Mapping the Vetiver System Worldwide: A New Country-by-Country Evidence Table
TVNI has compiled a comprehensive country-by-country evidence table documenting the global reach of the Vetiver System. The table currently covers 120 countries and territories — each assessed across six evidence
categories: published research, documented field projects, government/institutional adoption, supplier presence, network presence, and recent activity (post-2015).
How It Was Built. The table was generated through a systematic research process using AI-assisted search across TVNI’s own archives (vetiver.org, including deep newsletter and conference proceeding paths), the National Academies Press, ICV-1 through ICV-7 proceedings, World Bank and FAO documents, peer-reviewed databases (ScienceDirect, Springer, ResearchGate, CABI), regional network publications (PRVN, LAVN, SAVN, EMVN), and commercial supplier directories. Multiple passes were made — first building the core table, then specifically auditing for gaps by region.
Caveats. This table is a starting point, not a definitive record. It reflects what can be found through online sources and published literature — it will inevitably undercount work that exists only in local knowledge, unpublished project reports, or languages other than English. Some TVNI archive PDFs were inaccessible during the research. Evidence ratings (Confirmed / Partial / Not evidenced) involve judgment calls, and reasonable people may disagree. Three countries — Iraq, Jordan, and Syria — are listed as explicitly confirmed absent based on a 2000 genetics study, though circumstances may have changed.
We Need Your Input. No database built from the outside can match the collective knowledge of this network. If your country is missing, if evidence has been understated, if a project or practitioner has been overlooked — we want to hear from you. Corrections, additions, and updated details are all welcome. Contact TVNI or reply to this newsletter.
What the Table Tells Us. The Vetiver System has reached every inhabited continent and nearly every climatic zone where erosion threatens livelihoods. The strongest adoption clusters are in Southeast Asia, East and Southern Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Recent activity is documented in at least 50 countries, which we know is a massive undercount so please do help us update the table if you can. The essential oil economy (led by Haiti, India, and Indonesia) provides commercial infrastructure that often supports conservation adoption. Regional networks and social media groups continue to be very important vehicles for spreading the technology.
Yet gaps persist. The Sahel, the Middle East, and parts of Central Africa show little penetration despite acute need. The table is both a measure of what has been accomplished and a map of where opportunity remains.
Vetiver México Champions Local Projects with ‘Vetiver for the Earth’ Competition
Contributed by Oliver Xala, Founder & Director, Vetiver México
Vetiver México promotes the Vetiver System (VS) as a nature-based solution to reduce risks, restore ecosystems, and strengthen livelihoods. We began as an entrepreneurial venture and today operate under a hybrid model: a technical-operational component focused on implementation, and a social arm that functions as a self-sustaining NGO.
Our story stems from a concrete, real-world experience. In the aftermath of Hurricane Paulina (1997), it became evident that the extensive damage to hillsides, roads, and water bodies required not only emergency relief but also simple, durable, and replicable bioengineering solutions. Over time, this field-based quest evolved into a social mission focused on communities that face—on a daily basis—water pollution, erosion, landslides, and the deterioration of rural roads.
One of our core principles is “comunalidad”: placing communities—along with their organizational structures and local knowledge—at the very center of our efforts, for they are the ones who bear the consequences and are best positioned to sustain the solutions.
In numerous rural territories—particularly in small or remote localities—local governments operate with severely limited margins; per capita funding criteria, limited technical capacity, and insufficient budgets often leave urgent prevention and restoration challenges unaddressed. It is in these contexts that we seek to assist, by bridging proven tools—such as the Vetiver System—with community-led processes involving training, implementation, maintenance, and monitoring.
It is from this spirit that the “Vetiver for the Earth” Call for Proposals was born. Created to identify, support, and spotlight local projects, this initiative addresses challenges that are already impacting communities and ecosystems. Furthermore, the projects we champion aim to make a clear contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), aligning on-the-ground actions with global targets related to water, resilience, ecosystem protection, and community well-being. The selection process was conducted based on technical criteria and social-environmental impact—specifically addressing priority issues, community participation, feasibility, and replicability potential. This process resulted in five projects receiving support under the 2025 call for proposals, and six winning projects selected for the 2026 edition, whose on-the-ground implementation will commence in the coming months. More than just a form of recognition, the primary objective is to provide guidance and support during the implementation phase, ensuring that the results are enduring and serve as an inspiration to other regions.
We extend our gratitude to The Vetiver Network International (TVNI) for their efforts in strengthening the dissemination of the Vetiver System (VS) and for highlighting initiatives such as that of Vetiver México. We remain committed to working at the local level—while maintaining a global perspective—thereby demonstrating that climate resilience is built on the ground, driven by community leadership and sustainable solutions.
Editor’s note: TVNI wishes to congratulate both the winners and Vetiver Mexico for organizing/sponsoring this important contest! Through this innovative promotion scheme, Vetiver Mexico is making a great contribution to the promotion and dissemination of the Vetiver System. Thank you Oliver Xala!
Paseo Ambiental Orégano: 5 Years of Urban Regeneration and Resilience with Vetiver Network Advice
Contributed by Dr. Oswaldo Luque Mirabal (Coordinator, Venezuelan Vetiver Network)
The Paseo Ambiental Orégano, in the state of Carabobo, Venezuela, celebrates its 5 years as an international benchmark for how biological engineering and community organization transform environmental liabilities into productive urban ecosystems. Its president, Prof. Trina Luque Mirabal, highlights that this achievement arises from the strategic alliance of numerous neighbors, with technical advice from Dr. Oswaldo Luque Mirabal (Coordinator, Venezuelan Vetiver Network and Rafael Luque Mirabal (Vetiver Bioengineering Engineer and coordinator of the Latin American Vetiver Network). The Vetiver System (VS) was implemented to recover soils, perform phytoremediation and protect local biodiversity.
Vetiver (Chrysopogon zizanioides) optimizes the soil-water-plant relationship beyond stabilizing slopes, acting as a natural biological filter. Its specialized nursery supplies high-quality plant material to decontaminate water in Valencian communities and some industries, standardizing its use in water sanitation and mitigation of environmental risks, under the supervision of both networks.
In the Santos Kartaya Forest, more than 1,800 trees are benefitting from vetiver organic mulch for conserving moisture, protecting roots from pathogens and optimizing irrigation even in extreme droughts as they grow and establish.
To commemorate the anniversary, Prof. Trina Luque Mirabal reports on the conference “Roots of Hope: Environmental Solutions”, with presentations on the impact of vetiver on polluted waters, erosion control and ecological restoration. Paseo Ambiental Orégano also integrates sport and culture: the “Race with Purpose” raises awareness of the environmental issue among the participants; musical groups and street artists animate coexistences; innovations such as fire protection systems and QR codes to obtain technical references of plant species.
In summary, the Paseo Ambiental Orégano integrates organized community and Vetiver System along with additional activities, as an exemplary model of “Management and Community”. Supported by the San Diego Mayor’s Office, the Venezuelan and Latin American Vetiver Networks, private companies and voluntary groups (scouts, forest firefighters and others), this synergy demonstrates the transformative power of the Vetiver System and represents an ideal example for the TVNI to promote as a global standard for green infrastructure. Uniting applied science and neighborhood engagement for resilient cities.
A China-backed project in western Kenya to restore degraded riverbanks & transform flood-prone farmland into thriving green corridors.
A short CGTN Africa video on restoration work along Kenya’s Nzoia River Basin showcases a a nature-based solution for protecting a vulnerable landscape that supports local livelihoods. The latter being an essential element if there is to be any hope of success post-project. The initiative, launched in Budalangi in western Kenya, is training farmers to stabilize degraded riverbanks with both bamboo and vetiver grass in an area long affected by flooding, erosion, and declining farm productivity.
In the project vetiver plays a distinct spatial and functional role within the restoration design. Official descriptions of the project it establishes a 3 km multi-species plantation along the riverbanks, combining bamboo with vetiver grass, Sesbania sesban, bananas, Grevillea robusta, and food crops. The aim is not only to restore degraded riparian land, but also to reduce flood risk, improve food security, and create a stronger local green economy through training, nursery development, and technology transfer. More than 450 local residents and staff have reportedly benefited from capacity-building activities.)
The vetiver’s role is to protect and hold the soils closest to the water’s edge, while the bamboo is to strengthen the broader riparian corridor behind it. 100 ha of bamboo is being established as a livelihood option, i.e., to supply poles, craft materials, furniture, and material for other agroforestry value chains. The bamboo is to contribute to carbon capture, as well as land stabilization. For its part, the vetiver is planted right at the top of the slope along the riverbank, as the front line of defense against flooding; stabilizing soil even under high-flow conditions. Later reporting explains that vetiver was strategically planted in three rows along a 1.1-kilometre stretch of the Lower Nzoia, where the dense hedgerows will trap sediment, reduce soil loss, slow surface runoff, and enhance water infiltration. Importantly, vetiver’s socio-economic value is also recognized, in the forms of materials for thatching, handicrafts, and livestock fodder, while remaining low-cost and easy to maintain.
The useful design lesson here is that restoration is not being treated as a one-species solution. Instead, the project shows how vetiver can serve as the low-cost, immediate protective barrier, while bamboo contributes larger-scale structural, ecological, and economic benefits. This is a useful reminder that vetiver often delivers its greatest value not in isolation, but as a highly effective partner within integrated landscape restoration. And, as a component of the initial project, over time local farmers and households will have the opportunity to see and explore for themselves the wider uses and broader benefits vetiver can contribute, and so extend it into their field crops, infrastructure and water quality protection needs, amongst others.
Farmer innovation in the Solomon Islands
In countries where formal extension is weak or absent, farmers must take the lead and innovate, test, and teach each other. And while we often speak in terms of the need for Vetiver Grass Technology (VGT) to be taken up and disseminated through extension programs and projects, Aaron Usa Kama’s 2020 PhD thesis from The University of Queensland offers a useful reminder:
Across case studies on Kolombangara, Guadalcanal, and Malaita, Kama documents how “drivers” and “uncertainties” (climate variability, soil infertility, pests and diseases, shortage of arable land, and waterlogged/swampy soils) trigger farmer experimentation and peer-to-peer diffusion. He describes a nine-step experimentation cycle – decision, preparation, trial, observation, judgment, confirmation/rejection, repetition, and adoption – showing that adoption is active improvement rather than passive uptake. In recognition of this, he points out international and government extension should shift their focus towards supporting farmer agency and innovation capacity.
The thesis also offers one small but intriguing farmer-led innovation with vetiver: a Kolombangara farmer planted vetiver between raised beds in swampy land to reduce surface water, with farmers explicitly noting “reduced water level” and “regulation of water temperature” among their reasons for taking up the practice.
What we can take away from his thesis, that is relevant and strategic for VS dissemination, is that scaling VGT is not only about “promoting a technology,” but also enabling farmer-led trials, simple measurement, and fast sharing. Local innovators are the hubs. Support them with planting materials and practical guidance on correct application, which in turn will strengthen local adaptation that is grounded in farmer observation and experimentation and provide the basis for the longer term expansion of uptake and use at the community level when the external support inevitably ends or winds down.
A community-first vetiver model for landslide-prone hillsides in Indonesia…and some discussion of technical design
A 2025 community-service paper from Yogyakarta-based researchers offers an important reminder for the wider vetiver community: VGT adoption often fails not because the technology is weak, but because communities and local institutions are not organized to implement and maintain it (Ed. note: Or it isn’t correctly applied). In Hargotirto Village (Kulon Progo District, Yogyakarta)—a highland area with high rainfall, unstable soils, and recurring landslides—the authors set out to test whether a structured vetiver program could raise awareness and mobilize sustained community participation for disaster mitigation.
Their program ran Jan 27–Feb 25, 2025 and used four integrated methods:
- Socialization/education via focus group discussions (FGDs);
- Surveys and mapping to identify and geolocate landslide-prone sites;
- Hands-on training using demonstration plots (nursery technique, planting, care); and
- Mentoring during mass planting to ensure correct establishment.
Socialization drew 38 participants from two hamlets (Teganing 1 and Sungapan 2). Mapping work identified priority landslide points—including household locations with coordinates—and confirmed land suitable for vetiver with a 30–40 cm planting distance. The program then executed mass planting of 4,200 vetiver seedlings across the two hamlets. While the paper does not tell us about the steepness of the slopes that they planted the vetiver on, they do mention “…one of the drawbacks of vetiver grass is its upright or vertical growth pattern relative to the ground, making it insufficiently effective for strengthening slopes with inclines exceeding 40°.”
A standout feature is the multi-stakeholder “disaster readiness” coalition supporting planting and follow-up, including sub-district and village government plus emergency and security actors (BPBD, SAR groups, police/military, and the regency fire department). This plan, which attempts to ensure the long term sustainability of these efforts, includes simple community monitoring cues for the community to (hopefully) ensure good plant root development and clump density by dry-season watering and weed control, as needed.
Editor’s note: It is unclear from the paper what the design and layout of the vetiver was. The paper states that they “confirmed land suitable for vetiver with a 30–40 cm planting distance” , which immediately raises questions of the implementers understanding of the technology and how it should be applied correctly. The impression is that the vetiver was not laid out as hedgerows, with the recommended 10-15 cm between planting slips and the appropriate vertical interval between the hedgerows (e.g., 1 meter VI). See, for example, Vetiver Grass Technology (VGT) for Engineered Slopes: A Fully Integrated Bio-Hydro-Mechanical Stabilization System
Also, the so-called “drawbacks of vetiver grass”, ascribed to its “upright or vertical growth pattern relative to the ground” that make it “insufficiently effective for strengthening slopes with inclines exceeding 40°” needs comment. Why vetiver’s erect growth pattern would factor into its effectiveness at stabilizing a slope would only seem to be a factor if the assumption is that recumbent grasses “lay down” and shield the soil from raindrop and runoff impacts. If planted correctly to form a dense hedgerow, vetiver’s stiff and erect stems halt runoff and inclines exceeding 40° (which is equivalent to about 85% plus slopes) the hedgerows themselves would be so close that the vetiver canopy would largely protect the slope from raindrop impacts once established. Though it is important to note that the 40° limit they propose, given what they describe as “unstable soils” may indeed be correct for their conditions (see next article). For a more comprehensive treatment of the question of vetiver’s protection function on steeper slopes, see Paul Troung’s presentation on Vetiver System Technology For Infrastructure Stabilisation , which suggest that, in general, at slopes above 60° (173%) it is not recommendable to apply vetiver alone, but rather in combination with geotextiles and/or other mechanical methods.
For landslide risks specifically, vetiver hedgerows are best understood as a shallow-slope stabilization measure, where the likely slip surface is shallow and the slope is generally stable internally. Published guidance commonly places the upper range for vetiver-alone use on earthen slopes at about 45–50° (100% to 120%), with shallower limits preferred on erodible soils and in high-rainfall settings. On steeper slopes—especially above about 60°—vetiver should generally be used as part of a composite system with whatever site specific, additional engineering methods are called for, e.g., drainage, benching/terracing, geotextiles, retaining works, or other structural measures. Ultimately, the practical limit depends on soil type and stratigraphy, slope height and angle, rainfall intensity and duration, groundwater/drainage conditions, slip-surface depth, and the maturity of the root system.
Vetiver that stabilizes slopes and captures carbon: insights from Bogor, Indonesia
A new open-access conference paper from IPB University frames vetiver bioengineering as a dual-benefit intervention: strengthening landslide-prone slopes while also sequestering atmospheric CO₂ through plant growth. The case site—Petir Village, Bogor Regency—has frequent landslides and is described as having highly erodible, silt-textured soils, steep slopes, and low permeability, conditions that elevate failure risk in heavy rains.
What is of broader interest in this paper are the authors contrasting utilizing vetiver with traditional, concrete-heavy stabilization works, citing high embodied emissions (e.g., shotcrete and gravity retaining walls). This is useful point when VGT is competing against grey infrastructure in budgets, EIAs, and climate-screened funding.
The authors also seek to quantify CO₂ uptake, and tie it to planting density. Using state-of-the-art, portable instrument (LI-COR 6800) to measure leaf gas exchange (CO2 assimilation, and transpiration) they report rising assimilation with plant age and light: from ~0.55 µmol CO₂ m⁻² s⁻¹ (60 days after planting or DAP, low light) to 3.34 µmol (90 DAP, low light) and ~7 µmol at high light. Translating this to more understandable numbers: Assuming 10 hr/day of sunlight), they estimate 0.024 g/day (60 DAP), 0.728 g/day (90 DAP, low light), and 1.53 g/day (90 DAP, high light) per plant of CO2 uptake.
They then show how spacing drives per-hectare impact: under a dense layout (~355,000 plants/ha), their 1.53 g/plant/day assumption yields about 0.543 t CO₂/ha/day; sparse layouts drop sharply. They also note higher per-plant uptake reported for older plants in other work, which (when paired with dense planting) suggests potentially much larger total.
Further to the prior discussion on slope steepness and vetiver’s effectiveness, the authors suggest a slope-class spacing guidance and a clear “hybrid” rule of closer spacings between hedgerows on 30–45° (58% – 100%) slopes and combining vetiver with gabions/retaining structures on >45° slopes in the highly erodible, silt-textured soils, with low permeability in which they are working.
