Imagine using human and livestock waste as a source of green energy. Many companies have explored this, but one in particular is getting the go-ahead to make some headway in Kenya with the development of biochar. Fast Company recently featured Jason Aramburu, the CEO of re:char, who is working with the emerging area of biochar thanks to a grant from the Gates Foundation to develop a system to transform human waste into biochar. Biochar is carbon negative, which means that every ton of biochar produced represents carbon extracted from the air, which cannot get back into the atmosphere.
For over 3,000 years, indigenous farmers In the Amazon basin have been making charcoal and burying it in the ground to improve the soil’s ability to capture and retain nutrients for their crops. This biochar makes a lasting impact on the soil, and the land is now rich and fertile.
Re:char also sells kilns to farmers in Kenya that allow them to convert their farm waste into biochar, which is quickly becoming known for its cost-effective solution to curtail poverty, and slow down the deforestation by encouraging people there to use biochar as cooking fuel instead of cutting down trees for firewood.
Related articles
- How Biochar Will Help Kenya Go Green And Save Money (fastcompany.com)
- New Home Biochar Kits From re:char Also Support Kenyan Farmers (treehugger.com)
- What We’re Reading: The search for an AIDS vaccine (one.org)
- Biochar Value to Glacial Soils and Greenhouse Gases (cleantechies.com)
- Carbon farming – how does it work? (greeningaustralia.wordpress.com)
