Guinea Grass Grown in Nurseries in Haiti
We are proud to have established the first grass nurseries in Haiti. The grass nurseries are places of intensive management in order to create higher growth rates. The nurseries are located in nutrient-rich soils with access to water and fertilizer. Grass in the nurseries grows more shots, stolons and buds, and multiplies quickly, similar to how western lawns grow.
Mature grass is then split, and taken from the nurseries to be planted on the eroded mountains. Some of the grass is left in the nursery so it continues to multiply. The larger grass from nurseries quickly establishes on steep slopes, much faster than grass seed.
Growing the grass in the nurseries and transplanting it to the mountains gives even more ownership to the community and the desire to look after the grass.
Establishing grass nursery. The project aims to establish hundreds of huge nurseries across the country.
Nursery, four months after planting.
The grass is cut several times and leftovers are used as animal feed. The excess grass cut is also used as mulch to conserve moisture when planting on the mountain slopes.
Haiti has hundreds of acres of land eroded. It is our intent to turn all these eroded areas into landscapes of green vegetation.