Some Interesting Reading for the New Year (2015)

Central Arizona -
Where has all the soil
gone?

Greetings!  May all our readers have a useful year in 2015.  I hope that many of you will be able to join us for the 6th International Vetiver Conference to be held in Da Nang, Vietnam from May 5-8th. Details at:  http://www.icv6.org/eng/  I am now back in a very foggy and cool Pacific North West, having had a few weeks of sun in southern California and Arizona. The impact of drought in these two states is pretty dramatic and makes one realize that a lot more should be done to improve our soil and water conservation measures - whatever the methods might be, and wherever located.

I have been collecting a few links to some Vetiver items/news that some of you  might be interested in.  Here they are:

Vetiver grass: A solution for Land Rehabilitation: http://www.agriculturesnetwork.org/magazines/east-africa/desertification/vetiver-grass

Philippines: Propagating ‘Vetiver grass’ For Disaster Preparedness: https://www.wfp.org/content/philippines-propagating-%E2%80%98vetiver-grass%E2%80%99-disaster-preparedness

Vetiver System: A Green Investment For Sustainable Developmenthttp://www.agrowingculture.org/2012/11/vetiver-system-a-green-investment-for-sustainable-development/

Vetiver Grass : A Sustainable Option for Slope Protection and Many Others

http://greenasiaforce.com/Blog/vetiver-grass-a-sustainable-option-for-slope-protection-and-many-others/

Vetiver System benefits to to the farmer: low input, low cost, permanent, and sustainable: (John Greenfield on video)  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m82W3VLLWX0

An Urban Waste Water Solution: African Vetiver Grass: 
http://ourworld.unu.edu/en/an-urban-wastewater-solution-african-vetiver-grass

A Remedy Against Erosion:
http://www.diariosur.es/axarquia/201411/23/remedio-contra-erosion-20141122234402.html

Control de erosion y saneamiento de efluentes. Conferencia sobre Vetiver - Dr Paul Truong:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oum44oiVSXY&feature=share

I draw particular attention to Dr. Effiom Oku 0f Nigeria who is a Senior Research Fellow for Land and Water Resources at UNU-INRA work on testing the potential of Chrysopogon nigritana  (see Urban waste water treatment above) for waste water treatment.  We will be writing more about this later.

Dick Grimshaw