About Us

Groasis is a Dutch company recognized as a ‘National Icon’ for its groundbreaking technology to restore 2 billion hectares of degraded land—without irrigation. Our innovative solutions have helped plant trees, bushes, and crops in over 60 countries, even in arid regions.

Our Story

Founded by Pieter Hoff in 2003, Groasis was born out of his concern for deforestation and groundwater depletion. After selling his flower bulb business, he invented the plant cocoon technology — allowing trees to grow on barren, degraded, land without irrigation. Pieter’s relentless innovation continued until his passing in 2021, when his son, Wout Hoff, took the helm. His journey is captured in the documentary Green Musketeer — watch the trailer here.

Mission & Vision

Groasis’ mission is simple yet bold: restore 2 billion hectares of land by planting one trillion trees. Pieter’s 2006 book, The Treesolution, laid the foundation for this vision—now embraced by global initiatives like the World Economic Forum’s One Trillion Trees. Thanks to years of R&D, our cost-effective technology makes large-scale reforestation possible — without irrigation, ensuring a greener, more sustainable future.

Our Technology

How It Works

Groasis' Technology makes it possible to plant trees, bushes and vegetables on degraded land — without irrigation. Used in 60+ countries, it was developed for arid regions with 100-500mm of rainfall or prolonged dry seasons.

Our key innovations:

• Terracedix – Creates 15 km of mini terraces per hour, to boost water infiltration into the soil.
• Capillary Drills – Form perfect and consistent planting holes in 20-60 seconds, while preserving vital capillary action.
• Waterboxx® & Growboxx® – Intelligent buckets, water-saving plant cocoons that reduce water use by 90%. The reusable Waterboxx® (10th gen) allows planting of up to 20 trees, while the biodegradable Growboxx® (5th gen) does not need to be removed and combines trees with crops.
• Waterfilter Boxx® – A future innovation to plant trees using seawater or polluted water.
• Growsafe & BioGrowsafe – Shields plants from extreme sun, wind, sandstorms, and animals.

Our proven and patented technology is protected in nearly 100 countries.

Why Groasis?

Our Triple 90 Benefits set us apart:
✔ 90% lower costs
✔ 90% less water usage
✔ 90% survival rate

With over 2 million trees planted globally, our technology is an affordable, energy-free solution that stimules plants to establish deep roots (2m-5m within 1 year) and grow independently — no irrigation or maintenance needed. Plus, it extends planting seasons and accelerates growth by creating a protective microclimate.

Groasis is making large-scale reforestation simple, cost-effective, and sustainable.

Applications

Groasis provides cutting-edge solutions for agroforestry, ecosystem restoration, urban landscaping, viticulture, carbon offsetting, food production, and emergency relief.
Our technology is designed to make reforestation and sustainable agriculture accessible—whether for individuals or large-scale projects.

Small-Scale Use

✅ Home Gardeners & Smallholder Farmers – Grow vegetables, fruit trees, and flowers with minimal water, even in dry climates.
✅ Food Forests & Community Gardens – Create self-sustaining ecosystems that provide fresh produce and restore biodiversity.
✅ Emergency Relief & Hunger Prevention – Provide reliable food sources in crisis zones and arid regions.

Large-Scale Solutions

✅ Governments & NGOs – Restore degraded land, combat desertification, and promote food security.
✅ Corporations & Carbon Offset Projects – Plant millions of trees to generate carbon credits and support corporate sustainability goals.
✅ Viticulture & Cash Crops – Grow vineyards, orchards, and high-value crops without expensive irrigation infrastructure.
✅ Urban Landscaping – Green cities with drought-resistant trees and plants, improving air quality and cooling urban areas.

From individual gardeners to global reforestation initiatives, Groasis makes it possible to grow a greener future—anywhere, with minimal water and maximum impact.

Buying our Technology

Ready to grow greener?

Buy a 1, 3, 5, or 10-pack from our webshop and experience the power of Groasis technology firsthand!

For larger projects, connect with one of our local distributors for a custom offer—or reach out to Groasis directly to integrate our intelligent buckets into your plantation.

Interested in becoming a distributor of our water-saving technology? Send us your details and join our mission to restore the planet!

Awards & Recognition

Groasis’ groundbreaking technology has been independently validated and recognized worldwide. Here are some of our most prestigious awards:

• 2010 – Groasis sweeps all 11 categories of Popular Science’s "Best of What's New," winning Innovation of the Year and the Green Tech Grand Award, outperforming Fortune 500 giants like Apple, Porsche, GE, and Ford.
• 2016 – The Dutch Government designates Groasis as a National Icon after six months of rigorous technical due diligence — an honor given to only few companies in the Netherlands.
• 2017 – The UN World Food Programme selects Groasis for its Innovation Accelerator, aligning with the goal of Zero Hunger by 2030. That same year, the UN Global Compact highlights Groasis as the most disruptive technology for tackling land degradation.
• 2018 – Groasis is named Most Innovative Small & Medium Enterprise by the Dutch Chamber of Commerce.
• 2019 – The Government of Abu Dhabi awards Groasis the Khalifa Date Palm Award for revolutionizing date palm cultivation without irrigation.
• 2020 – At Expo 2020 Dubai, Groasis wins the Boskalis Water Award for the Waterfilter Boxx®, promising large-scale reforestation using polluted or seawater.
• 2022 – EU Business News names Groasis the "Leading Pioneer in Reforestation" and grants the Global Sustainability Innovation Award 2022.
• 2024 – UpLink & the World Economic Forum honor Groasis as a Top Innovator for the Trillion Trees: Restoration at Scale award, recognizing the Waterboxx®’s potential to plant one trillion trees on degraded land — without irrigation.

From global leaders to scientific institutions, Groasis continues to be recognized for pushing the boundaries of sustainable reforestation.

Pieter Hoff and the Treesolution - an article to go with the film GREEN MUSKETEER

Nederlandse versie hieronder

There is a cheap and effective solution for climate, hunger and migration.

The Netherlands can be 100% climate neutral as of 2035
for less than 10% of the current Climate Budget
- and eradicate hunger and stop refugee flows worldwide.

The Groasis Treesolution can be replicated by countries and organisations around the world - to restore degraded land and revitalise rural communities.

Pieter Hoff was a highly successful lily breeder and grower from West Friesland. As an exporter, he traveled to dozens of countries, and increasingly returned home troubled - after witnessing firsthand how rapidly and disruptively nature was deteriorating. He saw entire areas being deforested, and water levels dropping alarmingly. Around the turn of the century, he made the drastic decision to change his life and develop a technology to permit large-scale reforestation, focusing on the most difficult, seemingly abandoned areas: desertified plains, eroded steep slopes, and barren highlands. Land which was green and productive centuries ago, but had degraded as a consequence of the actions of mankind.

Thanks to the knowledge he had accumulated over decades on how best to grow plants and trees, he developed a seemingly simple yet highly ingenious method that allowed newly planted trees, shrubs, and vegetables to survive and even thrive under the harshest conditions, without the need for intensive protection, long-term irrigation, or other costly care. With his company Groasis he invented and perfected the reusable Waterboxx® and the biodegradable Growboxx®, brilliant in their simplicity: a low-cost “intelligent bucket” that automatically provides newly planted trees, shrubs, and vegetables with just enough water to survive, but not enough to thrive. The plant cocoons of Groasis encourage the young plants to develop a deep root system, enabling them to survive and grow independently without irrigation. The Waterboxx® can then be removed and reused, the Growboxx® simply biodegrades. Even in the most challenging environments, the technology developed and perfected by Groasis managed to achieve a survival rate of over 90%, whilst requiring 90% less water than control groups planted with irrigation.

Schematic Image of the reusable Waterboxx®: each Waterboxx® can be used to plant up to 20 trees, bushes, or vegetable plants.

The Waterboxx® has been used to combat erosion and desertification in no fewer than 61 countries over the past 2 decades, while the trees planted simultaneously removed enormous amounts of CO₂ from the amotsphere. One hectare of restored land can remove around 10 tons of CO₂ from the atmosphere each year.

If we reforest an area of degraded land 3.5 times the size of the Netherlands, we could neutralize the entire Dutch CO₂ emissions – as these trees effectively remove as much CO₂ from the atmosphere each year as all of the activities in the Netherlands emit. For just €5 billion (90% less than the currently planned climate policy costs), the Netherlands could become completely CO₂-neutral by 2035—fifteen years earlier than the current policy goal.

And to be clear, there is (unfortunately) plenty of degraded land available: 6 billion hectares worldwide. By reforesting 2.5 billion hectares, all countries of the world could become CO₂-neutral, and global hunger could be eradicated. The funds are available: wealthy countries have pledged billions for climate adaptation and mitigation. The Treesolution would require only a small portion of that.

One might expect the Dutch government (as well as the European Commission and Parliament) to jump at the chance to seize such an affordable opportunity. Indeed, in 2016, Groasis was awarded and named "National Icon". However, no action followed from the government, and Pieter Hoff sadly passed away in 2021 at the age of just 67. Fortunately, his son Wout Hoff has taken on the invaluable legacy, and the Waterboxx® is now being used to restore biodiversity at an increasingly large scale.

Filmmaker Melchert Meijer zu Schlochteren completed the documentary film he was making about Pieter Hoff’s work after his sudden passing. On October 21, 2024, the world premiere of this documentary, Green Musketeer, took place at the Tuschinski Theater in Amsterdam—named after a moment when Hoff humorously “knighted” the men helping him plant trees in a newly reforested desert area with a shovel.

The trailer of the Green Musketeer documentary can be viewed here.

Check when and where you can watch the documentary

The film is highly relevant and remarkable as reforestation projects are being implemented worldwide, but often with disappointingly limited success, while Hoff’s technology delivers strong results everywhere. But the film is also a touching tribute to a man who had the courage to sacrifice his safe, successful life and all his material resources to take on one of the greatest ecological challenges of our time - climate change.
In almost all climate plans, the focus is rightly on reducing our emissions. This also applies to the Dutch Climate Agreement. But unfortunately, existing plans ignore the fact that there is already too much CO₂ in the atmosphere – which causes more global warming every day. In addition to reducing emissions, substantial measures must also be taken to quickly and drastically reduce this excess CO₂ in the atmosphere. Trees are extremely effective 'vacuum cleaners' for this.

In short, with the Treesolution and Waterboxx®, we can tackle the problems of climate, hunger, water scarcity and migration in an efficient and affordable way. With this integrated solution, much more climate gain and sustainable development can be achieved for much less money. This frees up resources to do more and/or spend on other priorities.

We hope that, after watching the documentary and/or reading this article, you will want to help us to get the Treesolution adopted on a large scale by governments and international organizations. Here are 2 articles we wrote that explain the plan in more detail:

Please support us and make a donation here.

Maurits Groen, co-organizer Green Musketeer première

Wout Hoff, Groasis CEO

Kees Jan Bender, Groasis Treesolution Expert

Pieter Hoff en de Treesolution - een artikel ter ere van de film GREEN MUSKETEER

Er bestaat een goedkope en effectieve oplossing voor klimaat, honger en migratie.

Nederland kan al vanaf 2035 100% klimaatneutraal zijn
voor minder dan 10% van het huidige Klimaatbudget
– én wereldwijd rampen en vluchtelingenstromen voorkomen.

Pieter Hoff was in de vorige eeuw een zeer succesvolle Westfriese veredelaar en teler van lelies. Als exporteur bereisde hij tientallen landen, en steeds vaker kwam hij verontrust weer thuis omdat hij met eigen ogen zag hoe snel en ontwrichtend de natuur in veel landen achteruit holde, complete gebieden ontbost werden, de waterstand alarmerend daalde. Rond de eeuwwisseling nam hij het drastische besluit om zijn leven compleet om te gooien en te gaan werken aan het ontwikkelen van een technologie waarmee de mensheid grootschalig de meest moeilijke, feitelijk al opgegeven, gebieden kan herbebossen: verwoestijnde vlaktes, geërodeerde steile hellingen en dorre hoogvlaktes.

Dankzij zijn in decennia opgedane kennis van de groei van planten wist hij een schijnbaar eenvoudige, maar feitelijk zeer ingenieuze manier te ontwikkelen waardoor jonge aangeplante bomen, struiken, en groenten, zelfs onder de meest barre omstandigheden konden overleven en zelfs floreren, zonder dat daar intensieve bescherming, langdurige bevloeiing (irrigatie) of andere kostbare zorg voor nodig was. Met zijn bedrijf Groasis ontwikkelde Pieter de herbruikbare Waterboxx® en de biologisch afbreekbare Growboxx®, briljant in hun eenvoud: een goedkope ‘intelligente emmer’, die net geplante bomen een jaar lang ‘automatisch’ net voldoende water geeft, waardoor ze overleven en binnen dat jaar aangespoord worden om zelf een drie tot vijf (!) meter diep wortelstelsel te ontwikkelen, waardoor ze daarna zelfstandig, zonder irrigatie kunnen overleven en doorgroeien. Zelfs en juist in de moeilijkste omstandigheden lukte het hem om een overlevingspercentage van boven de 90% te bereiken, terwijl de planten 90% minder water nodighebben dan wanneer ze irrigatie zouden krijgen.

Schematische afbeelding van de Waterboxx®; met iedere Waterboxx® kunnen tot wel 20 bomen, struiken, en groenteplanten geplant worden.

De Waterboxx® is inmiddels in maar liefst 61 landen ingezet om erosie en verwoestijning tegen te gaan, maar ‘en passant’ legden de bomen die er geplant werden enorme hoeveelheden CO₂ vast. Eén hectare hersteld land kan namelijk jaarlijks al gauw 10 ton CO₂ uit de lucht halen.

Als we geërodeerde grond ter grootte van 3,5 keer Nederland beplanten met bomen, dan kunnen we daarmee de hele Nederlandse CO₂-uitstoot neutraliseren. Voor slechts €5 miljard (want: 90% voordeliger dan de huidige geplande klimaatbeleidskosten) kan Nederland op die manier al vanaf 2035 volledig CO₂-neutraal zijn -vijftien jaar eerder dan het huidige beleidsdoel.

En even voor de goede orde: er is (helaas) genoeg gedegradeerd land beschikbaar: 6 miljard hectare wereldwijd. Door het beplanten van 2,5 miljard hectare kunnen alle landen van de wereld CO₂-neutraal worden en kunnen we wereldwijd honger uitbannen. De financiën daarvoor zijn beschikbaar: de rijke landen hebben immers miljarden toegezegd voor klimaatadaptatie en -mitigatie. De Treesolution met de Waterboxx® vergt slechts een klein deel daarvan.

Je zou verwachten dat de Nederlandse regering er als de kippen bij zou zijn om zo’n voordelig buitenkansje te benutten. En ja, Groasis werd in 2016 dan ook bekroond en uitgeroepen tot Nationaal Icoon. Actie vanuit de regering bleef daarna echter uit -en Pieter Hoff overleed in 2021 op slechts 67-jarige leeftijd. Gelukkig ontfermde zijn zoon Wout zich over de immateriële erfenis van onschatbare waarde, en inmiddels wordt er op steeds grotere schaal gedegradeerd land hersteld me de Waterboxx®.

Filmer Melchert Meijer zu Schlochteren voltooide de documentaire film die hij over het werk van Pieter Hoff aan het maken was, toen deze vrij plotseling overleed. Op 21 oktober 2024 vond in het Amsterdamse Tuschinski theater de wereldpremière plaats van deze documentaire film getiteld ‘Green Musketeer’ - want zo ‘ridderde’ Pieter Hoff spontaan een keer ergens in een zojuist herbebost stuk woestijn met een schep, serieus-gekscherend, de mannen die hem hielpen met planten.

De trailer van de film is hier te zien

U kunt hier zien waar & wanneer de film vertoond wordt

De film is uiterst relevant en bijzonder, want er worden overal ter wereld herbebossingprojecten aangepakt, maar het succes ervan is helaas vaak bedroevend beperkt, terwijl deze ‘methode Hoff’ juist overal ter wereld uitstekend werkt. Maar de film is ook een ontroerend eerbetoon aan een man die het lef had om zijn veilige, succesvolle bestaan én al zijn materiële middelen om te offeren om de uitdaging aan te gaan één van de grootste ecologische bedreigingen tegen te gaan - de klimaat crisis.

In vrijwel alle klimaatplannen wordt terecht aangestuurd op het terugdringen van onze uitstoot. Dit geldt ook voor het Nederlandse Klimaatakkoord. Maar helaas gaan bestaande plannen teveel voorbij aan het feit dat er nu al teveel CO₂ in de atmosfeer zit – die elke dag meer wereldwijde opwarming veroorzaakt. Naast het reduceren van de uitstoot, moeten er dus ook substantiële maatregelen getroffen worden om dit teveel aan CO₂ in de atmosfeer snel en drastisch omlaag te brengen. Bomen zijn hier uiterst effectieve ‘stofzuigers’ voor.

Kortom, met de Treesolution en Waterboxx® kan Nederland gidsland worden in het doelmatig en betaalbaar aanpakken van de problemen van klimaat, honger, waterschaarste en migratie. Met deze integrale oplossing kan veel méér klimaatwinst en duurzame ontwikkeling gerealiseerd worden voor veel minder geld. Hierdoor komen middelen vrij om meer te doen en/of te besteden aan andere prioriteiten.

We hopen dat u, na het zien van de documentaire en/of het lezen van dit artikel ons wilt helpen om de Treesolution grootschalig opgepakt te krijgen door overheden en internationale organisaties. Hier vindt u 2 artikelen die we geschreven hebben waarin het plan in meer detail uiteengezet wordt:

Steun ons a.u.b. en maak hier een donatie.

Maurits Groen, co-organisator Green Musketeer première

Wout Hoff, Groasis CEO

Kees Jan Bender, Groasis Treesolution Expert
 

Waterboxx planting manual - English - 1 pager

We hebben goede ervaringen met het kiemen van zaden. Plaats de gekiemde zaden bovenin de plant pluggen en plaats er dan 1 centimeter grond.

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Did you know that every day the population on earth grows with more than 220,000 people? And three days from now, earth will be home to more than 684,000 extra people? For some more interesting facts, you can look on this site.

Read more: More food with less water

Groasis Tech is the exclusive distributor for Groasis' technology for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The Groasis Waterboxx® has been successfully used at projects in Saudi Arabia and the wider Middle East to plant trees, bushes and vegetables.

If you want to use our products for your projects in Saudi Arabia, then please contact Mr. Aleksandar Fülepp at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

شركة Groasis Tech هي الموزع الحصري لتكنولوجيا Groasis في المملكة العربية السعودية. تم استخدام Groasis Waterboxx® بنجاح في مشاريع في المملكة العربية السعودية والشرق الأوسط الأوسع لزراعة الأشجار والشجيرات والخضروات.

إذا كنت ترغب في استخدام منتجاتنا لمشاريعك في المملكة العربية السعودية، فيرجى الاتصال بالسيد ألكسندر فوليب على This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

We invite you to donate to one of our current projects:

World Food Programme in Colombia, World Food Programme in Chad, the Sahara Roots project in Morocco, Galapagos Verde of the Charles Darwin Foundation in Ecuador, one of the projects of the African Afforestation Association e.V. in Ghana.

The Groasis Technology is introduced by AquaPro, a private company founded by inventor Pieter Hoff.

The Groasis Technology (GT) is a planting technology, It is not a way of irrigation. While planting during the first year water savings go over 90% compared to any other planting method.

It is a biomimicry technology and it consists of: 

1) improving the soil with mycorrhizae

2) leaving the capillary structure intact

3) using plants with the right primary roots

4) the use of the Waterboxx; and

5) the use of the Growsafe Telescoprotexx against grazing bij animals; and

6) if necessary when planting on rocks

7) the use of the capillary drill.

The Groasis Technology is a copy of how Mother Nature solves the problem of planting plants in deserts, eroded areas, badlands and on rocks. This way we can replant man made desert or eroded areas, restore the vegetation cover and make them productive with fruit trees and vegetables.