Dake Rechsand, a Dubai-based company offering sustainable solutions in water conservation and desert farming, has partnered with social enterprise Goumbook to encourage companies and institutions to include sustainability cause in Ramadan’s spirit of giving.
Dake Rechsand has urged companies to become a part of its first-of-its-kind Heritage Forest project, which will ensure greening office campuses and include tree-planting drives. This could propel the region closer to its green and sustainability goals.
The Heritage Forest, which ties in with the Dubai Agenda 2040, is a multi-stakeholder initiative aimed at reforesting degraded urban, suburban, and desert plots, in the UAE. The initiative will do this using hardy indigenous plant species, by applying innovative planting technologies, and a rigorous scientific monitoring system.
A recent study noted that one tree absorbs 20kgs of dust and 20 tons of carbon annually, while “swallowing up” 80kgs of mercury, lithium, and lead-based suspensions. In addition, one tree creates 700kgs of oxygen, and purifies 100,000 cubic meters of polluted air in a year.
“Many organisations and institutions are showing an increased enthusiasm for socially-conscious initiatives,” said Chandra Dake, CEO and Founder of Dake Rechsand.
“For the UAE, issues such as desertification and water scarcity represent an existential challenge. Therefore, in the Ramadan spirit of giving, and creating a better world, we believe there has never been a better time for greening office spaces, or undertaking tree-planting initiatives. The cascade effect of such corporate initiatives often leads to employees taking on gardening, and other sustainable green practices, at home.”
Since tree planting initiatives in the Middle East rely on conventional methods that are severely restricted by water scarcity, Dake Rechsand is offering its Breathable Sand solution, which enables optimal plant growth using nearly 80% less water use. This transformative solution is now being backed by advocates for large-scale tree planting initiatives, such as Goumbook, which has the distinction of planting over 95,000 ghafs in the region.
“In line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, all plant species chosen for our Heritage Forests offer specific environmental, medicinal and/or economic benefits,” said Tatiana Antonelli Abella, founder Goumbook.
“The resulting Heritage Forests are a network of green spaces that take over low-density urban or desert areas, with a mix of indigenous, drought-tolerant tree species and an understorey of shrubs and herbaceous plants.
“Ghaf is an indigenous plant in the region. Thanks to its drought–tolerant and evergreen properties, it is possibly the sturdiest plant in harsh desert environments. The tree taps water stored deep underneath the sand surface, with roots that penetrate as deep as 30 meters. Thus, ghaf is able to sustain itself under very low rainfall, and still stay green.”
On the economic front, trees raise property value by a large percentage. In a tree appraisal by the American Forestry Association, a single tree was found to provide $73 worth of air conditioning, $75 worth of erosion control, $75 worth of wildlife shelter, and $50 worth of pollution reduction. To put this into perspective, the compounding of the total $273 for 50 years, at 5% interest, would amount to a whopping $57,151.
For their part, Dake Rechsand is committed to empowering corporates, institutions and communities as partners that make it possible for all interested parties to contribute to the greening of the region., using the scalable and water-wise Breathable Sand solution.
“We would like to extend an invitation to all ecologically conscious entities in the GCC, to commit to being sustainability champions, and leverage our breakthrough technology to help transform the region through water-wise tree planting initiatives. Together, we can make a dramatic difference to the net carbon-footprint and our green cover,” said Chandra Dake.
“Today, as part of CSR initiatives, companies and institutions can plant between 100 to 1000 trees and, in doing so, unlock quantifiable economic, social, and environmental benefits. Trees are a gift that keeps on giving, and there’s no better time than Ramadan, to contribute to creating a better and more sustainable world.”
