Crowdfunding for documentary on Peter Westerveld and his exceptional idea on desert greening
Filmmaker Mariette Faber wants to make a documentary on Peter Westerveld and his idea to stop desertification in Kenya by creating a hydrologic corridor from the Indian Ocean towards the Kilimanjaro hinterland. Westerveld unexpectedly passed away in 2014.
To finance her documentary Faber started a crowdfunding campaign and on 15 June she stages a Thunderclap to make the film a trending topic on social media.
Peter Westerveld believed in climate engineering.Join Thunderclap
Faber wants to make the film 'The man who wanted to change the world'. It is about Dutchman Peter Westerveld who lived in Kenya and had a fascination for water. He was the inventor of large-scale countour-trenching to address desertification.
With over 15 years of experience in soil experimentation in Mali, Tanzania and Kenya, Westerveld began working on his opus magnum, the 'Hydrologic Corridor' in 2008.
This was a project measuring 20,000km2 of desertified land in his beloved land, Kenya, forming one hydrologic system.
To boost her crowdfunding campaign for financing the film on Westerveld, Faber organises a Thunderclap on 15 June, inviting everybody to sign in with a Facebook, Twitter or Tumblr account.
On 12.00 pm (EDT) the Thunderclap message will be sent out, making it a trending topic on social media.
By digging trenches at twelve 'evergreen ' locations, Westerveld envisioned a green corridor that stops the desertification in Kenya.Large-scale reforestation
Westerveld was an unconventional thinker and believed that if mankind is able to create climate problems, it must also be able to solve these. His goal was to kick start large-scale reforestation and restore the water cycle in a corridor from the Indian Ocean towards the Kilimanjaro hinterland.
His climate engineering method is to restore the rainwater infiltration capacity of the soil and sub-surface water reservoirs.
A patchwork of some 266 square km actively developed evergreen areas will extend restoration effects to an area of around 20.000 km2.
By simultaneously supporting the local communities in setting up and developing sustainable businesses on the re-greened lands, repeated overexertion of re-greened areas is avoided and a sustainable local economy is advanced.
This, he said, would result in atmospheric cooling, a more evenly distributed precipitation and ecosystem restauration.
Trenches that follow the relief of the landscape will catch the rainwater run-off. New vegetation will cool the area and create evaporation.A dream come true
In the film we follow Peter Westerveld, from 2012 onwards with the simple question: will he succeed? And what drives him on his mission? Just when he was about to start the implementation of his artwork for the world, he suddenly passed away in August 2014. For a moment the world, and this film, came to a standstill.
Inspired by his passion and progressive ideas people have taken over the challenge to still make his dream, to change the world, come true.
This story about unconventional thinkers, doers and people who are trying to solve one of the biggest problems of our time is not over!
The film will be launched by the end of the year when the climate summit in Paris (COP21) takes place and aims to generate more interest in solution based thinking in climate change.
More information
Cinecrowd: The man who wanted to change the world
Thunderclap: Change the world (register before: 15 June)
Westerveld Conservation Trust: greening the desert
A short clip with Peter Westerveld explaining his engineering solution to counter climate change and desertification.