Turning carbon footprints into healthy soils

Dear friends,

In past project reports I've laid out the basics of why charcoal added to soils (known as bio-char or terra preta) is a win-win-win.  Charcoal sequesters atmospheric CO2 for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.  At the same time it creates healthy soil structure and benefits beneficial micro-organisms in soils.  And, on top of all that, in our last report I described how bio-char is an Amazonian tradition, invented by the indigenous people of the region where our organization, Camino Verde, now works to plant trees and improve lives.  

What I want to describe now is the integration of all these elements, the bringing together of the parts to form a whole: a vision of a more sustainable, humane future created in part by something so simple it's right under our nose.

Nothing short of a revolution.  With apologies to the author of one well-titled book, this "Bio-Char Revolution" is starting to sweep the planet.  And not a moment too soon.  In Africa and the United States, in Australia and Latin America, people are adding charcoal to their soils and spreading the word about this powerful technology.

We at Camino Verde are excited to be a part of it.  In 2012 we started by adding charcoal to our compost piles-- helping provide habitat for important micro-organisms and lock in nutrients that would otherwise be leached out-- and in our vegetable gardens.  In 2013 we'll be stepping up our game: we are currently exploring options for technologies and systems to produce our own bio-char.  

Our plan is to utilize bamboo-- incredibly fast-growing and pulling in more CO2 than trees-- as a renewable source of charcoal.  The bamboo grows, sequestering CO2 in its woody fibers.  Charring the bamboo keeps that carbon tied up in a stable form.  Even composting organic matter re-releases much plant carbon as CO2 and the even more harmful methane.  With charcoal the carbon stays in, for centuries or even millenia.

At the same time, we're talking with our region's largest sawmill about turning scrapwood and even sawdust into biochar.  With tons of wood debris at our disposal, we hope to develop a partnership with this least likely of allies that can be repeated anywhere that wood is milled around the globe.

We've already introduced bio-char to our region and set our sights on improving the world we live in.  But we can't do any of this without your help.  We're grateful for your support and your interest.

With warm regards,