Active Giving & Justdiggit

Active Giving supports Justdiggit’s projects located in Tanzania within the Singida region. 

Introduction

Justdiggit is a Public Benefit Organization whose mission is to reverse the process of global desertification and develop a sustainable, liveable, ecological and economic perspective for local and regional communities and the resulting international community.

Justdiggit makes dry land green again by inspiring and activating farmers in Africa to start regreening. This has a positive impact on climate change, nature, and people. They restore degraded land by combining traditional farming techniques with data and technology whilst using media and communication in order to reach the hearts and minds of people. 

The goal of this project is to regreen degraded areas by inspiring farmers to regenerate trees on their own land with help of the Kisiki Hai technique.

Problem

Climate change, land degradation and overexploitation are causing temperatures to rise, land to dry up and fertile soils to erode. This causes serious problems such as extreme droughts and famine. Once vegetation is lost, it no longer helps to create clouds nor can it cool the atmosphere. This results in even less rain and more eroded lan

Solution

Within the Justdiggit projects, degraded landscapes are restored using rainwater harvesting, soil improvements and re-greening techniques. This will lead to regrowth of vegetation and improved soil conditions. When vegetation is restored and soils are improved, the water cycle will be restored. This is the key to sustainable re-greening and contributing to regional cooling and more equally distributed rain.

Restoration of degraded lands and the water cycle leads to a decrease of climate extremes regarding both temperature and rainfall. The increase of evapotranspiration, changes in air circulation and cooling by vegetation leads to lower temperatures, more rainfall, less intense rains and sequestration of carbon.

Impact

Currently Justdiggit is Re-Greening an area the size of the Netherlands (40,000 km2) in Kenya and Tanzania but aim to impact millions of smallholders throughout sub Saharan Africa. Their sustainable, scalable and cost effective methods for soil and vegetation recovery helps farmers to improve their lands, next to making a positive impact on ecosystems and climate.

The interventions within the projects focus mainly on rainwater harvesting and vegetation recovery. By taking measures to reduce surface runoff during rain events, water has more time to infiltrate slowly and to soften the dry soil. This will make water available for the remaining vegetation and for seeds to sprout.

The increased vegetation cover improves soil conditions further, thus enhancing infiltration. The root systems of the vegetation hold the soil together and reduce erosion. And the increased soil moisture availability increases the growing season, through which vegetation can recover further.

The returned vegetation ensures cooling, not only because of the shade, but also because plants evaporate water (evapotranspiration) which provides cooling (similar to how sweating cools people).

Justdiggit also ensures there is a clear socio-economic benefit for the community attached to each intervention. This is a way to ensure an intervention is sustainable. The interventions are chosen and implemented in partnership with local communities and local NGO’s, to benefit from local networks and knowledge and in doing so creating sustainable solutions.

History

Founded in The Netherlands in 2010, Justdiggit works with small local teams and are creating a major impact through a network of amazing local and international partners and dedicated volunteers. They have joined forces with several types of partners to ensure scale, local presence and consistency in their program development and campaigning work.