Sustainable Farming to Relieve Hunger in Malawi

We’re gearing up for 2024 biochar training and production. We started the year with our trainers in the Democratic Republic of Congo making it safely to neighboring Burundi to train a community interested in learning about biochar for soil health as well as making briquettes for cooking. 

The rapid deforestation to make charcoal for cooking is depleting watersheds and causing soil erosion.  Farmers can turn this into a small business as they reap the benefits of biochar in their soils. 

Thanks to our DRC team for venturing around dangerous areas of political conflict to deliver the training.  They arrived back home safely.  Olivier, a university student from Burundi, organized the training and the community group to follow through on the plans for the social enterprise. 

Our courageous DRC Team Leader reports "We are glad to arrive safely at home after training farmers in Burundi and DRC ( Goma, Bukavu, and Uvura) as we spoke on: how to make and use biochar, how to make compost, how to purify water, how to make biochar briquettes, how to build biomass storage and how to fight the global warming and the climate change as we use biochar."

The team in Liberia that Michael trained last year plans to train in The Gambia in April.

In Malwai the team is surveying farmers to improve our planning and reporting - checking on feedstock availability, and farm sizes as well as checking with farmers who were trained in biochar, to see how many have adopted this core farming practice.

The incubator you funded during COVID-19 at the Monastery in Zomba is producing chicks at a great rate.  The funds from the sales go to paying school fees for local children in need.  The school system is formally free, but the cost of mandatory school uniforms often cause children to be sent home and lose out on their education.

Lots of great work and lives improved with your gifts!

Thank you!

Best wishes for the months ahead,

Dana, Evelind, Michael and the Biochar Teams