Background

Atmosfair is a non-profit organization that aims to contribute to CO2 mitigation by promoting, developing and financing renewable energies in over 20 countries worldwide. In 2022, atmosfair, in collaboration with the Ithaka Institute, embarked on a novel research project in Nepal. The project aimed to explore the potential of changing farming practices to produce more biomass on land used for food production. This increased biomass can be converted into biochar.

Progress

The project faced initial challenges in land acquisition, requiring more effort than initially anticipated. Despite these obstacles, the Ithaka Institute successfully negotiated the purchase of land plots from multiple smallholders, resulting in a large, contiguous area for conducting the decade-long trials. The scientific trial design that included soil quality analyses and development of test cultivation methods for each plot has been completed.

In addition, the project has made significant progress in capacity building. Local workers have been trained in the practice of biochar making, and seasonal workers have been trained in ecological planting practices. These efforts not only contribute to the project's objectives but also create new income opportunities and stimulate local economic development.

While it is still early in the project timeline, and data on net carbon sequestration and yields are not yet available, the project has laid a solid foundation for future progress. The learnings from this project have the potential to significantly improve performance of biochar and other carbon removal methods using biomass on plots simultaneously used for food production.