UAE Minister of Climate Change Maryam Al Muhairi and Sadhguru walk at Emirates Bio Farm during a 'Save Soil' campaign in Al Ain. Reuters

Dake Rechsand, the Dubai-based company specialising in sustainability solutions for water conservation and desert farming, has voiced its support for “Sadhguru” Jaggi Vasudev’s ‘Save Soil’ movement while emphasising the role that Breathable Sand can play in topsoil conservation and regeneration.

India-based spiritual leader Sadhguru is on a 100-day motorbike journey that started in the UK, with stopovers across the world. Dubbed the ‘Journey to Save Soil’, the quest is aimed at raising awareness of soil conservation and mobilising stakeholders to emphasize regeneration with dedicated national policies.

 “As per credible sources, about 52% of the world's agricultural land is moderately or severely affected by soil degradation. Considering soil provides nearly 99% of our food, the current rate of degradation presents an existential threat that needs immediate redressal. Under this scenario, Sadhguru’s Save Soil movement is both timely and commendable. It has our full support,” said Chandra Dake, CEO of Dake Rechsand.

Upon his arrival in the UAE, Sadhguru has taken part in multiple conclaves, besides signing an MoU with the UAE International Centre for Biosaline Agriculture for exchanging knowledge and energising soil conservation and regeneration. Thus far, many nations, including Italy, Bulgaria, Azerbaijan, and intergovernmental organisations, including the EU, the Commonwealth, and the Muslim World League, have offered support and entered into MoU with Sadhguru’s broader movement, Conscious Planet.

“In the UAE, which is 80% desert, soil regeneration requires multi-dimensional assessment. Limited groundwater resources, high soil salinity, and other systemic challenges do not offer much in the way of optimism. Taking this into stock, Dake Rechsand has developed a fit-for-purpose solution in Breathable Sand. Its application has led to demonstrable improvement in topsoil,” revealed Chandra Dake.

Dake Rechsand’s Breathable Sand — also known as “magic sand” due to its transformative potential — has been making waves in the Middle East and beyond ever since its launch. With its ability to retain water for extended periods, preserve fertilisers, and produce a high yield in desert conditions, Breathable Sand has enabled practitioners to turn barren lands arable.

The use cases of Breathable Sand have since expanded to organic farming and synergistic farming models such as permaculture and food forests. The potential results have strong implications for ecological improvement, biodiversity, microbial growth in the root zone, and, most importantly, soil conservation.

“As Sadhguru rightly noted at the press conference, for sustainable and nutritious yield, the topsoil must contain at least 2–4% organic matter. Our observations in preliminary Breathable Sand projects are consistent with the ideal organic requirements. As we continue to explore more use cases, we are also committing ourselves to the UAE’s, and the larger Middle East’s, sustainability cause,” Chandra added.