Sustainable Farming to Relieve Hunger in Malawi

We would like to express our deepest gratitude for your unwavering support of our efforts to improve food security and combat climate change in Malawi, Kenya, Tanzania, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. Your generosity has made a tangible difference in the lives of farmers and their communities. Here is an update on our recent accomplishments:

• Expanding Networks in Africa: Our efforts in Africa continue to flourish, with new networks of farmers identified in Uganda and Liberia. In Malawi, we have 183 villages signed up for training in the coming months, with a particular focus on areas impacted by the recent cyclone. Biochar will play a crucial role in aiding the restoration of their farms. Furthermore, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is progressing rapidly, with additional training and community projects, such as raising rabbits for food and sales, gaining momentum.

•  Expansion of Training Sessions: We completed the first set of training sessions in 14 new districts in Malawi. Through these sessions, we have successfully trained an additional 800 farmers on the production and utilization of biochar. We also trained new trainers, who are ready to train additional villages in their respective districts.

• Village Approval and Scheduling: Our dedicated team has been actively engaging with village chiefs to schedule upcoming training sessions. We are pleased to share that Sylvester, our team leader, had a fruitful meeting with one of the district councils in the Southern Region, gaining approval for 14 villages, including those affected by the cyclone. The success in securing village support will pave the way for farmers to have access to training sessions and long-term sustainability.

• Next Training Sessions: Building on the momentum, the next set of training sessions will commence this coming week. These sessions will cover 18 identified districts, where we aim to empower even more farmers to make and effectively use biochar, thus improving food security and mitigating climate change effects.

We are humbled by the collective effort that has allowed us to achieve these milestones. Your generous contributions have been instrumental in making these training sessions and expansion efforts possible. Together, we are creating a brighter and more sustainable future for farming communities in these regions.

Thank you for being the driving force behind our success.

With heartfelt appreciation,

Dana, Michael, Evelind, and the Global Biochar Team

P.S. Warm Heart just celebrated our 15th Year Anniversary. We invite you to our Celebration page to learn what we have accomplished togther!

Links:

• Celebrating Warm Heart's 15th Anniversary

Our farmer network teams in Kenya and Malawi have been expanding; they each have around 200 farmers in the Biochar Life Carbon Removal Credit program and thousands more trained and using biochar.  Our team leaders and their trainers are now the go-to people for many organizations looking to add biochar to the methods used to enhance farmers' yields.  

Our Kenya Country Manager, Mercy, has been presenting at workshops on sustainable agriculture, recently one hosted by Cornell University.  The other workshop participants have been following up with her to get help starting their own farmers using biochar.  She has also arranged meetings with field visits for a couple of large farmers' networks to help them evaluate the impact of adding biochar to their training methods.

Farmers in Malawi and Kenya have been calling our trainers to come to see their healthy crops. These farmers are improving their soils and their food security grows each time they use biochar. At the same time, they are eliminating the dangerous smoke of open field burning while they help cool the climate.

"My family in Kenya are now Happy and settled, they no longer cry of hunger, thanks to biochar. It's a miracle that I met you. I am ever grateful for making my family be what they are today" - from one of our team leaders.

We continue to get requests from organizations across Africa to learn about using biochar.  Our open-access online training materials are available through our website.  We incorporate feedback while we continuously improve and add to the library of materials. The Warm Heart team is testing new feedstocks like water hyacinth, to solve the problem of invasive species and provide fertilizer for smallholder farmers.   

Thank you for your enduring support to improve lives and keep our team delivering on our programs.

Best wishes to you for the months ahead,  

Dana, Evelind, Michael, and our teams in Malawi, Kenya, and Tanzania.