Young Desert Swale Walkthrough

A walk through one of the swales on the Al Baydha Project demonstration site 4 months after the initial planting, showing strategies for creating microclimates that will make the site more suitable for productive planting. Also showing some Moringa cuttings in the swale as they begin to sprout. This site is on land widely considered not arable, and the trees have been drip irrigated with only brackish water taken from a local well, yet some of the trees have grown over a meter after the first three months of planting.

[@albaydha702]

Hi everyone thanks for your comments--The Moringa is of the Oleifera type, this is in Saudi Arabia, in the desert 40 KM south of Makkah. We dug this swale with an excavator (we couldn't get a dozer at the time), and for the first year we went through about 27,000 liters per week on average for irrigation--less during the cool season and more during the summer.

[@gggreggg]

did you consider checking out Groasis???

[@friedcassava7126]

Plant Neem tree (Soekarno Trees in Saudi) it holds a lot of water in soil.

[@oldbatwit5102]

@@gggreggg The Groasis system doesn't work at all well and it is expensive. You will find many positive reports for the groasis system on the net and just about all of them have ties to Groasis.

[@NewMusicNetworks]

This is one of the best videos i've seen on swales so far. Looking forward to future videos.

[@AndrewKarmy]

Will there be a 1-year update video to see how the swale is doing? You are doing very impressive, and interesting work.

[@johnatkinson512]

I have been following the amazing project for a while now. You are doing great things. It is a shame that more people are not viewing your stuff.

[@tovaritchboy]

Would really enjoy seeing a CURRENT update on this project. should be MASSIVE improvements by now.

[@albaydha702]

I wish it had been raining. As of March 2013, the last rain we had was January 2011.

[@ssrahman75]

I liked your all of your videos When would you update us again? I would like to see how is your project now.

[@09conrado]

I really like this. I hope that with the next rains (winter?) you will be able to show how the gabions and swales have captured more silt and water. Lots of respect Neal, wish you and the project all the best. Keep posting!

[@colinjavens5035]

Excellent videos on your pioneering work. Thank you very much for sharing. Will you be measuring the salt levels in the water? It will be interesting to see if they go down as biodiversity/fungi increases in the soil. Thank you again.

[@pabloyammix]

I would really love to see another walthrough like theese one but nowadays :))

[@jrft2610]

Would love to see the latest progress on this site. Also would like to see how much rainwater is saved.

[@Julesangliste]

Fun to watch and great to hear that it's been raining. Looking forward to seeing the trees grown to give shade to other trees!

[@Chris.Davies]

100% pure, concentrated awesome: Just add knowledge, humans, and stir! Al Baydha project location: 21°03'05.44" N 39°54'10.87" E - it is extremely hard to find without these exact coordinates. You can follow the site's progress using Google Earth, and witness the transformation of what was a wasteland.

[@ncooty]

Wow. Lots of credit to you if you can get results in those conditions. Well done.

[@langchauvin1121]

I wonder if you tried planting Madras Thorn tree. They grow in some dry arid places like the Middle East.

[@Mollygaga42]

Wish I could come and help add to it.

[@katapo777]

if you have acess to wood chips use them for ground cover outside the swale on the berms.

[@somewhatinformed716]

That part of the world only has trees that are planted there.....

[@synalag]

Bravo !

[@bayabrako5438]

Respect from france it is my Dream

[@pigboypunk]

unreal!

[@foobargorch]

How, how much and how often are you irrigating while you wait for rain?

[@NewMusicNetworks]

What state or country is this in and did you guys dig out the swale or was it already naturally their?

[@Mollygaga42]

Does it get humid there , if so you could also capture it for extra water.

[@ed9709]

This video is 7 yrs old. How is it now?

[@muhammadsabri5374]

please post some followup clips.

[@mohammedbachir4109]

hi , can you show me how you water these trees , i mean where is the water source thanks

[@gggreggg]

have you been in touch with Groasis????? no need for irrigation.

[@Candid1ify]

Would like to see what happens during actual rain fall

[@gggreggg]

please go to Groasis. it might be of great help to your project

[@ncooty]

Really nice work... but that "drip" irrigator at 9 mins is full-on dousing. Looking forward to continued updates.

[@foobargorch]

Also, is that moringa oleifera or another species?

[@IngriddenDigre]

Oh, I thought I heard that it had been raining. Seeing it again I see that you just talk about the rain coming right after you build the swales, not right after you planted the swales.

[@Suburbanstoneage]

Great work! How do moringa do in desert cold? Thank you!

[@albaydha702]

we don't have a cold desert here--temperatures don't fall below 15C even at night in the winter. That's because of our latitude, altitude, and proximity to the red sea

[@Suburbanstoneage]

@@albaydha702 That is good to know, thank you!

[@erichemingway5294]

Can we get an update on how these are doing?

[@albaydha702]

yes. Stay tuned.

[@nmkzf]

Allan Savory: How to green the world's deserts and reverse climate change

[@madhumitaroy4756]

Small planning for plantation be effected

[@Mollygaga42]

You can also tell if it's dead by the tree getting wrinkles

[@pollyblackburn28]

why didn't you plant in the swales?

[@somewhatinformed716]

There's no soil yet the trees are cut and dry to make manure compost mix. Right now the birds are bringing nitrogen in with the spring rain growth then rot,then bugs,then high grade soil is made the way it has always Ben made....the swells give the water somewhere to go and life thrives. Then he can plant fruit trees and some nut trees

[@somewhatinformed716]

+Somewhat informed cut and drop......

[@synalag]

www.le-projet-olduvai.com/t5522-culture-moringa à tout hasard Ca a l'air intéressant, cette plante !

[@leithalj]

dude! your trying to grow plants next to super heated rocks. not going to happen sorry.

[@somewhatinformed716]

The rocks are for wildlife because Wildlife ships enej nitrogen that gets washed down into the swell snakes who live there mice will live there fungus will live there black berrys will grow around it. Anything that comes out of a bird's mouth will grow around it any kind of growth adds to the mulching effect he's trying to get life there he's not trying to grow a crop until the ground will support life it needs microorganisms

[@synalag]

Bravo !