Sustainable Farming: Relieve Hunger in East Africa

As we look forward to 2025, we plan to extend our biochar training, giving smallholder farmers a means to improve their food security amidst the uncertainties of the current political and economic environments.  In addition, we will be looking for ways to fund small, micro-enterprises to use biochar for additional income streams, such as raising chickens or goats, or fertilizer.

As part of this initiative, we are collaborating with WasteFree23.org, an all-volunteer international NGO that researches, promotes, and trains people on safe, sustainable, and profitable waste management processes.  We are looking at additional ways to incorporate biochar production and use in profitable small enterprises.  We will be testing a small electric generator based on the pyrolysis process.

Report from the Warm Heart Team in the DRC

The new year brought intensified conflict, with militants entering the DRC from Uganda and Rwanda. In response, Warm Heart trainers assisted 300 farmer refugees, helping some find shelter with local families. Each displaced farmer received a small fund to purchase maize and start new crops. Additionally, trainers distributed chickens to some of the farmers hosting refugees.

As farmers continue learning to make biochar, new applications are emerging. In the DRC, farmers are now using a biochar-based salt lick for cattle. Made from molasses, biochar, and salt, this supplement improves digestion and overall cattle health while maintaining essential salt intake. 

Warrior for Good

On a bright note, our Country Manager for Kenya, Mercy Ogembo was recognized for her work with the “Warrior for Good Award” in the Sustainability Champion category as a testament to her leadership and work with smallholder farmers, helping them realize Sustainable Agriculture through Biochar production and application. She is a finalist and will receive her award on April 25.  We are delighted that her hard work is being recognized and, at the same time, spreading the word about biochar.

Thank you for your enduring support of our work.

Best wishes for the year ahead,

Dana, Michael, Evelind, and the East Africa Biochar Teams

As we explore ways to expand the number of farmers benefiting from the use of biochar in their fields, we launched the "Fund a Farmer" campaign to extend training on biochar and other sustainable agriculture practices. By funding these farmers to learn the benefits and uses of biochar, we empower them to generate extra income, helping to keep their children in school. We raised an initial $10,000 to gauge the program's reception and will continue through the Malawi project.

In Kenya and Malawi, we enrolled 1,600 farmers in the carbon removal credit program, generating cash in addition to applying biochar to the soil. The market for these credits is still new, requiring us to continually adjust our operating model to adapt to market shifts and demand.

In Malawi, the team participated in community fairs to highlight local projects supporting the environment. The Warm Heart team received a prize for their presentation of biochar activities around Malawi.

Training continued in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), despite rebel invasions in several districts. The DRC was also one of the centers of the monkeypox virus outbreak. Vaccines were finally released to the region before the disease spread to the districts served by the Biochar team.

In October, the DRC team trained 350 villagers, distributed rabbits (for breeding and manure for farming), and demonstrated how to use biochar mixed with cement to lower the cost of making bricks and wall plaster. Handmade briquettes from biochar are also being used, they last longer than charcoal, prevent deforestation, and reduce smoke in cooking fires

In Thailand, farmers have also contended with floods in mountain villages and through their rice fields. The biochar team was able to continue production, focusing on days when the tree branches had dried out enough to permit pyrolysis. 

These farmers are out in their fields making a difference every day as we work to reduce the factors warming our planet.  

Your gifts support these vital programs. Thank you!

Best wishes for the months ahead,

Dana, Michael, Evelind, and the Biochar Team