Vetiver System entry to Kenya's road sector?

Post date: Apr 22, 2011 8:17:15 AM

On 28 April, in Voi, Paul Mwadime Kombo organised a demonstration to authorities from both the agricultural and road sectors.

Attending will be the Director of Agriculture of the Coastal Provincial Department of Agriculture, and Eng. Mwadime from Kenya Rural Roads Authority, and also there will be a participant from KENHA.

Since a few years, The Vetiver Network International, with its network in Kenya, is promoting the use of Vetiver System also for roads. Efforts have been made to offer presentations to the Ministry of Roads, KERRA, KENHA, and Kenya Roads Authority (KRA), both in offices and in field events or training (a small practical demonstration near Kisii), for/with local representatives of these authorities. See attached a concept note written for KRA.

Also the private sector involved in road construction hosted several presentations; this includes Otieno-Odongo and Wanjohi consulting companies, Egis-BCEOM, Norken, among others, and also for the Institute of Engineers of Kenya (in their international conference) a presentation was given their International Engineering Conference.

The waiting is for a first significant road project...

Meanwhile developments in Ethiopia and Uganda are ahead: in Ethiopia in 2010 a 1-week course was provided to engineers of the Ethiopian Roads Authority (ERA), and currently Vetiver System is added to some road works; in Uganda two roads have been designed and approved for using Vetiver System.

What is PLUS-Kenya's role in this?

1. Assure that any first-time use of Vetiver System for roads works is adequately supplied with qualified and TVNI-certified expertise for road engineering applications (Elise Pinners, also Director of The Vetiver Network International, can refer to experts available in DRC, RSA, Australia, USA and Latin America).

This is to assure that Kenya's first is indeed of good technical quality, and provided in a way that capacity of Kenyan road engineers is built on the job, so that these engineers can replicate their experience.

2. Refer to qualified suppliers of Vetiver: those who are able to manage the timely production, transport and delivery of large quantities of plants of good quality.

By: Elise Pinners, PLUS-Kenya board member