By Markus Faigle | Volunteer Project Director
For almost a decade our gardener Jean has tirelessly been growing plants and tree seedlings for Zahana.
Most of the seedlings he grows directly in the earth of his growing beds. Like almost anywhere in the world seedlings in commercial operations are grown in black plastic bags. Lightweight and low-cost they are easy to transport. This is especially convenient when tree seedlings are given away to neighboring villages and need to be carried home for hours on foot.
Like anything else in Madagascar, these plastic bags get reused countless times until they fall apart. While they are low cost and easy to transport to the village, plus considered 'modern' and desirable, they are still plastic bags.
So, we sat down with Jean and inquired what they did before the arrival of the ubiquitous plastic bag.
You can see the results in the picture: A 100% renewable and biodegradable growing container made from locally available organic fiber materials. The added benefit is that the seedlings can be planted straight into the soil as is, in its 'container'. The natural fiber will just decompose or compost away, as the tree takes roots.
We call that: "Jean's zero waste reforestation".
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