Yesterday I learned about Yacouba Sawadogo, the man who stopped the desert! A simple farmer from Burkina Faso, he noticed that modern farming techniques were ruining the land.
Northern Burkina Faso sits in the Sahel, a delicate arid region that lies between the Sahara and the tropical central African jungles. For centuries the Sahel has been under attack by the Sahara and the communities who depend on farming have been decimated by drought.
Population pressure has led to deforestation in the region. In the absence of trees the little rain that falls quickly runs off or evaporates. Rain washes nutrients out of the soil, turning it into desert hard-pan that can break ploughs. High winds drive sharp sand and grit at 100km/h over the surface, shredding young seedlings.
Yacouba experimented with some old fashioned farming techniques. He updated them and made them more effective.
Cordons Pierreaux (Stone Bands)
These low…
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