Tête-à-tête with Biochar!

Towards the end of January 2025, I participated in a Biochar Training organized for the Regen Ambassadors and the Beetle Regen Solutions team. After reading and hearing so much about biochar, I finally had the opportunity to witness its production firsthand. With 75,000 cotton farmers managing 100,000 hectares, massive quantities of cotton stalks are typically burnt in the open unless utilised as fuel in village kitchens. Transforming this residue into biochar not only prevents emissions but also creates a circular, zero-waste agricultural system.

Led by biochar experts, the training covered the science behind biochar-making, its role in carbon sequestration, and benefits to soil health. We learned the pyrolysis process, focusing on maintaining reduced oxygen levels, observing gas emissions, and optimizing the stages of burning to ensure high-quality biochar with minimal harmful emissions.

Practical sessions using the Earth Cone Pit and Metal Kon Tiki systems allowed us to apply our learning—layering biomass, monitoring temperatures, and safely handling the entire process from firing to storage. A key takeaway was the importance of teamwork in executing biochar production efficiently and safely.

Day 2 focused on integrating biochar-making steps into the dMRV app for carbon credit generation, reinforcing the role of digital tools in scaling impact.

The three-day training was an enriching experience—fostering collaboration, skill-building, and hands-on learning to drive climate-positive solutions in agriculture.