Soil Regen Summit 2021 Wrap Up

Thank you to everyone who joined us for the Soil Regen Summit 2021 with Dr. Elaine's Soil Food Web School.

This four day summit was graced by a number of international names in the soil science and land husbandry world. Tiyeni was delighted to have been recognised as a charity partner for the summit and was invited to contribute two presentations identifying the elements of the Deep Bed Farming Technology.

Provided by Colin Andrews, Chair of Tiyeni, these gave a view of farming and food availability in the context of South East Africa and the appalling loss of topsoil and fertility resulting from poor farming techniques prevalent there. The fundamental change in farmer community livelihoods following adoption of Deep Beds was exemplified through detailed crop yield surveys which showed crop yields rising by more than double in the first year, and more than 9 times more profitable. Nutrients are cycled and retained effectively by plants in healthy, living soil. And to have one extra meal a day as a result of a farming method is huge.

The full talks are now available to watch again here:

Part 1 | Doubling Yields and Preventing Soil Erosion in Sub-Tropical Conditions

Tropical and sub-tropical farming has many challenges. In Malawi, one of the poorest countries on Earth, these are coming home to roost. However, Tiyeni's Deep Bed Farming is transforming livelihoods in all areas of the country. The simple, low-tech solutions are applicable widely in Africa and elsewhere. The talk will outline this method of farming, which substantially increases yields while reducing the cost of inputs.

Part 2 | A Soil-ution for the African Continent

Long term adoption of Deep Bed Farming transforms lives……. but widespread adoption will be life-changing for all Malawi’s people.

And a word of appreciation to you from Isaac:

*We thank you for the many encouraging messages we have received from many people who wished us success during The Soil Regen Summit 2021, some also donated their resources to make our work possible. To all those we say: THANK YOU.*

Did you catch Colin's final words in the Summit Highlights Reel?

Not only is a plant with access to all nutrients in a healthy soil food web more resilient...If the water percolates into the top aquifer, then the streams run for longer…the rivers stay running through the dry season, the wells stay fuller…so important in a country that has a dry period and a wet period like Malawi, and then floods are mitigated to a great extent because instead of all the water running down at once, it’s held, up there, where we want the water, and the subsequent silting issues are reduced.

We can even sequester carbon with a healthy soil web. Tiyeni's Deep Bed Farming progressively enhances soil quality, with fungi and micro-organisms multiplying and acidity falling measurably over several years. These soils then absorb and store carbon, extracted from the atmosphere, via the plants and other organisms they support.

Through our work at Tiyeni, we are fortunate to meet some of the most inspiring farmers who have overcome hardship to transform their lives, and the lives of others in their community. We hope that you were able to watch some of their stories during the Soil Regen Summit 2021. If not, we invite you to take a few minutes of your day to watch the short videos about these inspiring Malawian farmers, now available on the website homepage or on Tiyeni's YouTube here.

If you are inspired by their stories to become a regular donor to Tiyeni, we are delighted to now offer this option via PayPal on our donate page - your donation could support more farmers in Malawi to provide for their families. With our warmest regards,

The Tiyeni team

A message about Deep Bed farming from our Executive Director, Isaac Monjo Chavula, featured during the Soil Regen Summit: