The Waterboxx: Growing Trees in the Desert with Dew and Rain

How do you grow a tree in a desert, without any drip line or water truck? Dutch inventor Pieter Hoff found a simple answer: the Waterboxx. This smart bucket collects dew and rain. Then it feeds that water to a tree sapling, drop by drop. Today, his invention has helped plant 2,000,000 trees in 55 countries. Sadly, Pieter Hoff died in 2021. However, his son Wout Hoff now leads the company Groasis and carries on his mission.

Hopefully, this proven concept will also gain traction in Australia, the Middle East and the USA.

Diagram showing how the Waterboxx works: the lid collects dew (at night time) and rain, stores it in a water tank around the young tree, and a wick drips about 50 ml per day to the roots.

What is the Waterboxx?

The Waterboxx is a round plastic bucket with a hole in the middle. A young tree grows through that hole. Meanwhile, the bucket around it works as a water tank. The smart lid does two jobs. At night, it cools down fast, so dew forms on it. When it rains, the lid also catches the drops. In both cases, the water flows into the tank below.

Then comes the clever part. A small wick sits at the bottom of the box. Through this wick, the tank releases about 50 ml of water per day to the roots. That sounds like very little. Yet it is just enough to keep a young tree alive. Because the tree gets no more than that, it must send its roots deep down. There, the roots will find moist soil and ground water. After about a year, the tree can drink on its own. So you lift the box and reuse it for the next tree, up to ten times.

The box helps in one more way. It covers the soil around the stem of the tree. As a result, the sun cannot bake the ground dry. Both temperature and moisture stay far more stable under the box.

Does it work? Yes, and the numbers are striking. Trials in the desert of Marocco reported a tree survival rate of ca. 90% with the Waterboxx. Without it, only 10% survived. For that reason, Popular Science named the Waterboxx its Green Innovation of the Year in 2010.

Timeline of the Waterboxx story: from an idea in 2003 to two million trees in 2026.

Green Deserts, less CO2

Pieter Hoff was a lily grower before he became an inventor. From 2003, he spent years and millions on his idea. His dream went far beyond one tree. He wanted to turn dry, bare land into green oases with fruit trees and crops. In his book The Treesolution, he made a bold claim. Plant enough trees, and they will absorb a large share of our CO₂. So the Waterboxx is also a climate tool, not just a garden product.

The company Groasis later added the single-use Growboxx. This version is made of paper pulp instead of plastic. Therefore, you do not need to collect it. It simply breaks down and feeds the tree.

Where the Waterboxx stands today

Pieter Hoff passed away in April 2021. However, his son Wout Hoff took over and leads Groasis today. The company and its partners have now planted 2.000.000 trees in 55 countries. Moreover, the boxes support food projects, for example with the UN World Food Programme in Colombia. The long-term goal is huge: regreen about two billion hectares of dry and eroded land. In short, the mission has outlived its maker.