Tanzania
A porous mix of charcoal made from organic waste is showing great promise in the restoration of depleted soil.
Trials in Rwanda in 2012, in Sri Lanka, and more recently in Tanzania, showed significant improvement in coffee yield and plant health.
Application is less frequent than nitrate fertilizers and less expensive. Results showed a yield 43 times greater than NPK applications.
The tests were conducted by Radio Lifeline, a registered non-government organization overseeing The Black Earth Project at Tembo Coffee Company in Mbeya. Coffee trees in six test plots were treated with biochar and traditional fertilizers.The biochar can be created on the farm and applied early in the life of the tree.
Materials include dried corn stalks, manure, and vegetation which is placed in a kilns made of oil drums and converted to charcoal at high temperatures and away from oxygen. This prevents the release of carbon dioxide and other offensive gasses. The process, known as pyrolysis, yields material that can enrich soils for hundreds of years.
Learn more: www.radiolifeline.org