The following YouTube video uses a series of GoogleEarth images of the pointReturn site to tell the restoration story. The earliest image is from 2001- a good five years before I bought the land to begin my adventure of turning it productive. It shows a land used for brick-kilns and as a vehicular thoroughfare between two villages in the east and west.
The land slopes 6 metres from west to east, over a 500m run. During rain events water used to roar down the slope gouging a path for itself and carrying away all top soil.The land was bereft of top-soil, vegetation or a source of water, like a well or a pond. The soil had been rendered gravely.No food had ever been grown there.
Beginning 2006, restoration began by means of extensive rain water harvesting, recycling of biomass and planting trees. Some food growing began in 2010.
Watch the video for more on the pointReturn Story
View the video in full screen mode to be able to read the notes clearly. Use the space-bar to pause and resume the video.