Case Study: Looking at Greening the Desert in Somalia

The project is still to determine the exact land area that will be used for the ecosystem restoration camp. But this is a piece of land that is under consideration. This is some preliminary work I have done. The ins and outs of the design obviously require a lot more work.

But I thought some of you might be interested to see the location, since it shows the scale of work that needs to be undertaken in the region. This located is just to the north west of Garowe, in the Puntland region of Somalia. Zoom out from this map and you will see the scale of the problem, and the urgent need to halt degradation and start to regenerate these landscapes.

The restoration of the watershed areas around Garowe is particularly crucial, as extreme dry seasons lead into rainy seasons which can bring flooding as the water washes down across the denuded landscape. It is possible to work hard to restore native vegetation and manage water flow – but it will take a lot of work. The project is looking for funding and exploring avenues to get this ecosystem restoration project off the ground.

In future, I hope to share with you a more concrete and detailed permaculture design for this site, and more details as the project gets properly off the ground. When all the pieces come together, I do believe that this fantastic ecosystem restoration camp will bring hope to Somalia, and other drylands regions of the world.