Like so many of the most effective planet-saving initiatives, regreening sounds like a straightforward idea. But even simple techniques take a tonne of coordination to put into practice – which is where the folks at Justdiggit come in.
Justdiggit uses nature-based solutions such as rainwater harvesting and tree restoration to regreen dry, degraded land across Kenya and Tanzania. The beauty of these techniques is that they are easy to implement, and therefore highly scalable.
One of our favourites are their so-called ‘earth smiles’: semi-circular pits which allow rainwater to collect where hard topsoil would usually cause runoff to flood-prone land. More rainfall can then penetrate the driest soil, giving water-deprived seeds a chance to sprout.
Taking a holistic approach is one of the key criteria we look for when hand-picking a new project, and we love the way Justdiggit’s work benefits local communities while cooling the planet. All of their projects are owned and implemented by those who live off the land that’s being restored – for example at the Kuku Group Ranch in Kenya, where ninety local Maasai women have found an alternative source of income from their work managing grass seed banks.
Justdiggit’s projects have already had a huge impact, with more than 60,000 hectares of dry land under restoration so far. Not only that, but they have ambitious plans to scale up, building on the momentum of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration to inspire subsistence farmers across Sub-Saharan Africa to regreen as much restorable land as possible by 2030. We can’t wait to see what the future holds for the communities and landscapes where Justdiggit works.
Is your interest in nature-based solutions suitably piqued? Find out more of our planet-restoring projects here.
