Category: infrastructure

The Hedge that Builds Itself

A reader’s guide to the Vetiver Hedge Mechanisms standard, for members who do not build slopes for a living Our design standard guide  Vetiver Hedge Mechanisms now runs to a hundred pages and eighteen annexes, and parts of it are…

The Vetiver System for Stream Bank Stabilisation

The two attached documents make a complementary case for the Vetiver System (VS) as a living, low-cost means of protecting river, canal, dam and sea banks against flood and wave erosion. The first sets out the underlying method and a…

Bridging the Adoption Gap: TVNI’s 2026 Engineering Standards for Slope Stabilization

For three decades, Vetiver Grass Technology (VGT) has demonstrated extraordinary technical performance in stabilizing engineered slopes—yet struggled with institutional adoption. Hong Kong documented ten years of zero slope failures, then rejected vetiver. Hawaii faced $70 million in flood damage and…

Vetiver Grass Technology (VGT) for Engineered Slopes: A Fully Integrated Bio Hydro Mechanical Stabilization System

“Use geofabrics only when risk demands it — vetiver does the heavy lifting.” “Why pay 5 times  more for geofabrics when vetiver does the real work?” “Vetiver isn’t vegetation — it’s bio‑engineering that stops slope failure.” Across the world’s highways,…

Thirty Years of The China Vetiver Network: Achievements, Impact, and Lessons for the Future

Liyu Xu, China Vetiver Network Coordinator, and his team from The National Institute of Soils (Nanjing), as well as many others, notably Xia Hanping (South China Institute of Botany), Lu Zhong-Xian (Institute of Plant Protection and Microbiology, Zhejiang Academy of…

Newsletter (NL2026-01) Vetiver Grass Technology – Read and Think Deep!

The Five Non‑Negotiables for Successful Vetiver System Establishment Effective vetiver installations don’t happen by chance. They require disciplined quality management with trained supervision to ensure every step—from cultivar selection to long‑term maintenance—meets Vetiver Grass Technology (VGT) design and application standards. When these…

A new technical reference and guide for slope stabilization from Dr. Mohammad Shariful Islam

The Vetiver Network International is pleased to present this new technical reference and guide: Standard Specification for Slope Stabilization Using Vetiver Grass. Authored by Dr. Mohammad Shariful Islam, a distinguished researcher and practitioner in the field of bioengineering, Dr. Islam’s…

Newsletter (NL 2025-12) – a year in review & other news

The Vetiver System in 2025 The most outstanding aspect of the Vetiver System in 2025 were the people of the VS global community.  WhatsApp groups in India and Latin America, the monthly Latin American Conversatorios, and numerous active Facebook groups…

Newsletter (NL 2025-11) – Mine Restoration – Knowledge Resources – Global Voices

From Scarred Mines to Blueberry Fields: A Story of Restoration from South China. In Baisha Town, Yingde City, the scars of illegal rare earth mining once defined the landscape. Jagged rocks and barren soil stretched across Mendong Village’s Fourth Pond,…