SOIL Fund Project Underway in Africa’s Newest Nation

By Will Mahoney, Jane Wegesa and Elise Pinners

The road from Rongo to Lokichoggio,
Kenya was in very poor condition worsened
by recent heavy rains.

In 2011, the southern part of Sudan declared independence from Sudan and became the Republic of South Sudan.  Since then, the northern part of this new nation has been racked by tribal conflicts.  However, the province of Eastern Equatoria in the southeastern part of the country bordering Uganda, Kenya, and Ethiopia is far removed from the conflicts and has managed to stay relatively peaceful.  Apart from some banditry and cattle rustling, it is on course for economic and social development.

Armed guard with vetiver en route
from Kenya to South Sudan.

Earlier this year, the SOIL Fund received a pre-application from an IECA Region 2 member, Elise Pinners, for support of an erosion control project in the Eastern Equatoria town of Narus.  Elise works with PLUS-Kenya, a Nairobi-based non-governmental organization which assists East African communities practice sustainable land use.  In particular, they show people how to use deep-rooted, hardy vetiver plants to prevent erosion of cultivated land. 

Elise’s Kenyan colleague, Jane Wegesa, had visited Narus and found there were no vegetables in the local market.  She learned that the staff of the Bagita Girls' Primary School (a boarding academy in Narus for girls from the area) was trying to develop vegetable gardens.  However, when locations near the school were cleared of vegetation for gardening plots, topsoil was easily washed away by the intense rainfall during the wet season.  In addition, streams near the school were developing gullies. Jane found that the school administration, teachers and students were very interested in embarking on a soil conservation project to provide food security and improved livelihoods for the community.  It was hoped that the students could in turn show their parents how to prevent erosion, conserve valuable topsoil, and start gardens at their homes.

Sacks of vetiver “slips”
successfully delivered to
the Bagita School in South Sudan.

 

In April 2015, the SOIL Fund committee approved a grant of up to US$4700 for the purchase and transport of 20,000 vetiver plants to Narus as well as training and supervision.  Jane would provide hands-on instruction in the establishment of a vetiver nursery at the Bagita School and the rehabilitation of gullies.  Getting the plants to Narus was a serious challenge.   The nearest source of vetiver seedlings (called “slips”) was in the city of Rongo in southwestern Kenya.  To get them to Narus, they first had to be transported more than 800km (500 miles) north by pickup truck to the town of to Lokichoggio in northwestern Kenya.  There the plants would be transferred to a pickup truck from the school which would take them the final 46km (28 miles) across the border to Narus.  Not only would this be a long trip, it was complicated by poor roads (which turned to mud in the rainy season when the trip would take place), rivers that had to be forded, and the presence of bandits along the road.  The bandits would not be interested in 20,000 plants but might rob the driver and steal his truck. 

 Establishment of a large vetiver nursery
at the Bagita Girls’ Primary School.

To ensure safe passage of the truck and cargo, the SOIL Fund paid for an armed security guard to ride on the truck.  On May 14, the SOIL Fund received news that Jane had arrived successfully in Lokichoggio with the vetiver.  She was met by the driver from the school.  However, they were having to wait in Lokichoggio because a river they would have to ford was too swollen to cross.  The following day, the river flow subsided enough for them to make the crossing, they made it through customs at the Kenya-South Sudan border, and arrived in Narus with the plants.

On May 16, the SOIL Fund learned that a vetiver nursery had been established at the school and mitigation was carried out on at least one gully with vetiver hedges planted and half-moons constructed above it.  Elise reported that the school was “jealously looking after their nursery” and unwilling to share any of the vetiver plants with others in the near future until the plants are well established and have multiplied.

Editor's Notes
All photos are taken by Jane Wegesa, PLUS-Kenya.
This story previously appeared in the July/August issue of Erosion Control.