Regeneration and Reforestation in Eritrea
The application and potential benefits of circular economy thinking have been widely described in the European context. What has been less commonly explored is the application in lower income countries such as those in sub-Saharan Africa. During 1998 – 2003, a remarkable project took place in the tiny desert country of Eritrea that showcased a systems thinking approach to the development of seawater-based agriculture in an arid coastal zone leading to big profits, a revitalised environment and the creation of many jobs. Can this project be replicated to breathe life into some of the other 25,000 miles of poor coastal desert around the world?
Since gaining its independence in 1991, Eritrea has experienced many upheavals both social and economic. The location of the young country in a very arid part of the horn of Africa, with high temperatures, low rainfall and poor soil conditions, mean that cultivation of food crops or indeed any kind of agriculture is very difficult. However between 1998 – 2003, a new type of farming enterprise unfolded in this hot dry corner of the continent, that could be a model for the economic, environmental and social revitalisation for many other similar climatic zones around the world. This is a story about how human intelligence and photosynthesis combined to create abundance and natural regeneration in a place where previously only sand, seawater and sunlight existed.
David Stanley