Final Digging Day

Final Digging Day

On the last day of October, we have had our Final Digging Day of 2020. In the Enkii area in Kenya, we have reached our local regreening goal: 32,400 bunds have been dug.

A short recap
You probably already know all about the bunds, but a recap is always nice. Bunds are semi-circular holes in the ground, that capture rainwater. It’s a common misconception that there’s no rainfall in dry areas. It doesn’t rain often, but when it does, the rain is so intense that it flushes away the fertile soil and causes downstream flooding.  

And because the soil is bare, it is impossible for the rain to infiltrate into the earth. Most of the water flows away unutilized and the area remains dry and hot; vegetation hardly emerges. 

The solution is simple: digging! By digging, rainwater can enter the ground again and seep down into the soil. The water allows seeds still present in the soil to sprout and the natural vegetation quickly returns.

The benefits of the bunds
Bringing back vegetation by digging bunds has a lot of positive effects. The vegetation:

• Cools the area;
• Increases moisture in the air through evapotranspiration;
• Increases soil fertility;
• Allows water to enter the soil more easily;
• And prevents soil erosion. 

Did you know that a bund can capture up to 10,000 liters of rainwater per year and regreen an area of 124 square meters? Imagine what 32,400 bunds can do! 

To be continued…
We finished right in time for the upcoming rainy season, which we are extra proud of as we had a temporarily COVID-stop on the digging. While the rain will fill up these bunds, we’re preparing to start digging in a new area in spring 2021. Stay tuned…!