Green Entrepreneurs Assemble—The newsletter for green entrepreneurs and professionals.

A rising tide lifts all boats 🙂 

Hi, I am Akhoy, all the way from North-eastern India.

I put in 100s of hours every month to reach out and interview business people around the world, who are working towards creating a more sustainable future for the planet. Some of them are just starting, while others are generating millions in revenue. There are invaluable lessons you can learn from people at different stages of growing green businesses.

I live in a biodiversity hotspot myself that is undergoing rapid urbanization and deforestation (these two are BFF, to be honest). I understand the importance of successfully monetizing activities that are meant to protect the earth’s ecosystems.

Interestingly, there is very little first-hand content online on green entrepreneurship, which is why I decided to create this newsletter.

Podcasts demand a good deal of time to listen to, but the written format is easier to consume. I have also highlighted important words and phrases to make each interview a quick read.

Without further ado, let’s welcome today’s guest—

Table of Contents

1. Backstory

2. Steps to Cultivating in Deserts

3. Agroforestry and Desalination

4. Plant Species

5. Best Types of Desert Soils

6. Land Ownership

7. Adaptability of Techniques

8. Great Green Wall Project

9. Local Community Response

10. Balancing Planning and Execution

11. Initial Funding

12. Co-founders

13. Business Model

14. Biggest Challenge and Biggest Success

15. Day-in-life

16. Future Plans

17. Collaborate with Benjamin

18. "1 Minute Summary" of the Interview

(Note: I have preserved Benjamin’s voice, but made slight edits for readability)

🟢Please tell me about your backstory and how you started in this field.

So basically, it started with a meeting of three cofounders— Gautier De Carcouët a French guy who studied science, politics, as well as agricultural aspects applied to science, politics, and Wissal Ben Moussa, she's Moroccan and she is an agronomist, and myself, from France.

And from a business perspective basically, how we started, we realized oases' ecosystems are not entirely natural. Most people, as we did, think oases are just natural and done by themselves, but the truth is oases ecosystems have been created by humankind.

And it started a long time ago, basically 10,000 years ago, when nomadic tribes found sources of water, so they started to create irrigation channels and do agriculture in deserts.

And this is the best example of how humans and nature can collaborate for the better good. It's amazing to see that without nature, men couldn't survive in such a harsh environment, and without human interaction, nature couldn't thrive because plants need irrigation, they need to be pruned, they need to be maintained, and so on.

And just for the story, "Oasis" in Coptic—which is the former language of Egypt— means habitat, so it illustrates really well the collaboration between humans and nature. And so, when we realized all this, we said, "Okay, maybe we could use technology to replicate this ecosystem at a very large scale for the better good.”

So we can produce food using an Agroforestry pattern with canopy trees giving shade to the medium layer trees, which give shade to the lower layer, as well as intercropping. And this is how Sand to Green started to say, "Okay, what technology can we use to replicate it?"

This is why we today develop new plantations in Morocco to recreate oases' ecosystems using not only desalination as an input for water sources but also the different Agroforestry patterns that you can find in oases' ecosystems.

These plantations that we developed not only produce food and fodder for animals but also carbon credits because we store carbon in the soil, into the trees, and this can be monetized through the offsetting mechanism to compensate for carbon emissions.

🟢When you're cultivating deserts, what kind of steps are involved in it?

Okay, so first, you need to assess the site on which you want to do it because depending on the site, you will have to protect from wind, so you will have to create windbreaks.

You will also need to assess what kind of water harvesting you can do because it does rain in the desert. It doesn’t rain very often in the desert, but when it's raining, it's raining a lot, and so there is a lot of runoff. And so one of the techniques that we use is to do water harvesting.

So you try to catch the water when it's going down through the slope to avoid runoff of the water. So site assessment is really important.

Then you set up the plantation. You improve the soil by doing a regeneration cycle, you're using biochar as well as soil amendment.

Then you're planting trees. Then you need to monitor everything to make sure that everything is growing properly and having good development to make sure you're going to get revenue in the future and to make sure the carbon you're capturing, you can monetize it.

🟢Tell me a little more about Agroforestry and desalination.

Yeah, so basically, Agroforestry is the technique of combining smartly trees and plants to get the most out of it. This means you get some trees that can grow very well with other trees and with other plants. And on the opposite, you have some that you cannot mix with each other.

At Sand to Green we know exactly which kind of trees you can combine with which kind of plants to make the most of it. Some are going to store nitrogen in the soil, and others are going to use this nitrogen and store other nutrients—or give shadows to the intercropping, for instance.

So, everything needs to be thought out in a smart way to get the most out of it. And Agroforestry is a very resilient agricultural system.

And if you read the IPCC reports (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), they show that Agroforestry is one of the best ways not only to fight climate change but also to mitigate the effects of climate change.

Why? Because it is more resilient as an agricultural system and also protects the other plantations. So yeah, we were used to doing Agroforestry for many, many years before going all in into monoculture-intensive farming.

And now we're starting to go back to these ancient techniques. And this is why Sand to Green is trying to use technology to help spread knowledge about this.

Regarding desalination, this is just an input for us. We can do the same with treated water from the city, we can do the same with fresh water from underground and so on.

But in our new plantation, we are using solar desalination. So, it's reverse osmosis but working with solar panels. And it allows us to get access to unlimited resources of water. And we are developing R&D projects to make sure we can recycle the brine and not throw it away into the sea.

🟢What species of plants do you use?

We use species of plants that can grow well in harsh environments. It wouldn't be so clever to grow, say, avocado in a desert because it requires a lot of water.

That's why we grow carobs, dates, pomegranates, figs, as well as intercropping such as rosemary, geranium, and panicum. All those types of plants and trees can develop well in poor soil with little water under very harsh conditions because of high temperature, high wind, and so on.

🟢What kinds of desert soils are best for cultivation?

What is cool about deserts is that it's a very simple environment in a way. This is a very poor ecosystem, poor in a way that you don't have a lot of plants, you don't have a lot of animals, and so on.

But it's so much easier to understand and modelize than tropical or temperate environments. And so, there are only four different types of soil that are present in deserts.

And for sure, when you do have a bit of clay, it's so much better because a mix of sand and clay is good to retain water and is also good for the growth of the roots.

🟢Do you do your projects on government land or privately owned land?

Today, we're doing it on private lands.

Maybe tomorrow, we're going to be able to do it with government lands, but it's not always easy to work with governments. It takes more time, and is always more complicated than expected.

🟢Can your techniques work in any desert, or is there any advantage of cultivating in Morocco?

It can definitely work in any desert.

You can grow trees and plants basically anywhere except on very saline soil, which is sometimes the case in deserts because salt is killing everything.

And so, you can't grow anything on saline soil. But yeah, let's say that in most arid or harsh environments, we can make plants grow there.

🟢Is your work a part of the Great Green Wall project?

We're not part of it, but we are working with some institutions that are working for the Great Green Wall.

Right now, we're focusing on Morocco, but later on, the idea is to be able to work on the Great Green Wall project. It is, for me, the best, the most beautiful project that humanity has undertaken.

In a way, you're just using nature to build something that cannot only generate revenue but also increase biodiversity, stop desertification, and so on.

So, for me, the Great Green Wall is the best project humanity has undertaken, and yeah, we're trying to be a part of it.

🟢What has been the response of the local communities?

Actually, they're pretty happy because not only do you bring them knowledge and a new type of agriculture which is more resilient to climate change, but also you're bringing them a new revenue model.

This can help them face financial difficulties and also help them to transition from a monoculture-intensive farming to an Agroforestry system.

🟢As a green entrepreneur, how do you find the balance between making plans to grow your business and the actual execution work?

Actually, for us, it's not that balanced. The more execution work we do, the more trees we grow. So it's definitely an impact.

I would say sometimes we need to make hard choices regarding who we work with. Like, do we have to work with a polluter?

Do we have to work with an oil and gas company? And sometimes, it's pretty hard to choose between a yes or no for ethical reasons.

🟢So, how did you initially fund your company?

We did a fundraising of $1 million with some VC funds as well as business angels to start the business and develop it.

🟢How did you meet your co-founders?

I met them through a social entrepreneurship network which is called "Enactus" which is like a global social entrepreneurship network.

🟢So your current business model is selling the produce of your farms, and the carbon credits, right?

Yeah, that is correct.

🟢So far, what has been your biggest challenge and your biggest success as an entrepreneur?

I would say the biggest challenge would be to work with local authorities, which is not always that easy.

And sometimes it's better to just go with private because they don't have the same way of working or the same timescales and so on.

And the biggest success? That's a good question. I would say being able to convince VCs that nature-based solutions are bankable solutions.

🟢What does a day in your life currently look like?

Busy, very busy! (laughs)

A lot of things to do, a lot of emails, a lot of goals, a lot of meetings. And yeah, we're building something new, so it's always harder to build something new than to start on something that already exists.

So yeah, would say that my life right now seems a bit busy, but I love it. I love working and I'm really happy with what I do. I think I do have an impact so it's what matters the most.

🟢What are your future plans for your company?

Future plans for the company would be to increase our impact globally, and to develop our models outside of Morocco.

🟢 If you would like any of our readers to help you and your company in anything, what would it be?

It would be to get new clients to install Agroforestry systems into their existing plantations, to help them transition from monoculture-intensive farming to Agroforestry.

Connect with Benjamin on Linkedin: Benjamin Rombaut | LinkedIn

🟢“1 Minute Summary” of the Interview

• Background and Founding: Sand to Green was founded by three cofounders: Benjamin Rombaut, Gautier De Carcouet, and Wissal Ben Moussa.

• Approach: Sand to Green focuses on cultivating deserts using Agroforestry techniques and solar desalination to ensure sustainable agriculture.

• Agroforestry: Agroforestry involves smartly combining trees and plants to maximize benefits. Sand to Green utilizes various tree and plant species suitable for harsh desert environments.

• Desert Cultivation Steps: The process involves site assessment, wind protection, water harvesting, soil improvement, planting, and continuous monitoring.

• Soil Types: Deserts have simple ecosystems with only four types of soil. Soil with some clay content is preferable for water retention and root growth.

• Project Locations: Sand to Green currently operates on private lands in Morocco but aims to expand globally.

• Response and Impact: Local communities appreciate the knowledge transfer and new revenue models.

• Funding and Business Model: The company raised $1 million through VC funds and business angels. Their current business model involves selling produce and carbon credits.

• Challenges: Working with local authorities and ethical considerations in partnerships pose challenges.

• Future Plans: Sand to Green aims to increase its global impact and expand beyond Morocco.

• Day in the Life: Benjamin's days are busy with emails, meetings, and building the company.

• Collaborate: Benjamin seeks new clients interested in adopting Agroforestry practices.

The next interview is with Leo Rayman. He is the CEO and Founder of EdenLab. As per his own words, he makes ‘big companies more sustainable and sustainable companies bigger’.

You can get an idea of his passion for sustainability as he even skipped buying a house so he could kickstart his company. Do not miss out on his interview!