The Vetiver Network International

Vetiver Hedges Provide Crop Insurance Against Extreme Weather Events (TVNI – NL-2023-04)

CYCLONE FREDDY – VETIVER HEDGEROWS AS CROP INSURANCE?? This cyclone has in the past month devastated Mozambique, Madagascar and Malawi. A quote from AP … “About 4 million people — a fifth of Malawi’s population — were already facing food insecurity and “more people will now need assistance” after floods destroyed close to 120,000 hectares (297,000 acres) of farmland, said the World Food Program. The price of the staple maize has skyrocketed to between 300% and 400% compared to the same time last year in affected areas, said WFP.… Read the rest “Vetiver Hedges Provide Crop Insurance Against Extreme Weather Events (TVNI – NL-2023-04)”

Vetiver and Regenerative Agriculture and It Symbiosis with Other Plants (TVNI – NL-2024-0324-

NEWS UPDATE The King of Thailand Vetiver Awards. The six winners of these awards were announced in early March. Congratulations to the  winners from China (Feng Ziyuan and Zhiongxian Lu), Kenya (Edwin Oyaro), Mexico (Antonio Carrillo Bolea), USA (Eric Wiediger), and  Vietnam (Ngo Thi Thuy Huong). In addition, 13 Certificate of Excellence were awarded. See award winner details.   The  abstracts of all 42 submissions for the  King Of Thailand Awards can be found here. The full papers will be available on TVNI website after the conference.… Read the rest “Vetiver and Regenerative Agriculture and It Symbiosis with Other Plants (TVNI – NL-2024-0324-”

The Winners of the King of Thailand Vetiver Awards 2023 (ICV-7) and Certificates of Excellence

THE KING OF THAILAND  VETIVER AWARDS – THE SIX WINNERS (abstracts of all submitted papers at this link) OUTSTANDING RESEARCH Agricultural Application Title:  Application of Vetiver Grass Vetiveria zizanioides as a Trap Plant for Controlling Rice Stem Borer Chilo suppressalis in China. Author(s) : Zhongxian Lu, Yanhui Lu, Xusong Zheng, Guangchun Gao and Hongxing XuAffiliation: Institute of Plant Protection and Microbiology, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences Country: PR China Non–Agricultural Application Title : Using Vetiver Phytoremediation Technology to Mitigate Dioxin – -Contaminated Soils at Bien Hoa Airbase, Dong Nai, Vietnam.… Read the rest “The Winners of the King of Thailand Vetiver Awards 2023 (ICV-7) and Certificates of Excellence”

Vetiver and Waste Water Treatment in Hawaii (TVNI – NL-2023-02)

NEWS UPDATE ICV7.  It looks as though everything is on track. Nongpun Kolosolak and her team at the Office of Royal Development Projects Board are working hard at organizing the conference that will be held in-person and online. The Registration platform is working and can be accessed at .   The evaluation of the King of Thailand Vetiver Awards have been completed and are now in the hands of the organizers. TVNI Awards have a longer time frame for evaluation. … Read the rest “Vetiver and Waste Water Treatment in Hawaii (TVNI – NL-2023-02)”

Vetiver Grass Technology and the Knowledge Gap (TVNI – NL-2023-01)

The Vetiver Knowledge Gap Most of those who read this newsletter fit cozily within the family of vetiver users around the world who when sharing information are most often “preaching to the choir” – not that we mind!  We have to do more to get the information out to new users and to officials at various levels of government that Vetiver Grass Technology can help solve a lot of natural resources related problems at relative low cost (for most of us this starts with local government officials or our community neighborhood committee).… Read the rest “Vetiver Grass Technology and the Knowledge Gap (TVNI – NL-2023-01)”

Piet Sabbe – Overall Winner of the Short Video Competition

The overall winner of the Vetiver Short Video competition (following a poll on TVNI facebook group) is Piet Sabbe of Ecuador. He was closely Marietta Landis of Panama followed by Marietta Landis of Panama, and Alois and Maria Kennerknech of Peru was third. All three produced excellent and interesting videos that reflected their more than 20 year involvement and commitment to the use of the Vetiver Grass Technology  (VGT) and its promotion.   Each video is worthy watching, and in their own different ways drive home the value of the technology.… Read the rest “Piet Sabbe – Overall Winner of the Short Video Competition”

Latin American Vetiver Network – New Coordinator

Congratulations and thank you to Rafael Luque of Venezuela who has volunteered to coordinate this important Regional Network. Rafael has been involved with the Vetiver System for about 20 years and has a great depth of knowledge regarding its application. Please support him in his work, as we are sure that we can expect significant scaling up of the technology in the region. Here follows a message from him in both English and Spanish. “Vetiverian Colleagues and Friends  Receive an affectionate greeting for the New Year, together with my best wishes for you personally, and your family and professional well-being.… Read the rest “Latin American Vetiver Network – New Coordinator”

Regenerative Agriculture with Vetiver – and – Stem Borer Control in Rice (TVNI – NL-2022-12)

SEASONS GREETINGS  I take this opportunity to wish you all our Season’s Greetings, and may you all benefit from Vetiver Grass Technology, and in doing so, share what you know with others, in and outside of your community. I also take this opportunity to thank those of you who have contributed to our knowledge base. Your support and feedback is invaluable.  Regenerative Agriculture This month I want to put some focus on Regenerative Agriculture.  Soil health in its broadest sense is declining at an accelerating rate, due, amongst others, to increase pressure on the land, continuous and overuse of agricultural chemicals, poor farm management systems, and damage from extreme rainfall events  —  often associated with management practices that do not protect the land.… Read the rest “Regenerative Agriculture with Vetiver – and – Stem Borer Control in Rice (TVNI – NL-2022-12)”

VETIVER SHORT VIDEO COMPETITION AWARD WINNERS BY CATEGORIES

We are pleased to announce the results of the competition. Some excellent and interesting videos. Listed by category (1= First, 2= Second), and with links to the respective video. (#=Video ID) Community (total entries – 7) 1 Alois Kennerknecht/ ALKE, Peru. Vetiver Grass: Community Use in Urban Areas (#1) 2 Jonathan Barcant, Trinidad and Tobago. Grassroots 4LaVie Tobago (#7) Disaster Mitigation (total entries – 3) 1 Estampa Verde, Mexico. The Vetiver System and Keyline – A climate risk management tool for agriculture.… Read the rest “VETIVER SHORT VIDEO COMPETITION AWARD WINNERS BY CATEGORIES”

Role of Vetiver in Mitigating Climate Change, Flood Control, and Drought (TVNI – NL-2022-11)

Climate Change, Flood Control, and Drought – The Problem Persists and can be overwhelming. This photo, from a November 15 Guardian Newspaper article by Rahul Raina  (‘In Delhi I can see the climate catastrophe unfolding before my eyes’ | Delhi | The Guardian), is of villagers at a nearly dried up well in Samba District (near Jammu – North West India).  It also shows a lot more, more than most casual observers see. The middle ground terraces continue to erode (look carefully at the tree roots exposed by erosion).… Read the rest “Role of Vetiver in Mitigating Climate Change, Flood Control, and Drought (TVNI – NL-2022-11)”