{"title": "NARA Climate", "logoImg": "bafkreig6ydqbwbfiyjivtpcpmarptxx62mg7nif6prujx6jouws6czh76y", "website": "https://naraclimate.com", "bannerImg": "bafybeifeoahbwqdueg6w6o3q3zlfyfda6dcmj65tm73bmsrouwnp5vvz6q", "createdAt": 1729467358337, "userGithub": "", "credentials": {}, "description": "At least 50% of the world's population—around 4 billion people—experience severely limited access to freshwater for at least one month each year. Meanwhile, 97.5% of Earth's water is salty. How can we harness this vast resource to address freshwater scarcity and land degradation?\n\n\nNARA Climate uses saltwater, whether from oceans or underground sources, to support biocultural regeneration in areas with limited freshwater access. By farming **halophytes**—salt-tolerant plants that thrive in saline soils worldwide—we sequester carbon, enhance biodiversity, and bolster local livelihoods, all without using freshwater or chemicals.\n\n![IMG-20221220-WA0005_2_optimized_1000](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/Byj1nIQx1l.jpg)\n*We grow these plants without freshwater!*\n\nWe have worked in over 10 countries and are currently focused on a project near Kenya’s **Lake Turkana**, the world’s fourth-largest salt lake. This arid region is experiencing an unprecedented five-year drought, threatening traditional livelihoods that depend on cattle herding. \n\n![cs-lake-turkana-banner-adobestock_70126705_optimized_1000](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/HkJVaIQlke.png)\n*The landscape near Lake Turkana, Kenya.*\n\nWe are collaborating with local communities and government to regenerate 100 hectares of land through a five-step process:\n\n1. Removing invasive Prosopis trees\n2. Producing biochar from the wood\n3. Applying the biochar to degraded land\n4. Growing halophytic (salt-tolerant) crops using salty groundwater\n5. Feeding these crops to local livestock, which are central to the local economy\n\n![5](https://hackmd.io/_uploads/HkgFa87l1g.jpg)\n*One of our pilot sites in Kenya.*\n\nFunding from this GitCoin raise will be used for the procurement of water pump parts and solar irrigation systems, as our projects are entirely off-grid. \n\nThis project excites us because it leverages an abundant resource—saltwater—to regenerate both the landscape and the culture that depends on it. Our long-term goal is to develop a regenerative halophytic animal feed that can be sold locally and across Kenya.", "logoImgData": {}, "bannerImgData": {}}