Bizra Seed, Fighting the Desert in the Horn of Africa

Bizra works to restore desertifying lands through regenerative Design, management and eduction of local farmers and herders

Bizra is a social enterprise that partners with local landowners to improve their farms through regenerative agriculture design and management, in order to fight desertification and contribute toward resilient landscapes and communities. 

We are located in the Horn of Africa where a lot of damage has been done to the environment through overgrazing, tree cutting, flood erosion and frequent droughts. In this region of the world, the environmental issues have become security issues; resulting in famine, conflict, poverty and displacement.  Current farming and grazing practices further exacerbate the problem. But this cycle can be reversed. Regenerative agriculture utilises practices that aim to benefit and build the land. In time, this leads to healthy soil that is able to produce nutrient dense food and vegetation while simultaneously improving, rather than degrading land, fighting desertification. In turn, healthy land can lead to healthy, resilient communities and economies. 

 

Our model:

 

Bizra means ‘seed’ in Arabic. Any seed starts small, and grows over time. We partner with land-owners and herders to set up and manage simple and reproducible models of regenerative grazing and farming practices, with the intent of creating resilient landscapes and communities. We co-invest and share profit with our partners while focussing on equipping and transferring knowledge to our employees, partners and their neighbours. Managerial and ecological changes don’t happen over-night, but take resources, education, patience and long-term investment.

 

In practice:

 

Design: There is an abundance of resources and technologies in the field of regenerative agriculture. We draw from Permaculture and Keyline Design as two main influences of design and landscape regeneration. These approaches are wholistic, taking into account climate, landscape, water, soil health etc. working with nature; not against it.  

 

Management: In this region, wild herds of herbivores have built the soil into lush savanna for thousands of years. Unfortunately, the overgrazing of domestic animals have severely contributed to the degradation of the land. Yet, this important, symbiotic relationship between herbivores and soil-health can be utilised in restoring the land. That is why Bizra focusses on good animal management as the main restorative agent in this process.