Vetiver – for holding the earth
A few days ago, we experienced a landslide at KFR (Kechara Forest Retreat)… There was a heavy storm and very strong winds swept through Bentong. Unfortunately, we were not well-prepared and the side of Manjushri Hill endured a landslide and trees fell on our main road..
I sent a few messages out to Kecharians about the landslide… and one of them, Wai Meng, responded on a preventive method!! How thoughtful of him. I have been looking for a plant that can hold soil well, but at the same time not push away and destroy any buildings or pilings…
According to Wai Meng, there’s a type of grass called “vetiver” which is very effective for holding soil. Their stems are tall, at approx. 1.5 metres in height… but their roots are even longer. They can grow to a depth of 2-4 metres!
Wai Meng sent me his research on vetiver. Do take a look below… does anyone have any experience with vetiver? Know of any other solutions to holding soil effectively? Do share…
Tsem Rinpoche
(Wai Meng’s research)
Introduction to Vetiver
Chrysopogon zizanioides, commonly known as vetiver is a perennial grass of the Poaceae family, native to India. In western and northern India, it is popularly known as khus. Vetiver can grow up to 1.5 metres high and form clumps as wide. The stems are tall and the leaves are long, thin, and rather rigid; the flowers are brownish-purple. Unlike most grasses, which form horizontally spreading, mat-like root systems, vetiver’s roots grow downward, 2–4 m in depth. Vetiver is most closely related to Sorghum but shares many morphological characteristics with other fragrant grasses, such as lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus), citronella (Cymbopogon nardus, C. winterianus), and palmarosa (Cymbopogon martinii). Though it originates in India, vetiver is widely cultivated in the tropical regions of the world.
Characteristics
The characteristics of this plant are:
- Long living
- Grows up to 1.5 meters and root depth at 2 – 4 meters
- can survive in a wide range of temperature (-14 to above 55 celcious)
- can survive in a wide range of soil pH (<3 (acidic) to >10 (alkaline))
- Can survive in dry or extremely wet lands (like KFR)
- Tolerant to heavy metal – chemicals from our construction site will not kill the grass, plus this grass is known to be able to purify such pollution.
- Fire tolerant
- few pests and diseases
- Does not attract snakes or mice
- The roots is very strong and deep. It has an average strength of 75 MPa (1/6 the strength of steel)
- it is non competitive and non invasive. Which means if it grows around a tree or plant, it won’t kill the plant, unlike wild grass.
Vetiver grass is know as an eco engineering technology that is low cost, easy and functional for the following:
- Soil and water conservation
- Infrastructure stability
- Flood control
- Improve water quality
- Pollution control
- Disaster mitigation
- Land rehabilitation
- Handicrafts
- Removal of heavy metals from the land
- Removal of nitrogen and phosphate from bodies of water
- Treatment of wasterwater
Uses
Some uses of Vetiver grass in Malaysia:
- Along Karak highway, vetiver grass is used at some points of this highway
- Palm oil plantation at Dharma University near Bentong
Interesting facts on Vetiver Application
The first serious work using vetiver for highway stabilization was in Malaysia, thereafter the technique spread to other parts of the world, particularly Thailand (KB456),China, where vetiver is used today to protect cut and fill slopes of roads and railroads.
Elsewhere it has revolutionized the protection of farm to market roads. In El Salvador 100% of the vetiver protected roads survived intact the onslaught of Hurricane Mitch. The Vetiver System has also been successfully used to stabilize river banks and canal and drain banks.
High content of phosphate and nitrogen are attributed to the production of algae in fish farms and ponds, vetiver can absorb and reduce phosphate and Nitrogen to acceptable levels that reduces algae production.
Countries that uses Vetiver
Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, Cameroon, Chile, China, Colombia, Congo DR, CostaRica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ghana, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Italy, Kenya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Nigeria, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Senegal, Singapore, South Africa, Taiwan, Madagascar, Thailand, Turkey, Venezuela, Vietnam, Zambia, Zimbabwe, USA
Images
Source
VETIVER SYSTEM FOR INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT AND INFRASTRUCTURE PROTECTION
http://www.vetiver.org/TVN_opening%20photos/TVN_front%28in%29.htm
USE OF VETIVER GRASS FOR ENGINEERING PURPOSES IN MALAYSIA WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO SLOPE STABILIZATION AND EROSION CONTROL
http://www.vetiver.com/MLA_eng.htm
Phytoremediation (Vetiver for water treatment)
THE VETIVER SYSTEM FOR PREVENTION AND TREATMENT OF CONTAMINATED WATER AND LAND
http://www.vetiver.org/TVN-Handbook%20series/TVN-series2-2pollution.htm
Vetiver System – A Green Investment for Sustainable Development and Disaster Mitigation.
http://ebookbrowse.com/vetiver-system-power-point-pdf-d207099305
Performance of constructed wetland using vetiver for sewage treatment
http://www.efka.utm.my/thesis/IMAGES/4MASTER/2010/JKAS/noraziahma081357d10ttt.pdf
An Introduction to Vetiver Grass Technology
http://www.vetiver.org/KUW_WORKSHOP_papers/KUW_1DG%20.pdf
Landslip and Erosion Control Using Vetiver Grass Technology
http://www.vetiver.org/MAL_YOON_slipslope-op.pdf
Vetiver System: A Green Investment For Sustainable Development
http://www.agrowingculture.org/2012/11/vetiver-system-a-green-investment-for-sustainable-development/
UPDATE: Additional information found by Wai Meng from his research
Dear Pastor Loh Seng Piow,
I have spoken to a Vetiver vendor (not many of that around in Malaysia), asked some of the Vetiver Practitioners online – within a Vetiver Facebook Group – they have practitioners, academics and people who have planted vetivers in their home countries, also read information online on Vetiver.
Vetiver is quite related and looks like a clump Lemon Grass Plant/’Serai'(malay). The people I have spoken to all say that Vetiver does not kill other plants grass or otherwise. It is not an invasive grass like ‘Lalang’, and Vetiver is not spread through seeds or rhizomes. It grows from tillers, tillers are shoots from an old vetiver (> one year old).
You will need to allocate some space like 0.5m diameter for it to grow. It is also recommended to trim the plant at the height of 40cm to 60cm, this can encourage the clump grow wider or it can grow till 1.5m. Usually for new saplings you will plant in 10cm intervals and you would want the vetivers to overlap to provide more strength in holding the soil on the slopes. If one plants vetiver in one’s garden need to maintain it from time to time so it is not so big and encroach into other plants. You trim it every two months to bring it to the height you want it to.
Vetiver is sometimes grown alongside crops and in most cases it helps the crops either by retaining water for the crops, pests don’t like vetiver and the leaves of the vetiver once you trim it can be used for composting, fed to farm animals.
There will always be competition between plants for nutrients and such. The only types of plant that nourish the earth are like legumes like groundnuts.
In Summary
Vetiver will not kill grass and other flower plants, but you may need to maintain it as it can grow up 1.5m and into a clump about 0.5m. It grows very fast so maintenance is necessary for the adult plant.
Picture 1 – Vetivers with a Night Queen, this is planted at the Dharma Buddhist University near Bentong I visited them yesterday. Vetiver is on the right.
Picture 2 – Vetiver Flower, it is sterile
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Wow …fantastic when planted this long grass vetiver do have so many benefit . Not only preventing landslides , strong enough to retain water for the crops, leaves could feed animals. Vetiver grass is tolerant to most pests and has not shown to be a problem host plant affecting other plants. Its oil has numerous benefits as well such as soothe feelings of anger, anxiety, exhaustion, irritability, and stress. Amazing properties as it exhibit anti-septic, anti-spasmodic, and immune-stimulating properties. First time coming across this name, I have seen these grass but did not know of the name till I read this interesting and informative article.
Thank you Rinpoche for this sharing.
Hello Rinpoche and Kechara team,
I have an interesting experience with Vetiver in a different application of it’s ability to ‘ Hold Earth ‘
I here refer to the essential oil of the vetiver roots. It is used to stay grounded and balance the earth element in a safe way. Just make sure to diluttue it with a base oil, like almond, olive, coco, sesame or even ghee. Read the instructions on the bottle or ask your naturapath.
Apply to your first chakra, the zone between your navel and secret organ. It works also if you add some drops to your bathwater.
Please note it is a super super super sticky oil, really need to dillute. Has a very strong, woody scent too. Just sniffing it once brings you back where you need to be. You’ll feel your energies purified and grounded nto your physical body.
Always consult an experienced naturopath or doctor and follow instructions before trying herbal remedies.
It is a very effective and grounding remedy. I have PTSD and deal with dissociation. In my personal experience, I can certainly attest to it’s (super – ) grounding qualities. Makes me connect to my emotions , no matter how hard my mind tries to escape them. Helps me to process and release them safely too.
Knowing it from it’s aromatherapy/essential oil form, it is no surprise to me that the physical plant has the ability to hold the earth’s soil together.
In herbalsim, this is called a plant’s signature. Our ancient forefathers from all traditions, Indian (Ayurveda) , Native Americans and so on, they all observed animal’s behaviour and diet and plant’s properties and living environment and discovered that as a medicine, these properties were were produced as results on the human body, psyche and spiritual level.
Please share this info with anyone who has PTSD, dissociation, difficulty grounding him/herself, who is overwhelmed by emotions, lost, needs to build strong roots and foundations again, strenght to hold your life together in a stable way.
May all sentient beings who are in need of this information be guided to it.
May Tsem Rinpoche’s work on Earth continue to blossom.
May all dharma teachers live long and reach as many sentient beings as possible.
Kind regards
Steven
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hi im doin my research as well regarding with vetiver…ish u cud help me with d results i got..got poor growth on settling pond and well in aeration pond..i need literature that cud support my study..thank u..
hi, my name is sha. im student from university putra malaysia. im doing my research on vetiver grass. i would like to see this vetiver at your place. can i take 120 kg from your field? i hope you can help me for my research. please reply my massage in my email as soon as possible. thank you for helping me. all your help will appreciated..
Hi Sha,
What is your email that I can contact you on?
Regards
Wai Meng
hi, my name is sha. im from university putra malaysia. im doing my research on this vetiver. can i see this grass at your place? and i would like to take in 120 kg for my research.. can i take from you? please reply my message at my email as soon as possible.. thank you for helping me…
[…] Vetiver – for holding the earth […]
我曾经参与过种植 Vetiver, 是一个很好的经验，别小看这小小一棵 Vetiver. 记得当天大概 有14-16 人的志工， 大家蹲在斜坡上，努力的锄着地把它种下。应该很快就会看到结果了。欢迎没试过的志工踊跃参加！！
This is very informative, thank You for sharing Rinpoche and Wai Meng. It’s roots sure are long, almost the size of the Vetivers, these grass are not normal grass although it looks normal, it sure has a lot of benefits! Hope the ones that have been planted will prevent landslides in the future.
Thank you Wai Meng for this extensive research.
I have been to Kechara Forest Retreat recently and have seen the slopes where you and your volunteers have planted the Vetiver. Coming along nicely.
How old must the plants be before they are effective?
So far I have planted about 3000 saplings on various parts of Medicine Buddha Hill slopes, about 600m of the MBH road facing the Meditation path, about 200m of the main access roads, and Manjushri Statue slope. And from reading the literature online and also working with this plant I feel this plant thrives with a lot of water and sunshine. In face after planting for two weeks now one of the vetiver i purposely put in an area that gets a lot of moisture and the stem is now 26 inches long, almost double from the initial sapling which was 12 inches when I first planted. In other areas like the slope it is 19 inches till about 22 inches for certain areas where I have put in some compost.
I recently got to know the Kedah agricultural department is planting loads of vetiver, any other Malaysian agricultural department near to Pahang is planting vetiver also if anyone can share that would be most kind.
These informations are really useful, thank You for sharing Wai Meng! With these, we can now prevent landslides at Kechara Forest Retreat! These grasses grow quite fast(base on the pictures given above), but it definitely also needs a lot of funds…
Wow, I have never been so excited reading about plants before. After reading through the facts about Vetiver, it has so many benefits from planting it in your compund. I’m glad nobody was hurt during the landslide at KFR, but it sure looks like by planting Vetiver would help provide the protection. Would love to see the progress after the vetiver has been planted. It looks very economical yet still good for the environment.
Good research work Wai Meng. Using Vetiver grass to control the erosion of soil is much better than building an retaining wall.This will enhance the landscape at the same time.After the grass is matured we could harvest it and start a cottage industry with it.
The products will defiantly be blessed as it was grown from the land of KFR.
What an extensive research. Thank you Wai Meng and it looks very promising too. The good thing unlike large trees, the roots of the Vetiver grass grows vertically and they are small and wouldn’t cause damages to any concrete structure just based on observing the pictures. I think this is very much needed here in KFR. Manjushri Hill would be a good place to start considering the erosion and the danger of landslide here. It is amazing how we can learn so much on the net that we can put to practical use.
Hmm… this is a very good and economical way to prevent landslides. The grass is amazingly strong! with a root that goes all the way down 2 meters… I suppose it will definitely be able to hold the soil as well as adsorb much water content to prevent flooding.
Although the grass does not look nice at the beginning, but when it’s lush and green, strangely the grass makes the hill look very soothing. Would be great to plant these vertiver grass on the slopes and fortunately they don’t take too long to grow.
Amazing! A simple grass can be so benefit! Natural Resources provide to us a lot of good sources. Too bad many of us will not look into the natural resources properly and straight away make conclusion.
Thank you Wai Meng for the extensive study on Vetiver grass. More importantly you are putting your research into action and starting to plant them on one of the eroded slopes at KFR.
Keep up the good work and let us have update on how the saplings you have planted are flourishing. With deepest appreciation to your contribution towards our soil management project at KFR.
This plant is something that KFR should be using. This plant actually reminds me of the Titan Atlas as Atlas holds the earth just like the plant mentioned in the article. Thanks to Wai Meng for sharing this vital information that could improve KFR!
Thanks Wai Meng for the research done! This grass is excellent for KFR land! Yes we need this desperately. They do look like the lemon grass we have planted in the cabin areas. The Green Girls will be looking in to getting these grass for our sloppy hills for sure. So much benefit from it! I like that it is non competitive and non invasive. Which means if it grows around a tree or plant, it won’t kill the plant, unlike wild grass! Plus it helps with pollution control from the soil and water.
And it is the same Kusha grass that the Buddha sat on to do meditation 🙂 When we go in to our retreats, we can use these grass as well.
Dear Rinpoche,
I have found a local company that sells vetiver saplings:
http://www.humibox.com/index.html
Also, an interesting fact that its also call khus grass in hindi and kusha grass in sanskrit, which is also the name of the grass that was used to make the seat for the Buddha. Its roots can be dried and then placed in a pot of water to ‘cool’ down the water and it is used widely in perfumery as well.
What an excellent piece of research from Wai Meng. It is hardy and grows fast (as depicted in the photos showing how it has thrived from one month to five months). Does anyone know where we can buy this at cost?
I done some research and found the nearest countries who use Kusha grass for land rehabilitation are Thailand and Vietnam. We need to go through our local agriculture department to see whether we can find this from local. Or else, we need to bring in from other countries. Or we may need to look for importing the seeds to plan here.
Yes, Colin. KFR lands really need it for all the good qualities it possesses mentioned in the researches and successes.The amount of Vetiver Grass needed would be huge, Wai Meng said he would fund raise for it. As I am writing this, this morning’s rain was very, very heavy and the cabins area has rainwater flowing through like a stream.
We should really consider using this in KFR land where it will be prone to landslide.
the research is extensive. Thanks Wai Meng for the sharing of this information.