Photo by Luca Zanon on Unsplash
Photo by ecns.cnv

Lou Zhiping

Farmer

POSITION

Farmer

COUNTRY

China

SCENE

Environment

What makes Lou Zhiping a Global Shaker?

Inventor, farmer and sand expert Lou Zhiping, from Shengzhou, has made a splash for his U-shaped sand fixing network and his ‘hung net barrier’ — two inventions that can effectively stop desertification in its tracks.

The farmer spent over a decade refining his methods, telling people.cn that they are more effective than grass checker boards or vertical nets. Wind blows sand through the mesh, settling into sandbags and preventing the barrier falling down or being moved by wind. This therefore prevents the desert from spreading.

Zhiping’s technique has been practised in the deserts in Inner Mongolia and along the Qinghai-Tibet Railway, and earned him recognition from a United Nations Conference for parties to the Convention to Combat Desertification.

The farmer, who also had success growing plants on vertical walls, is part of China’s Desertification Control Council, focusing on the country’s Northwestern desert areas.

Tags: china, Desert, Drought

Last updated: July 2, 2019