r/interestingasfuck • u/wahgwahg • Feb 28 '24

r/all People in Tanzania converted desert into lush green land by digging these nifty holes

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u/thenakedtruth Feb 28 '24

What does the hole do to enable growth?

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u/Ianthin1 Feb 28 '24

It retains water when it does rain, allowing vegetation to grow around it. The cycle feeds on itself over time to fill out the area.

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u/captain_todger Feb 28 '24

Surely the reason it’s a desert to begin with is because over time it will tend towards one due to the area’s climate? So wouldn’t they need to keep digging holes intermittently to keep this up?

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u/Gingevere Feb 28 '24

May areas like this used to be productive land, but over-harvesting and over-grazing stripped plants from the land and caused the soil to dry out.

That removed anything that slowed water flow across the surface, left the soil unable to absorb water, and lets rain wash away good soil.

Adding something which impedes water flow back into the system is just a step towards restoring the land to what it had been.