The Vetiver Network International

Global Vetiver Farmer (GVF) Program

Farmers, gardeners and researchers in many countries grow vetiver, as hedges or as single stand-alone plants, and record once a year at harvest how crops grow close to the vetiver and farther away. Together these records show where vetiver helps most, and why.

Read this page in your language:Automatic translation by Google. The GVF forms have their own checked translations.

No signal in the field? Use the KoboCollect app.

It works offline: fill in forms anywhere, and your records are sent automatically when the phone is back online.

How to install and use KoboCollect

Install the free KoboCollect app from the Google Play Store (Android phones). On an iPhone, use the web form buttons on this page instead; they also work without a signal once opened.
Open the app and choose Manually enter project details. In Server URL type https://kc.kobotoolbox.org/tvnigvf, leave Username and Password blank, and tap Add project.
Tap Download form, tick the four GVF forms: GVF Site Registration, SVH-1 Core Record, SVH-2 Add-on (selected sites only) and GVF Photo Upload. Tap Get selected.
Turn on automatic sending: menu (⋮) → Settings → Project settings → Form management → Auto send, and choose Wi-Fi or cellular data.
Choose your language: inside any GVF form, tap the menu (⋮) → Change language and pick one of the 16 languages. The app’s own buttons follow menu (⋮) → Settings → User interface → Language.
To record: tap Start new form, choose the form, swipe to move through the questions, and tap Finalize at the end. With no signal the record waits safely on the phone and is sent by itself when the signal returns.
When TVNI announces a new form version, tap Download form again. Before deleting the app or changing phones, check that Ready to send is empty.

Search this page

One person, many sites. You do not need to own the land.

On one site you can record as many vetiver hedges or plants as you like, for example on different slopes or under different crops: one Site ID, and one SVH-1 for each hedge or plant. With the farmer’s permission you can also measure on other farms. Register each farm once (about two minutes, with the same name and email each time); its Site ID then covers every hedge on that farm, season after season. It works like TVNI’s Vetiver Systems project on iNaturalist, where members record vetiver wherever they find it.

What is GVF?

The Global Vetiver Farmer (GVF) Demonstration Program is The Vetiver Network International’s citizen research project on how vetiver affects the crops growing beside it. Vetiver’s benefits for soil and water are well documented; GVF asks the practical next question: how much does a vetiver hedge, or a single plant, change crop yields at different distances, and why does this differ from place to place? Anyone who grows vetiver, from smallholders and gardeners to plantations and research stations, can take part with one simple record at harvest, sent by phone, computer or paper. After a beta trial, the program has been simplified and is being relaunched in October 2026.

Background: Become a farmer-researcher (the first GVF invitation, May 2026) and Five studies, 1,300 farmers: the questions nobody asked.

GVF around the world

Every registered site, updated every hour. Locations are shown only to within about 10 km, and no names are shown.

See photos from GVF farms (shared with the farmers’ permission)

Find your path

Start with the column that describes you. Each step links to what you need.

Farmers and gardeners

Grow vetiver and record your harvest

1. Choose a farm modelSummary, fact sheets, guides

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2. Register your siteSite ID arrives by email

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3. Plant and careFollow your model guide

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4. Record at harvestSVH-1, one per hedge or plant

Researchers

Explain why yields differ

1. Read the Farmer GuideHow farmers observe

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2. Select sitesPriority: V101, V101E, V48, VPGS, KG

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3. Measure with SVH-2Yield, soil moisture, samples

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4. Share resultsData joins by Site ID

Coordinators

Grow GVF in your country or network

1. Read the Coordinator GuideYour four roles

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2. Bring groups inNGOs, farmer groups, schools

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3. Answer and shareQuestions, news and results

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4. Link with researchers and plannersUsing GVF results

Champions

NGOs, schools, influencers, retirees

1. Read the overviewGVF in two pages

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2. See how to helpIdeas for every group

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3. Spread the wordShare this page

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4. Help people registerTwo minutes each

Choose a farm model

Eight ways to use vetiver on a farm, from contour hedges to single plants in gardens and plantations. Start with the Farm Models Summary (1 page), then the fact sheet and full guide for your model.

V101

Basic contour hedges

Fact sheet (1 page)How to plant (full guide)

V101E

Contour hedges plus scattered vetiver

Fact sheet (1 page)How to plant (full guide)

V48

Closely spaced hedges for steep slopes

Fact sheet (1 page)How to plant (full guide)

VCR

Vetiver crop rotation (block planting)

Fact sheet (1 page)How to plant (full guide)

VFF

Vetiver food forest

Fact sheet (1 page)How to plant (full guide)

VPGS

Plantation grid system for tree crops

Fact sheet (1 page)How to plant (full guide)

Vetiver kitchen garden

Fact sheet (1 page)How to plant (full guide)

VRT

Retrofit of bunds, terraces and waterways

Fact sheet (1 page)How to plant (full guide)

Want more detail? See all the farm model guides (full how-to guides, about 5 pages each).

Shared planting and care information for all models is in the Common Technical Information (CTI).

Observe and record

One visit at harvest. Observe the crop at the edge of the hedge (or from the center of a single plant) and at 2, 5, 10, 15 and 20 m, or the mid-point to the next hedge or plant, on both sides. Send one SVH-1 record per hedge or plant.

Recommended

KoboCollect app (Android, free)

GPS location in one tap, photos taken inside the form, works without a signal, and saves half-finished forms as drafts.

Get KoboCollect Set-up guide

Any phone or computer

Web forms

Nothing to install. Choose your language at the top of the form.

In the field

Paper forms

Print, fill in by hand, then enter online or hand to your GVF coordinator.

SVH-1 Core Record SVH-2 Add-on

Guides and forms for your role

Tap a package to see what is in it, then open the file you need.

Farmers and gardeners: take part and recordPackage 1Show files ▾

How to take part and record your harvestFarmer Guide (web page, with PDF)Choose your farm modelFarm Models (web page, with PDF summary)Read the fact sheet for your model8 fact sheets, listed above under Choose a farm model Print the paper harvest formSVH-1 Core Record (PDF)How to set up the KoboCollect app and web formsHow to Use the GVF Forms (web page)See all the files in one placePackage 1 folder on Google Drive

Researchers: add measurements at selected sitesPackage 2Show files ▾

How to select sites and what to measureResearch Guide (PDF)What every research site must reportGVF Minimum Reporting Standard for Research (PDF)Print the research formSVH-2 Add-on (PDF)Fill in the research form onlineSVH-2 web form Look up the field codesGVF Data Dictionary (PDF)Background: the hidden biological benefits of vetiverSpecial Focus Note (PDF)Background: vetiver, hydrology and hedge hydraulicsSpecial Focus Note (PDF)See all the files in one placePackage 2 folder on Google Drive

Coordinators: grow GVF in your country or networkPackage 3Show files ▾

How to coordinate GVFCoordinator Guide (PDF)How volunteers and students can help at harvestHelping at Harvest (web page)How others can help activate GVFHow You Can Help (web page)See all the files in one placePackage 3 folder on Google Drive

Understand the whole programProgram Overview (web page)

Help GVF grow

You do not need to be a farmer to make a difference. Introduce GVF to farmers, gardeners and researchers near you, and help them register.

Vetiver Service Companies

You already plant and sell vetiver. Show GVF to your customers and register the farms you plant.

Master farmers

You already use vetiver well. Show your farm to neighbors, and help them register and record.

NGOs and projects

Add GVF to your field programs and train your staff as coordinators.

Schools and students

Record a school vetiver plot as a class project, and help parents record their harvest.

Retirees and volunteers

Adopt a few farms nearby and help them register and record.

Influencers and media

Share farmer stories and this page with your audience.

Farmer groups

Read: How you can help activate GVF Read: Helping at Harvest (volunteers and students)

Start GVF where you are, in four steps

1. Read the Program Overview: what GVF is, in ten minutes.

2. Join WhatsApp: #GVF to meet coordinators and other members.

3. Find two or three farmers or gardeners with vetiver and help them register their sites.

4. At harvest, help them record. To lead a group, use the Coordinator Guide; research partners use the Research Guide and the Minimum Reporting Standard.

Presentations you can use

Show the PDF, or download the PowerPoint to translate or adapt it.

Community meeting: for farmers and gardeners; register at the meeting. PDF · PowerPoint

Activators: how to get your community or organization involved. PDF · PowerPoint

Partners and donors: what GVF is, its benefits, and how it runs without paid staff. PDF · PowerPoint

Activator Guide: the same steps in writing. PDF

What we know, and what GVF tests

Measured (in TVNI standards)

Hedges cut soil loss and runoff, trap sediment and build natural terraces, and help rainwater soak in.

Being tested by GVF

How crop yield changes with distance from vetiver hedges and single plants across climates, soils and farm models, and what causes the differences. See the results so far (updated as records arrive).

Not yet measured

Effects on soil fungi (AMF) and nematodes in nearby crops.

TVNI Guides and Design Standards Focus Note: Hidden Biological Benefits Focus Note: Water Management