FAQ

Our Solutions Overview document located within our Portal (free to access) includes details pertaining to our methods and procedures. It also includes further insight into the approved equipment, biomass and other criteria associated to the EBC standard.

The feedstock used to make the biochar includes agricultural waste after a farmer’s harvest. Currently, we use corn cob, corn stalks and tree branches which would typically be burnt in the open field. Without the financial incentive to make and use biochar, we believe farmers would continue to conduct open field burning.

Farmers must show the final use of any char for which they wish to be compensated on the blockchain using photos, videos, and/or receipts. Our team and/or 3rd party verifiers make unannounced, random checks to ensure that the biochar actually sequesters CO2 for the long-term.

We use the European Biochar Certification standard developed by Ithaka Institute adapted for smallholder farmers. The EBC standard dictates emission considerations by biochar feedstock and other requirements to determine the amount of carbon sinked. The Carbon-sink value that Biochar Life records in its certificates includes the anticipated biological degradation carbon in the biochar over 100 years (C-sink100). Our calculations include emission expenditures from the pyrolysis and processing of the biochar, transportation, or post-production expenditures. Our calculation considers CH4 emission compensation benefits from the prevention of open field burning, which emits large amounts of CH4 (methane) into the atmosphere or planting of trees to compensate for the CH4 emissions generated from low-tech pyrolysis equipment. We include an emissions security margin for emissions. We calculate “additionality” based on the elimination of open field burning for the biomass that is made into biochar. Over time, we will continue to update our solution and calculations to ensure the most accurate C-sink impact.

The majority of the proceeds goes into the hands of smallholder farmers and employees who are hired from the local community. On average, 75% is distributed to the farmers and local community. 15% is used for administration and support. The remaining 10% is used for future project development or to support our children’s homes.

Yes. Warm Heart instituted fair and equal hiring practices from the moment we started 13 years ago. The Biochar Projects with Warm Heart and Biochar Life have gender and income equality as primary social aims through job creation for the poor and the creation of new income streams in rural communities.

Biochar Life is a Public Benefit Corporation registered in the State of Delaware, an impact venture of Warm Heart Worldwide (“Warm Heart''). Warm Heart is a registered 501 c. 3 tax exempt nonprofit in the United States and has partner charities registered in Thailand and Africa. As a Public Benefit Corporation, Biochar Life is required to report its results relative to its stated mission (taken from Warm Heart). Biochar Life is owned and controlled by Warm Heart to ensure the ongoing support for Warm Heart’s mission to support smallholder farmers and communities.

Cornelissen is updating his research that measures emissions from various smallholder farmer pyrolysis methods using dryer feedstocks. Preliminary results are that methane and other emissions are less. To be published soon.

We provide training to the farmers on how to prepare the biomass including steps to ensure it is dry before pyrolysis. We also train the farmer on how to use the pyrolysis equipment which could be simply a soil pit design. The farmers ensure the flame curtain process is maintained. Once a farmer is tasked with producing biochar then our verifier visits the farmer site to ensure the above process is maintained.

We require farmers to use biomass that would be either burnt or left to decompose.

At this time, we only consider the long-term fraction of the biochar (persistent aromatic carbon (PAC) when determining the value of the c-sink that is for sale. The PAC fraction has been scientifically proven to be highly durable carbon that is stored for 100s of years. In the future, the semi-persistent fraction (SPC) of biochar may be offered for certain buyers needing short-term c-sink credits but the c-sink durability will be adjusted accordingly.

The flame curtain pyrolysis process typically yields temperatures between 400 and 700 degrees Celsius. We have used heat sensors in the field during pilots to verify such temperatures which aligns to independent studies.We also perform random samples that are evaluated in the lab to determine the quality of biochar which helps prove the pyrolysis process was executed correctly.

See our approach to verification for details.Link -> ( http://bit.ly/3N1jnX3 )

Our process includes gathering multiple pictures and data points that are geo and time tagged. The biochar activities are linked to the farmer profile which includes location of the farm. The farmer also executes a declaration stating their intention to cease open field burning or natural decomposition of the biomass.In most cases, we make a minimum of 2 visits to a farmer site. One visit when the farmer is making biochar and one visit when the farmer is applying the biochar in their field(s). When a farmer produces greater than 5 tonnes of biochar then we may decide to visit the farmer 4 times.In all cases, the verifier is recording multiple pictures, data and location information throughout the entire making and application steps. We record biomass to ensure its waste biomass, pyrolysis process to ensure it’s a clean burn and record the quantity of biochar. On the second site visit, the verifier records the biochar fertilizer being applied in the ground. The production and application of the biochar are linked so the buyer has full traceability of the process.Finally, the verifier works with our local Country Manager to pay the farmers for their efforts. The payment information is recorded in the tracking system.

Currently, we have our verifiers review the content of the bags to ensure it’s biochar. In our verification improvement roadmap with PlantVillage, we will be looking into using volume measuring AI to calculate volume of biochar in a pile on the ground. Additionally, our team is exploring transparent (clear) bags.

Currently, our dMRV is built upon an open platform using Airtable, AWS and Fillout.com mobile form. The platform is open to buyers to view biochar activity data so it’s fully transparent.We have been collaborating with PlantVillage to adapt its platform for Artisan biochar MRV requirements. The PlantVillage has already scaled to supporting millions of smallholder farmers supporting a wide range of field programs that require extensive monitoring and tracking. The PV platform capabilities will be leveraged to further enhance the verification process. For example, the PV machine learning and image recognition capabilities will be used to automatically count bags or detect the biomass being used for biochar production. The platform also has integration into multiple data sources such as satellite data for vegetation coverage or rain forecast which will be leveraged to help farmers improve their crop yields.

Since the process of making biochar via pyrolysis releases much less emissions and particulate matter than open field burning then it's a much healthier solution. With open field burning there’s significant PM2.5 released in the atmosphere which causes hospitalizations and sometimes death.We have started to deploy face masks to our local teams and farmers to help with any health risks that may occur with making biochar.

Our process includes gathering multiple pictures and data points that are geo and time tagged. The biochar activities are linked to the farmer profile which includes location of the farm. The farmer also executes a declaration stating their intention to cease open field burning or natural decomposition of the biomass.We maintain strict procedures that align to the Artisan guidelines that the biomass must be sourced from the farmers land (crop waste) or other biomass processing such as cocoa mills, coffee peeling, rice thrashing, sawmills, and comparable industries. The biomass may also come from disaster debris, maintenance of fallow fields, or dedicated biomass production like bamboo or switch grass plantations.Before the production of biochar occurs, our team verifies the biomass by taking pictures and verified by our central certification team.

Since the process of making biochar via pyrolysis releases much less emissions and particulate matter than open field burning then it's a much healthier solution. With open field burning there’s significant PM2.5 released in the atmosphere which causes hospitalizations and sometimes death.Since we engage multiple smallholder farmers to produce biochar this provides a natural distributed production approach. Each farmer is essentially a biochar production unit using it’s own supply of biomass feedstock. As an additional layer of risk mitigation, we work with smallholders across multiple villages and counties within a country. This is further mitigated by the fact that we have operations in multiple countries across Africa and Asia with varying harvest and feedstock types.

Yes. There are over 500 million smallholder farmers across the globe. Each harvest, a farmer has available biomass that could be used to make biochar. Furthermore, there are a multitude of companies operating in Africa and Asia that generate crop waste (e.g., cocoa mills). The Artisan process and equipment can be used for these projects further generating biochar for fertilizer application.

Yes - and that’s the point! 🙂It is centered around communities of smallholder farmers not machinery and therefore has many shared benefits and maximized social impact.