Biochar, Part Deux

Liriano regulating the biochar burn in ArimaeBuilding on the lessons we learned during our biochar training in February, we spent the past couple of weeks experimenting with producing biochar in our Arimae location. Biochar has been used for thousands of years as a way to increase soil fertility and crop productivity, something the soils in the Darien province really need.

The key with producing biochar is controlling air flow to the burn—permitting as little oxygen as possible from reaching the flame. For this reason we used a pit burning method for our first batch of biochar.

Check out all the photos from the burn »

We spent a couple of days chainsawing waste logs and digging a big hole to contain the logs, then fitted the hole with a bamboo chimney to regulate air flow to the burning logs. Once we ignited the stacked logs in the pit, we covered the fire with some wood and zinc, to further restrict air from reaching the burning logs. Unfortunately, we realized that our chimney was much too narrow for sufficient air flow, so not much wood was burned. We then extinguished the fire with water, and let it cool overnight for collection the next day. The next morning, when we came to collect the biochar, we realized that we hadn’t totally extinguished the fire the day before. All that was left in the hole was ash.

Learning from this setback, we didn’t use a chimney or covering for the pit for our next couple of burns. Good results. To collect the biochar from the toasted logs, we whack the log with a shovel or a machete, the biochar chips right off, and we re-stack the log on the fire and re-ignite it to produce more.

During the last burn, we decided that we were losing too many small chunks of biochar in the soil of the pit, so we tried to burn a pyre in the open. By separating the embers from the logs as they burn, we are able to really control the fire and collect the charcoal before any of it burned to ash. Even though a torrential downpour attempted to thwart our fire-building efforts, the flames were so hot, they burned through four hours of constant rain and actually dried us as we collected the charcoal and attended to the fire.

All told, we produced six big sacks of fertilizing biochar—that’s about 300 lbs. of yield-increasing, soil-enriching goodness! If we continue biochar production, we plan to build a simple hut to protect us from the elements; since it seems the wet season has arrived, we’ll need it.

Learn more about our impact in sustainable forestry.

Biochar: Soil Supercharger

Liriano and Yin make biochar. Click for a larger view.This week we'll be making biochar in the Arimae plantation. Biochar is relatively easy to make and should improve the quality of the soil in our projects, meaning higher plantain yields and faster growing trees. It's also a great way to take advantage of the fallen trees and branches that are normally a nuisance.

In February, Liriano, Yin, and I visited regional biochar expert and former Peace Corps Volunteer Alan Foster in Catrigandi, Panama Este to learn how to make biochar. We started the process by sawing mango tree branches into equal-sized logs and stacking them into a big five foot pile. Then we lit the pyre on fire, evoking the spirit of the limbs that were sacrificed for sake of soil improvement. Check out all the photos.

During the burn, Alan trained us to be aware of the changes of the smoke over time: white or light blue smoke means that moisture is being burned off, while darker smoke means the wood is burning. Once the wood was slightly crisped we extinguished the smoldering logs with water, and using a shovel we scraped off the biochar from the logs. Through a four hour burn of a 4x4x5 pyre we collected a sack of biochar, and this process is repeated.

We are adapting our process slightly due to the space limitations in our plantations: rather than stacking the wood in a pile, we are going to dig a pit. And because there is no water nearby, we are going to extinguish the smoldering by sealing off airflow by burying it.

This biochar is like an uncharged battery: it can potentially absorb nutrients from the soil and actually reduce yields! To "charge" it, Alan will use his biochar as a dry material for his composting latrine. We plan on adding our biochar to a mix of rice husk and chicken excrement to create a rich organic fertilizer, and expect to use this in the tree nursery for healthier trees and fatter plantains.

Native Panama Tree Species Propagation Guide

Cover artwork for the Native Species Propagation GuidePlanting Empowerment employees Liriano Opua, Yen Dogirama, and Mateo Johnson recently attended the release of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute’s Guide to Propagating 120 Native Tree Species of Panama. One of the co-authors of the book is Jose Deago, who guided us for several years in planting and maintaining our mixed native species forestry plots.

The book is a great resource for those interested in advancing the adoption native species forestry, and also those interested in investing in tropical woods. Producing native species saplings requires understanding and optimizing the variables of soil chemistry, watering, and shading. The right balance is required for the saplings to be transplanted successfully and achieve optimal growth.

We’re proud to be purchasing some of our native species saplings directly from the nursery of our Indigenous partner community Arimae. Through a grant from the UNDP-GEF Small Grants Programme, Liriano and Yen facilitated the construction of the nursery and the equipment to raise the saplings. Read the full case study about the project. They manage the nursery on behalf of the entire community and source most of the seed from the community’s forest preserve.

We used saplings produced in Arimae’s nursery for the first as part of our five hectare June 2012 planting (photos). While not scientifically conclusive, Liriano reports that the saplings produced in Arimae’s nursery have the highest survival and growth rates. Liriano and Yen left the conference with signed copies of the book, and are and be able to reference the book in the future.

Native Panama Tree Species Propagation Guide

(10MB, Spanish)

Forest Legality Alliance

Forest Legality Alliance badgePlanting Empowerment recently joined the Forest Legality Alliance, whose goal is to reduce illegal logging through supporting the supply of legal forest products.

The Alliance is a joint effort of the World Resources Institute and the Environmental Investigation Agency, supported by the United States Agency for International Development and companies in the forest sector.

We're proud to be a part of the movement to use sustainably sourced timber. As the growing demand for cocobolo demonstrates, it will only become increasingly urgent for wood buyers to understand the social and environmental effects of the tropical timber trade. 

Live Forbes Google+ interview

Interested in social enterprise and free tomorrow at 10:30am ET? We'll be talking with Devin Thorpe of Forbes and Archana Verma of ennovent about social entrepreneurship and impact investing in sustainable forestry.

Join us live on Google Hangouts tomorrow to watch the interview and contribute your questions. We will update this page afterwards with a video of the interview.