How to restore deserts into fertile land. 

In many countries, desert reforestation efforts often occur with expensive and capital-intensive methods. The problem with several of these methods is that they often require subsidies to be economically viable. If we want to plant 2 billion hectares of deserts with trees - as is my objective to cause - then these methods and principles are impossible to follow. The problem is too big to solve with subsidies. The problem should solve itself by developing a principle where an investor, NGO or government can have a good Return on Investment (ROI) by reforesting the deserts. If we want to plant 2 billion hectares of trees, ROI - not subsidy- is the key word. Another problem with many methods and attempted solutions, is that they are not sustainable. In many cases, groundwater is being used that has been created throughout thousands of years - and now it’s being used up in only a few hundred years! In order to use this water, groundwater pumps are installed to take it from the soil; and pumps are installed to pump it to the trees. So, besides using precious groundwater, expensive energy is also used. All in all, we may say that many of these solutions are not sustainable; and many of them, if not all, will not lead to the solution that we need.


An extra advantage of the Groasis Waterboxx plantcocoon® is that it helps us to prevent fertile land grabbing. Nowadays, some companies and foundations start to reforest huge areas of fertile land with products - e.g. sugar cane or trees - that are able to produce biofuel. This means that land has the potential to feed people, is used to make biofuel that people in rich countries can use in their cars. We consider it unethical to use fertile land to produce biofuel where it could produce food. The Groasis Waterboxx plantcocoon® offers the choice to use eroded, rocky and arid land, and make it possible to produce on a huge scale, biofuel through foresting; and moreover, do it at a lower cost than on fertile soil. There is 2 billion hectares of land waiting for this solution. Read all about the danger of land grabbing here.


In Morocco, in the Sahara desert "on rocky soils", I saw a method which is old and sustainable; and parts of this method I have copied: I learned from thousand year-old methods and improved them with the Groasis Waterboxx plantcocoon® system.
Their method consists of various steps:

-1. With a pick axe, make a hole 60 x 40 x 40 cm;

-2. Now they plant a very small Pinus nigra tree in it so as to have as little evaporation as possible. After planting, they add 15 liters of water. This water partly restores the capillary soil structure; and as the loose soil forms together, a pot-hole develops. This pot-hole is used several times to give water until the tree is able to survive. It is labor-intensive, and that’s why it cannot be done on a great scale. But it works!
-3. With this method, a field of small pine trees develops, and after some years, they grow well;

-4. The same method is repeated with Eucalyptus (although I prefer to use local trees from the natural habitat);

-5. View images of how trees are planted in the Sahara desert in Morocco.

In the Sahara, I also saw interesting techniques on "walking dunes".

-6. This is an impression of a ‘walking dune’ area. Look at the erosion caused by strong winds;

-7. First, palm leaves are being cut in squares of 8 x 8 meters, and made into fences;

-8. Tamarix branches are put in the soil; around 30 liters of water is added on them; and then the stem is covered completely with loose sand. After a while, a part of the stems starts to develop growing. Here you see some examples;

-9. Of course, not all Tamarix develops well. With the Waterboxx plantcocoon®, it would work better and the success rate could get quite high.

-10. View the images of how walking dunes are planted in the Sahara desert in Morocco.

Groasis Tech. (2015). How to combat desertification with reforestation. 2015, de Groasis Sitio web: https://www.groasis.com/en/technology/how-to-combat-desertification-with-reforestation