network is a registered organization falling under the Danang Vetiver Foundation. It has full backing and support of the Vetiver Network International.

ST VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES .. NEW .. A very interesting vetiver handicraft program organized by "Growing in Time" involving training and rehabiliating prisoners in Kingstown is doumented in this video by Vonnie Roudette. A great initiative by the prison authorities, Vonnie and the inmates.

VIETNAM: Vetiver grass has the potential to reduce dioxin contamination .. NEW .. In 2014, the research team of Dr. Ngo Thi Thuy Huong began to study the possibility of mitigating dioxin from vetiver grass. The project has achieved promising results and demonstrated that vetiver grass has the
ability to stop dioxin (AGENT ORANGE) from spreading to surrounding land, thus reducing dioxin contamination in the land affected as a consequences of the Vietnam war. In 2017, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)announced that the project would be granted $300,000 to expand research. The project will benefit about 135,000 people living around the airport areas, and especially for staff working at the 935th Fighter Regiment at Bien Hoa Airport by minimizing the potential health risk due to The results of this project will contribute significantly to the development of phytoremediation technologies.
In addition to dealing with dioxin contamination, the successful project will add a dioxin-preventive strategy with this friendly environmental technology; the results and recommendations of the project should also help policymakers and researchers on environmental protection and management in decision making and future research. See Press Release

ETHIOPIA: Bioremediation of brewery wastewater using hydroponics planted with vetiver grass in Addis Ababa .. NEW .. This interesting research paper by Abebe Worku, Nurelegne Tefera, Helmut Kloos and Solomon Benor on usiing vetiver to treat brewary waste water further confirms the value of vetiver for phytoremedial purposes. "Vetiver grass grew and established with well-developed root and shoots in the hydroponics under fluctuations of brewery wastewater loads and showed phytoremedial capacity to remove pollutants. Removal efficiencies for BOD5 and COD were significant (p < 0.05), up to 73% (748–1642 mg l−1 inlet), and up to 58% (835–2602 mg l−1 inlet), respectively. Significant removal efficiencies (p < 0.05) ranged from 26 to 46% (14–21 mg l−1 inlet) for TKN, 28–46% (13–19 mg l−1 inlet) for NH4+- N, 35–58% (4–11 mg l−1 inlet) for NO3−- N, and 42–63% (4–8 mg l−1 inlet) for PO4−3-P were recorded. Nutrient accumulation in the samples harvested were varied between 7.4 and 8.3 g N kg− 1 dry weight and 6.4–7.5 g P kg− 1 dry weight in the hydroponic treatment units during the study period".

PHILIPPINES --- VETIVER GRASS APPLICATION WITH COCO-FIBER PRODUCTS IN PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE .. NEW .. An interesting example of how technologies can be combined. Coconut fibre is an important product in the Philippines and when used as coconut matting in conjunction with vetiver grass it proves a virtual guarantee for success of slope stabilization. This 2012 presentation by the Philippines Department of Highways and Public Works shows its effective use on a project to stabilize long stretches of Lahar mega dike protection berms locatedat Botolan, Zambales on the island of Mindanao.

INTERNATIONAL VETIVER GRASS TRACKING (IVGT) SYSTEM. !!! NOW OPERATIONAL !!! - NEW

Dr. Sarawut NINSAWAT, Professor Remote Sensing & GIS, Department of Information and Communications Technologies (ICT), School of Engineering and Technology (SET), Asian Institute of Technology (AIT), Thailand and his team together with The Royal Development Projects Board, and The Thai Land Development Department have now launched the International Vetiver Grass Tracking (IVGT) System to track vetiver application site data world wide. The user interactive site will allow free registration of users and others associated with The Vetiver System to locate new and existing sites, update them, and add quantitative data and imagery. Non registered public viewers will be able to view sites and see summarized global data associated with the sites. IVGT will be administered by Thai and TVNI "Administrators", will be moderated by "Surveyors" and will have a registered ground level membership of "Investigators" who may own their own vetiver sites or who can enter new sites on behalf of other vetiver users. The IVGT will be under the oversight of The Thai Land Development Department (LDD). It is intended that IVGT will follow the principles of Wikipedia - on trust and honest input, with minimum interference by "Surveyor" monitors. Fake vetiver sites will be delete by administrators. The many Vetiver System application sites will be searchable by application site and by country.

There are three internet platforms that support IVGT:
(1) computer based at https://ivgt.ldd.go.th/vetivertrack/ (operational). (2) Android app from Playstore called IVGT - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ivgt.app (available). (3)NEW iOS app for iPhone and iPad available from Apple App Store. Search for: "IVGT" All three platforms have the same capability.

TVNI has set up a new forum at http://www.vetiver.org/flux to cover a wide range of discussion and has one topic dedicated to IVGT where related announcement and discussion can be read.

iVGT Tutorial .. NEW .. a 22 minutes video tutorial on how to use the iVGT app

TVNI has also updated a guide for IVGT available at: http://www.vetiver.org/TVN_tracking/TVN_track3.htm

Some of the advantages of using IVGT include:

•  provides real time data on the location, state and use of VS plantings, from the village to the country level.
• an be used as a very effective monitoring device for VS introduced under community and other programs/projects
•  enables both the public and other interested parties to identify site locations of specific application types that can be identified and visited in the field
•   identifies vetiver nursery sites where plant material is available for sale - useful for potential buyers and a marketing tool for producers.
• for commercial vetiver application companies (e.g. landscapers, waste water treatment companies) a means to pin point and show case their work.
• provides the means for IVGT users at all levels to work closer together leading to other future group and cooperative initiatives, as well as help attract development financing at community and or application level
•   is expected to bring experienced and younger VS activists into the management of TVNI
•   help promote VS globally

TVNI -- FORUM. - NEW - We have set up a new discussion forum (embedded in TVNI website) www.vetiver.org/flux. At the same time we have closed down the two Vetiver Google groups as they were not used much and had become fragmented. The old "Discussion Board" has also been closed, but old (and quite useful) posts can be found at: http://www.vetiver.org/discus_admin_1395410885/backups/145489897011074211214266-board-topics.html. The new forum should be used for serious discussion, particularly for some very specific issues and and subjects of special interest. For example all discussion relating to the new International Vetiver Grass Tracking app will be on that forum. We invite you to view the forum and join it. Please note that at this time it is not possible to upload attachments to the Forum, all though it will take images.

FLEUR DE POINT SUPPORTS THE WORLD WIDE USE OF VETIVER GRASS FOR SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES - NEW - For every bottle purchased, a donation will be made to TVNI.​In this instance the donations will go to the South Pacific Vetiver initiative.

CHINA - LARGE SCALE VETIVER PLANTINGS ON THE DRAW DOWN ZONE OF THE DANJIANG RESERVOIR, HENAN PROVINCE PROVES VERY EFFECTIVE - NEW - Vetiver grass and other tree and grass species have been planted in the draw down zone of the Danjiang reservoir for 14 years now. The reservoir has been low, but in 2017 the water level rose significantly by some 10 meters; many trees and all the grasses were inundated with water for up to 6 months. Trees and grasses except for vetiver died. Mr. Jiang Jianggong, chief of the Yangtze River Committee, after seeing the scene said : "I have worked in the Yangtze River Valley for 30 years. I haven't seen a plant in the upper and lower reaches that can survive more than 3 months flooding, this vetiver grasscan survive six months of flooding". The location is approximately N 32.7º, E 111.5º. A cold tolerant variety of vetiver, Wanxiang #1, was used in the plantings. More photos in English and in Mandarin

SOUTH PACIFIC AND CARIBBEAN ISLAND VETIVER INITIATIVE - NEW - This photograph is the face of climate change now and in the future for many tropical island communities as sea level rise. In addition with increased concentration of island populations in towns and villages having to deal with extreme weather events, declining food production, battered infrastructure, and health hazards due to polluted water emanating from agriculture, domestic and industrial sources, the islanders face a bleak future. Island nations neither have the funds nor low cost and replicable technologies that might improve the quality of their lives. Making sure that sea level rise is contained demands global political courage and action. However we do have technologies that Island communities can use to make them more resilient to other hazards that come with climate change and population growth. TVNI is working with NGOs, Pacific Exchange (Solomon Islands) and IaMovement (Trinidad and Tobago), as well as other agencies to introduce the Vetiver System as multipurpose applications to deal with some of these climate change threats.

"This "south-south" project will link VS initiatives in the Caribbean and south Pacific that address the mitigation of degrading land, soil, infrastructure, water quality, and coastal waters caused by climate change and increasing population densities – primarily through grass roots community education and empowerment approaches. Successful implementation will result in improvements to: incomes, soil, water and community health, infrastructure stability, and community resilience. The Vetiver System (VS) with its wide range of simple, low cost, cross-sector applications, provides for greater community strength and independence to tackle many otherwise costly or unsolvable challenges. The cross-regional project built on past worldwide VS experience, and would expand the process and knowledge to other islands regionally and globally, drawing on shared project experiences".

The project will be supported by TVNI staff who live and work in the regions. Paul Truong, TVNI's Technical Director, is providing critical technical oversight. Robinson Vanoh,TVNI Associate Director, from PNG will provide key training and technical support for the Solomon Island program; and as he is already doing, support to Fiji and Tuvalu for their new and much needed vetiver programs. Jonathan Barcant, TVNI Director, who designed and executed the award winning Vetiver Education and Empowerment Project (VEEP) will provide the technical support and leadership for an extended VEEP in Trinidad and Tobago, as well as initiating similar movements in other Caribbean islands. These programs will be primarily community focused, planned and executed. They will encourage participation by government and private sector enterprises. More details relating to proposals and ongoing activities can be found here. South Pacific Islands Facebook page

VIETNAM VETIVER NETWORK - A WELL COMPLETED PROJECT. - TVNI has over the past three years (2015-2018) been providing funds and technical support to expand the impact of the Vietnam Vetiver Network. The Da Nang Vetiver Foundation was established as a legal umbrella association for the Vietnam Vetiver Network to receive the financial support. The program included: the promotion of the Vetiver System to farmers and communities in the Central Highlands (erosion control, mulch, crop protection - stem borer of rice, and soil rehabilitation); disaster mitigation (protection of hydropower dam, riverbanks and erosion prevention; remediation of agent orange/dioxin contaminated soils; and other applications. A pictorial presentation summarizes the program. As a result of this support the Vietnam Vetiver Network has enlarged its role in the promotion of the Vetiver System and there is now an accelerated interest in the technology throughout the country. We congratulate all involved, particularly Mr. Tran Man, Vietnam Vetiver Network Coordinator, and Ms. Quyen Nugyen, network development officer, as well as the many early vetiver pioneers that established the initial interest and demonstration of VS in the country especially Mr. Tran Van.

VETIVER FOR STEM BORER CONTROL OF RICE - NEW - Twenty counties in China's Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provinces are planting vetiver as an ecological engineering method (trap crop) for the control of two stem borer species - Chilo suppressalis (striped stem borer) and Sesamia inferens (pink stem borer). The results are very encouraging and it appears that rice farmers are excited with the significant increase in protection (70%) against stem borer damage and as a result a reduction in pesticide use and cost. Stem borer populations on rice decreased by up to 84% when vetiver rows were planted 50 meters apart and 3-5 meter apart in the row (in most cases hedgerows on the paddy field boundaries). A number of research papers have been published in China that describe why vetiver is such an effective trap crop. First, there are indications that some of the unique oils in vetiver when acting together act as a pheromone - volatiles - that attract the stem borer moths. Secondly vetiver contains toxic substances, which have lethal effect on the larvae that inhibit the esterase and cytochrome P450 enzyme activities, leading to the function loss of larvae in detoxification and metabolism. Additionally, compared to rice, reduced nutrients in vetiver cannot meet the demand of the larvae, and led to digestive function and physiological activity disorder and ultimately death. For newcomers to this topic you should be aware that the maize stem borer moth also is attracted by vetiver where it lays its eggs, thus reducing damage to the adjacent maize crop. Copies of the Chinese research papers relating to this topic (all with English abstracts) are at this link.

China Central Government Encourages to Control Rice Stem Borer with Vetiver. - NEW
The website of China Central Government issued the following statement by Mr. Xu Sunda, the Xinhua News Agency on 7 April 2019 in Hangzhou.

"The Zhejiang Provincial Plant Protection and Quarantine Station issued official document titled "Complete Green Protection Technology of rice Insect - rice striped stem borer - Chilo suppressalis." It provided farmers with Complete Green Protection Technology, including agricultural protection, ecological regulation, biological control, physical and chemical control.

It suggests that rice should be planted in large areas, instead of in small pieces of field with different rice vareitmorishima1979ies as Bridge Field, and it recommends farmers to plant vetiver grass along border roads and field bunds. The vetiver clumps should be planted spacing 3-5m in order to effectively attract female adults to lay eggs in vetiver plants to reduce their eggs in rice.

Rice striped stem borer (Chilo suppressalis Walker) is one of the most important insect pests of rice in China, and its damage commonly led to significant yield loss. The resistance to insecticides became higher and higher in recent years, because of long term and incorrect use of insecticides. The pest seems hardly to controlable by insecticides. In the area where single-harvested rice is intercropped with double-harvested rice (a year), the damage by stem borer is more serious, So farmers started to plant more one-harvested rice, which seriously influenced food security.

To solve this problem, the crop protection institutions paid attention to control rice stem borer comprehensively, through improving strategies of pest management and technology extension. They promote "Green Plant Protection" and have got outstanding results. According to statistics the injury degree of stem borer has reduced in Zhejiang Province in 2018. Compared with that in 2017, the injury rice area and the loss of rice yield caused by stem borer decreased by 14.98% and 15.61% respectively in 2018.

Since 2007, directed by Prof. Lv Zhongxian of Zhejiang Academy of Agriculture Sciences, systematic and comprehensive researches have been done on stem borer control by planting vetiver, which concerned almost all important aspects and received great achievements." More details of the research is at: http://www.vetiver.org/CHN_JIA-2019%20Vetiver-Lu%20YH-.pdf

ingya Refugee Camps in Bangladesh - It is nice to see that millions of vetiver slips are being introduced to refugee communities to stop erosion and reduce the risk of landslides, and that the communities appear to like the grass and the technology. See this IOM press release. This work is being carried out under an initiative of IOM, NGOs and Bangladesh University of Engineering Technology (Dr Mohammad Shariful Islam - long time developer of the Vetiver System in Bangladesh). If VS can be used successfully in these camps then there should be no reason why it should not be used by other refugee communities or by other poor and densely populated communities for a whole range of VS applications. Congratulations to IOM, NGOs, and the participating refugee communities.

Jonathan Barcant of Trinidad and Tobago (back row 2nd from right), pictured here with HRH Prince Charles and other award winners, has received the Caribbean and the Americas Regional Award for Excellence in Development at the Commonwealth Youth Awards. He was one of four out of 20 world wide finalists who received the award. The award was for his work in introducing the Vetiver System to villagers at Paramin , Trinidad and Tobago) and for expanding the thought/talk process through "Climate Talk" and the IAMovement to other communities and schools. 

Congratulations Jonathan! You can read more about this at:The Guardian

Jonathan's approach is an interesting one that goes far beyond the introduction of VS, most importantly it aims at young people. VS makes a good talking point that brings communities together to build other environmental related initiatives. We can all learn from his success. We wish him success as he moves the process to other parts of Trinidad and the Caribbean. Jonathan writes:

"With the Vetiver Education & Empowerment Project (VEEP) model successfully completed in Trinidad &Tobago's (T&T) largest hillside farming community called Paramin, we are now seeking to replicate the project across the country on a national scale, in 12 more communities. To do this we have built partnerships with Regional Corporations, several of these communities, the UNDP, United Way, several Ministries and the University of the West Indies. Our goal is to help build climate resilience in T&T through a nationwide VEEP programme, and in so doing also let it serve as an example which can be taken across the Caribbean to other islands in need. Dominica for example saw over 9900 landslides during Hurricane Maria due to the sheer quantities of rainfall; so where the Vetiver System (VS) aids greatly in soil stabilization, property and infrastructure protection, it can help build resilience on all the Caribbean islands to cases of extreme weather which seem to be on the rise. We have been able to share to quite a wide range of interested stakeholders throughout the region and are building this network, with the goal of eventually helping to carry out a regional program. The islands where we've already got great interest from and connections made are Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda, St. Lucia, Grenada, St. Vincent, Jamaica and Haiti". 

Jonathan has recently been appointed to the Board of TVNI.

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY.We recently celebrated the many thousands of women who have been able to improve their lives through the Vetiver System and those who by their example and commitment have contributed much to its promotion around the world,

News from China Vetiver Coordinator, Liyu Xu. -The second year of a new project: ”Vetiver and agroforestry for poverty reduction and natural resource protection in the Dabie mountains of China”, supported by Germany, continues to promote VS technology in this very poor part of China. Mr. Yong Lu, associate professor from School of Economics and Management, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, has redesigned our website.  When opened by Google Chrome browser it can be nicely translated to English A new book “Vetiver System Research, Application and Extension”, edited by Xia Hanping and Liyu Xu will introduce new VS development since 2008 in China and in the world. This will follow a book titled “Vetiver System: Theory and Practice” published in 2008. We will establish a new network: Southwest China Vetiver Network based on  Kunming to promote VS development in a region covered by many mountains.

VETIVER INSTALLATION GUIDE. This guide was prepared by Oahu Resource Conservation and Development Council in cooperation with USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) Pacific Islands Area with support from an NRCS Conservation Innovation Grant (November 2012). It is an excellent guide particularly for soil conservation applications. Recommended reading.

Coincident to the Climate Change meeting in Paris, TVNI has published the Second Edition of “The Vetiver System for Quality – Prevention and Treatment of Contaminated Water and Land” authored by Paul Truong of Australia and Luu Thai Danh of Vietnam.  The publication updates research and fields experience carried out by various scientists and users around the world showing the importance and success of the Vetiver System for dealing with polluted water and land.  The results and methods applied demonstrates the uniqueness of Vetiver grass as a plant that has special characteristics in its stand alone mode, as well as its interesting symbiotic relationship with other organisms associated with its rhizosphere that enable Vetiver to remove toxic chemicals from both soil and water.  A plant that is so well behaved, that can clean up polluted water and land contaminated by heavy metals and other toxic chemicals, and that can function efficiently over a huge range of soil, water, and climatic conditions, is truly incredible.  This publication is a testament to many contributors to the development of the Vetiver System, especially to Paul Truong who has dedicated a good part of his life to the development of  “Vetiver Phytoremediation Technology”.  Hard copy of this book (containing nearly one hundred photos, figures, and tables) is available in early December from amazon.com, and can be viewed on TVNI’s website - http://www.vetiver.org/TVN_Water_quality%202%20ed.pdf

SPANISH EDITION of "The Vetiver System For Improving Water Quality: Prevention And Treatment Of Contaminated Water And Land - Second Edition (2015)" has now been published. Thanks to Pablo Ruiz Lavalle and Iliana Toussieh of Red Colaborativa de Permacultura La Margarita (Mexico) for translating the manual into Spanish, this edition is now downloadable at:http://www.vetiver.org/Water%20quality%20Spanish%20web%202.…

Hard copy of this book can be purchased (as of May 11 2016) from Amazon online sites in the US, Europe and UK. If anyone want to buy in bulk (more than 10 copies), I can arrange a considerably lower price (if you contact me). This price reduction is available for all TVNI published books on Amazon.

VETIVER SYSTEM NEEDS TO BE USED MORE WIDELY FOR STABILIZING INFRASTRUCTURE. Since 2000 the Vietnamese provincial governments have been testing and using the Vetiver Ssytem, at large scale, for highway (Ho Chi Minh Highway) -- and for Sea Dyke Protection in the Mekong Delta - These are a very important applications and show the impact of vetiver over 8-15 years of use. When the Vietnamese under take trials, they don't mess around with a few meters, instead they think kilometers! I can see VS application for highway and sea dike protection in many countries, but specifically in south and East Asia (China, Philippines, Indonesia. Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Bangladesh and India). VS protection is long lasting and a very low cost (as much as 90% over conventional practices). The Vietnamese experience is FACT not FICTION and is applicable most places in the tropics. Why is it not being used widely? Many answers - the most important being: lack of knowledge, "too good, too cheap" syndrome (in other words PROFITS), and entrenched traditional habits or ignorance by those responsible - and in the latter I include many of the international and bilateral agencies! Please CORRECT me if I am wrong. Thank you Vietnam for showing the way.

SOLVE SOME OF YOUR CLIMATE CHANGE PROBLEMS BY USING THE VETIVER SYSTEM - A SYSTEM THAT IS NOT USED ENOUGH BECAUSE IT WORKS TOO WELL AND IS TOO CHEAP!! - At a time when extreme weather events effect the stability of many different types of infrastructure in tropical countries here are links to four presentations given at ICV6. They are interesting, thought provoking and very relevent to our times:
Application of Vetiver (Vetiveria Zizaniodes) as a Bio-technical Slope Protection Measure – Some Success Stories in Bangladesh by Mohhamad Isla. PhD
Vetiver System for Infrastructure Protection in Vietnam: A Review after Fourteen Years of Application on the Ho Chi Minh Highway (2000- 2014) by Tran Tan Van PhD and Paul Truong PhD
Mine and Associated Rehabilitation Projects in Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands by Roley Noffke
A Social Investment Opportunity for Rural Communities in Improving Land Degradation Using the Vetiver System by Roley Noffke

GEOTROPISM OF VETIVER GRASS. A photo essay of vetiver grass applied to various slope stabilization applications by Paul Truong, TVNI Technical Director. THIS IS THE BEST COLLECTION OF VS SLOPE STABILIZATION EVER PUBLISHED AND EXPLAINS WHY VETIVER IS SO EFFECTIVE. ENGINEERS PLEASE TAKE A LOOK!! A picture, and there are many, is worth a thousand words! These pictures are real pearls!

Vetiver System in Iran. Salman Shooshtarian of Iran has informed TVNI about ongoing work with VS in his country (see).  He and Ali Tehranifar have translated the Vetiver Grass Manual by Truong et al into Persian and there work has now been published in by Iranian Agricultural Science Publications: http://www.adinebook.com/gp/product/6005410754. The Iranian Association for the Promotion of Vetiver has been established as an NGO - see their interesting presentation and the latest work on canal banks and rivers The visual demonstration and the quality of the vetiver plants and their growth clearly demonstrates the application of VS in semi arid and arid areas and is particularly applicable to Mediterranean and Middle East countries. Another VS application of great potential in these areas is for the treatment of waste water in its various forms on either small or large scale.

Establishing Native Vegetation for Soil Stabilization in Semi-Arid Areas in South Africa, Ethiopia and Madagascar. An excellent presentation by Roley Noffke of Hydromulch - Africa's leading land restoration company."As a pioneer species, vetiver grass, enables native species to establish on degraded sites where under normal circumstances it is impossible for the latter to develop. Vetiver grass provides habitat, shelter and forage to fauna". 

Vetiver Phytoremediation Technology (VPT) -- Paul Truong is TVNI's Technical Director and a world authority on the use of vetiver grass technology for the treatment ofcontaminated land and water. We refer to this type of application as Vetiver Phytoremediation Technology (VPT) . He has recently prepared a useful photo essay on the use of VPT for waste water treatment, comparing the before and after impact of vetiver. There are also two water treatment programs one, in Singapore (using C.nemoralis instead of the more efficient C. zizanioides) that Paul helped design, and the other in Oman (using Phragmites sp) designed by BAUER Umwelt GmbH of Germany). Both have interesting design features, and both could use C. zizanioidies. This slide show can be downloaded as a pdf file.

COMPUTER MODEL FOR TREATMENT OF SMALL VOLUME WASTEWATER
If you have problems with dealing with waste water and sewage effluent on your property you may be able to use the Vetiver System to eradicate it. This model by Paul and Nicholas Truong shows you how, and the number of plants that you will need.

Treating Industrial waste water with Vetiver -- Here is a nice example from Paul Truong of how vetiver can be used for industrial or agricultural waste water treatment using floating pontoons (best design yet) and by planting on the banks of the lagoons. There is great potential to apply the Vetiver System for waste water treatment not only on industrial scale but also for smaller treatment needs for single households, small hospitals, hotels, schools, refugee camps, etc. using the alternative "wetland" vetiver application.

VETIVER SYSTEM - A SOLUTION FOR URBAN WASTE WATER TREATMENT IN THE TROPICS?: In most cities, towns, and villages in developing countries there is no connection to a public sewage/waste water treatment.  Where there is a connection the effluent is often discharged without treatment to near by rivers. Where there is no sewage system some properties may have septic tanks, and the majority of these leak and miss function.  The result is that water tables, water bodies, and the local environment are polluted with consequential increases in foul smelling air, undrinkable water, and increased water borne diseases.  One such an example, described in a World Bank report on Indonesia describes the city of Palembang, South Sumatra, with a population of over a million having no direct sewage connections, and 70% of the households having septic tanks, of which 30% miss function. Correcting this situation with conventional costly technologies for Palembang, and tens of thousands of other urban centers in the tropics will be prohibitive and will take decades. It is essential to start installing low cost, flexible, and sustainable remedies, that might not be perfect, but are able to reduce the problems significantly. The Vetiver Phytoremedial Technology (VPT) as developed by Paul Truong is one such solution. Read more ......

VETIVER AND HEALTH - Improving quality of life in Haiti. Low cost and affordable sanitation. - The Vetiver Latrine.
"Those of those who are not familiar with the vetiver latrine. About one third of the global population does not have adequate access to a simple toilet. Logically it is the poorest of the poor that does not have this basic necessity and because they cannot afford them. The idea is to reduce the cost of a latrine by using vetiver as a construction material instead of bricks and cement. The design is a simple slab with vetiver planted around. The roots of the vetiver will stabilized the pit and the blades will act as a privacy screen. Using this technology we have been able to reduce the cost of a latrine from about $500 to about $25. Considering that most Haitians make less than $1.25 a day that makes sanitation affordable. If you are interested please check out http://vetiverlatrine.org/index.php
Progress and update: We finished another 247 latrines in April 2013 giving a total of 362 vetiver latrines. I did a survey of about 30% of the household of the batch that was completed in Sept 2012. After 2.5 years of use: (a) the latrines are self cleaning, 100% of the latrines were clean; (b) 0% of the latrines were mis-used (this is a common problem when NGO build latrines that are better than the homes they become storage depots and not latrines) (c) 100% of the households were satisfied with the latrine (d) none of the latrine pits collapsed; (e) people were very happy with the privacy screen; (f) of those who originally built a non-vetiver privacy screen 80% did not have one 2.5 years later. They said it was too much work maintaining a privacy screen and that the vetiver did a fine enough job; (g) when i visited the village in Nov 2014 all the latrines had only vetiver as a privacy screen.
There were no morbidity records before the project so it is difficult to quantify the public health benefit of the project. What we can say is that when there was a cholera outbreak in the area the village was not effected (Sanitation usually affects the spread of cholera not the initial infection). Anecdotally number of child deaths due to diarrhea has been reduced (we used to have one death every 2-3 months and for now people can't remember a child death from diarrhea for 15 months and counting)
We are looking into making the latrine more potable so that it can be produced in a centralized location and transported to remote sites". Owen Lee

From Sally Holker - Women Weave of India - "I planted vetiver three monsoons ago on my eleven acres of land (Central India, on the banks of the Narbada River, near Maheshwar). The original idea was to arrest the erosion of my very unstable terrain, which slopes at a twenty degree angle from the north (top) down to the river (south) and was slowly washing the whole story away. That has completely reversed itself now. The vetiver has been a miracle and has multiplied many times over. Not only is the land stable, but also we have been able to use the leaf of these plants very effectively in a project close to my heart. For thirty years I have been committed to increasing rural employment for women in our area through hand loom weaving. Most of the area weaves cotton and silk. We are now weaving vetiver leaf; making and selling beautiful table mats and runners."
From Debela Dinka - Sustainable Land Use Forum, Ethiopia. "According to our partner NGO in Illubabor, Ethio-Wetlands and Natural Resource Association (EWNRA), vetiver technology is more or less being used in 17 districts of 22 in Illubabor. It is estimated that about 17,000 households are using vetiver. It is expected that the remaining 5 districts will be involved. The major impacts of vetiver are: decreased rate of soil erosion; increased crop (maize sorghum, vegetables) yield due to soil and water conservation; reduced siltation of wetlands & streams; groundwater recharge which subsequently improved flow of springs, streams & wetlands; survival rate of tree & coffee seedlings reached more than 80%. Other uses of vetiver: mulching in coffee plantations; thatching of houses, stores & shades (vetiver grass gives long time service); mattress making (it repels home fleas & other insects); homestead hedgerows for beautification; making rope; income generation (farmers sell vetiver clumps for planting materials); and the green leaves of vetiver are cut and spread in & around homes during holidays & social gatherings such as wedding ceremonies."
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, yearly average property damage is $300,000,000. The government understands the need to mitigate these effects but has resorted to using piecemeal, conventional engineering works. These are very expensive, technically complicated and are not durable. TVNI’s introduction of VS into Vietnam 7 years ago was for Vietnam “a timely glass of fresh water to the thirsty desert traveller”. It 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 myriad problems. Vietnam represents one of the world’s most successful cases of VS use".

USDA/NRCS endorses Vetiveria zizanioides (Sunshine cultivar) In a very useful and practical plant guide USDA/NRCS supports the use of Vetiver (Sunshine cultivar) for soil and water conservation, slope stabilization and phytoremediation. It also vindicates Vetiver as a non invasive plant: "For approximately the past 15 years, no volunteer seedlings have been observed from conservation plantings of Sunshine in the Pacific Islands Area. Sunshine was evaluated for invasiveness by the Hawaii-Pacific Weed Risk Assessment and Pacific Island Ecosystems at Risk. It received a low risk score (-8) for the potential to become invasive." Note: Sunshine Vetiver has the same genotype (DNA tested) as the majority of cultivars of Vetiveria zizanioides used under the Vetiver System throughout the world.

CERTIFICATES OF TECHNICAL EXCELLENCE See a complete list of those certified in Vetiver System Technology. Details on how to get certified. Example of "Class 1" submission

Vetiver System Overview Learn More
The Vetiver Network International (TVNI) promotes the Vetiver System (VS), a concept integrating simple scientific principals of hydrology, soil mechanics, and similar natural processes to manage soil and water on a landscape scale. The concept excels best when implemented using clones of a remarkable domesticated plant – vetiver (Chrysopogon zizanioides), a non fertile, noninvasive Indian clump grass cultivated for centuries for essential oil. Vetiver is central to a wide range of applications, generally installed as narrow linear barriers (hedgerows): its roots hold soil in place and dense ground-level stems restrain sediment flows. Unlike “hard” engineering approaches that weaken over time, VS grows stronger. It is a renewal of a traditional approach that has been validated scientifically, and expanded and promoted by TVNI. The VS provides significant economic, environmental and social benefits. VS is now used in most tropical and semi-tropical countries, north to Italy and south to Chile. Based on research and demonstrations through TVNI “partners,” including research institutions, development agencies, NGO's and the private sector, VS has expanded from a technology primarily for farm soil and water conservation to include major applications for:

• slope stabilization of public infrastructure (e.g., roads, railways, canals, rivers, construction);
• prevention and treatment of contaminated domestic and industrial waste water;
• reclamation of toxic mine-tailings and polluted industrial land;
• disaster mitigation (e.g., stabilizing potential landslide sites, dikes and levees, dampening wind scour, and area protection against flooding);
• soil improvement, wetland and marginal land restoration, and crop pest control;
• renewable natural fibre for handicraft production, mulch, and thatch, etc.
• bio-fuels

All these applications impact positively on sustaining the environment and natural resources, while improving human welfare. For more details about the plant, its propagation and how to plant it go to this link

Vetiver Library .... To help users find information more easily about the Vetiver System we have established a "library" on the Zotero site. You can search against subject, tag, alphabetically, language amongst others. We have not completed the upload of all the documents and their links, but this should be completed soon. We will continue to keep operating the TVNI website search engine for those who wish to use it.

USA users - go to this Plant Guide about Vetiver (Sunshine cultivar), published by USDA/NRCS - and be assured of its approval.

BUY VETIVER SYSTEM TECHNICAL MANUALS at AMAZON.COM English, French, Mandarin, Portuguese, Spanish, Swahili, and Vietnamese editions - download free

Compare Vetiver System for on farm soil and water conservation with engineered structures.