Vetiver Victorious : - The Vetiver Network International

Vetiver Victorious :the Systematic Use of Vetiverto Save Madagascar’s FCE RailwayA presentation of the FCE Railway Rehabilitation ProjectTo the 3rd International Conference on VetiverGuangzhou, China6 October, 2003

The FCE Railway, MadagascarThe third steepest rail line in the world

Disaster strikes : 2 cyclones hit Fianarantsoa province over a 2-weekperiod in early 2000280 landslides (150,000 m 3 of earth) cover the tracks

Immediate emergency interventions were carried out toreopen the line

But there still remained serious issues :1. How to stabilize the many still unprotected slopes?2. How to reduce FCE vulnerability to future cyclone damage?

“This is a job for vetiver”

The Thai specialists and theirpartners in Madagascar deviseda 2-pronged strategy :1. Systematically use vetiver toStabilize all points noirs anddrainage systems2. Institute a vetiver basedsystem to reduce erosionand landslides along steepfarmed hill-slopes

I. Technical Approachto Protectingthe Rail Slopes

(1) Slope stabilization : gabion where needed at thebase of slope, rows of vetiver on contours at 1 mvertical distance

vetivergabionVetiver w/ gabion by riverbank

and (2) drainage protection

Result : 13 points noirs and 31 drainage infrastructures protectedby vetiver.Each of these “technical intervention” points is now under contractwith a neighbor responsible for its maintenance in exchange foraccess to the pruned vetiver for thatch or handicraftsPk 80Pk 80

II. Farmer Interventionto Protectthe Rail Embankments

The problem : hundreds of farmers cultivating steep slopes along therailway with erosion inducing crops (e.g. rice and cassava) that areharvested just before the rainy seasonThe solution : work with farmers to replace erosion inducing annual cropsystems with a vetiver based, sustainable crop system that protects andstabilizes vulnerable embankments

Overall Goal : stabilize steep hill-slopes adjacent to theline with vetiver and fruit trees30º to 40º slope

Modular Approach : use of 10x10m modules thatallow each farmer to customize his/her intervention accordingto individual needs and preferences10mVetiver on contour at1m vertical intervalsMaize and beansintercropped with vetiverTree/Perennial crops :Apple (4)Citrus (4)Coffee (9)Breadfruit (2)/pineappleSpices (Cinnamonand Pepper)vetiverMaize or beans10m

The Modular Approach allows rapiddissemination without sacrificing farmerchoice~ 40 - 45 m10 x 10m “module”~ 30 m12 3 4 5~ 30 m67891410 11 12 13Farmer A :4 spice, 4 citrus, 4 apple, 2 breadfruitFarmer B :9 coffee, 1 breadfruit, 4 apple

The Vetiver-for-Vetiver Loan SchemeProblem : the cost of vetiver was very high at thebeginning because few supplies available locallySolution : the project lends the farmer the vetiver in the firstseasonThe farmer reimburses the vetiver in the 2nd season, passing thevetiver on to a new farmer who is joining the program … who willin turn reimburse the vetiver to another farmer the followingseasonPlant 1 slipevery 10 cm> one year,slip becomesa tuft of 20Lift the tuft of 20, reimburse19 and replant 1 … until loanhas been fully reimbursed

Example :Farmer borrows 9,800 vetiver slips; will reimburse ~ 490 tufts= 1 to 1½ lines~ 40 - 45 mTo reimburse~ 30 m

Result :• Project has few, if any, costs to purchase vetiver after the first year• Farmers understand that they can “vetiverize” their own fields awayfrom the train line, or help others in the village, at low cost

Steps to SuccessfulFarmer Slope Managementon the Rail Right-of-Way

Step 1 : Inform the farmers of the relationship between farmingactivities and landslides on the line and explain the proposed vetiverinterventionNB : Careful economic analysis to determine that thefarmer would gain at least the same level of revenuesfrom a vetiverized field as she or he had before joiningthe intervention

Step 2 : Fields to be stabilized are identified with farmers(priority given to those that are most erosion prone andwhere rice or manioc was planted the previous year)

Step 3 : Farmer obtains 10-year use rights to field from FCE trainline (all land belongs to the 50 m railway right-of-way), with clearlydefined rights and responsibilities of the farmer and the FCE.

Step 4 : With the village agent, farmer measures field, determines howmany modules s/he can use, and selects modules according topersonal choice (subject to certain technical constraints)Razanatsoa, Jeannette PK 67+4002 citrus 2 apple 2 coffee 2 spice5600 vetiver

Step 5 : Farmer clears field and plants vetiver (received as a loanfrom the project) on contour lines at 1-meter vertical intervals

Step 5 : Farmer inter-plants annual cropsand perennial tree crops between thevetiver rows according to module “map”beansvetiver

Follow-up : Farmer reimburses (and replants) vetiver in second season,keeps vetiver well pruned, correctly maintains tree and spice cropsWell trimmed vetiver hedgerow

TheResults

PK 75+900

The Results627 farmers now participating in intervention (with waiting list)• 2.6 million vetiver slips planted in 3 ½ years• Farmers away from the line now beginning to adopt techniqueson slopes away from the railway• Each stabilized field along the line now serves as vetiver nursery”if the railway or other projects need to buy vetiver(farmers can sell their vetiver after reimbursing the loan as long asthey replant a slip for every tuft removed)• The price of vetiver in the province has dropped from approxUS $4 (400 cents) per tuft of 25 slips to ~ 30 cents/tuft.Last year, despite torrential rains, the FCE had no landslidesthat closed the line for > 1 day.

Farmer Jaonary Ralaivao before ::•• deep deep poverty, poverty, no no cattle, cattle, food food insecure insecurefor for several several months months a year year•• erosion erosion on on field field meant meant annual annuallandslips landslips with with loss loss of of crops cropsFarmer Jaonary after ::family is is food food secure securehas sold sold vetiver vetiverto to buy buy a cow; cow; his his wife wifenow now sells sells milk milk in in the the village villagehas had had no no landslips landslips or or loss loss of of crops cropssince since the the field field was was vetiverizedhas on on his his own own initiative initiative vetiverized acassava cassava field field away away from from the the train train line linehas become become a respected respected local local farmer farmerdue due to to his his leadership leadership in in vetiver vetiver

Thanks to vetiver,the FCE railway and the 100,000 people who depend on it fortheir livelihoods no longer dread the next cyclone seasonWith special thanks from the FCER project and the people of Madagascarto His Majesty the King of Thailand and the Royal Development Projects Board

Misaotra ! Merci ! 谢 谢 !