Biochar Bob Goes to Mexico - Via Organica

• published: 04 Feb 2015
• views: 23

In Mexico, I saw how biochar fit into a regenerative agricultural demonstration. Via Organica is an educational organic farm located just outside San Miguel. Here they use compost, seed saving, and biochar as a way to regenerate natural fertility in a dry and dusty situation. Please Subscribe to my Channel and see how biochar is impacting different people and projects across the world! www.viaorganica.org/ www.facebook.com/vorganicatienda www.soilreef.com www.facebook.com/biocharbob www.twitter.com/biocharbob www.soilreef,com - - - - - - - - - - - - - - I’m just outside of San Miguel de Allende, smack dab in the middle of Mexico. It’s hard to imagine that only 200-some years ago this desert was a lush forest. But just like the weathered faces of the farmers I pass by driving in, the soil has been worked relentlessly. Now it struggles to produce anything for more than a few months of the year and the people are seeking work elsewhere, often driven to cities, or the USA. Soil is truly the backbone of a country. I am visiting an oasis of hope, tucked away in between some mountains where a shining soul, Azucena, proudly shows me her productive crop beds. She runs an educational farm called Via Organica that employs local youth and teaches the community about regenerative agriculture by example. The moist, dark soil nicely wears the green vegetation, which starkly contrasts its dry, dusty surroundings. I see the youth work meaningfully here. They are proud of their farm and are very aware of the challenges they and their parents are facing. Many of them can no longer make a living by farming despite eons of agricultural history. Some of them later tell me that they understand regenerative agriculture to be the path toward restoring peace and strength to a broken, hurting Mexico. A strong country is built on sustainability, they soulfully say. Though San Miguel is a vacation destination for many, I am here to study how biochar is impacting the viability of farming for local people. I’m 21 years old, and my name is Bob Cirino, or Biochar Bob, and I am absolutely driven to show the world how a sustainable kind of charcoal made specifically for soil, called biochar, is addressing some of humanity’s greatest challenges in water, soil, and the way we grow food. With a global population expected to hit 9 billion by 2050, humans are prompted to seriously consider how to feed all those mouths. But, can we do it without sacrificing our future ability to grow food as I saw in San Miguel? YES WE CAN! The reason why the workers of Via Organica, and others like them across the earth, use biochar is because it really (take out “really” and use “actually” or another word – as “really” makes us sound teenager-ish) works and because it epitomizes regeneration—giving more to soil than is taken. Biochar is a specifically-made charcoal that increases the total amount of water and nutrients held in soil for plants to use… for centuries. Yup, centuries. Putting biochar in the soil one time increases fertility and productivity for generations upon generations. So can we grow more food with fewer resources? Yes we can. Regenerative practices, like biochar, increase the natural ability of land to grow food, as opposed to degenerative practices, like the standard process of laying down chemical fertilizers in the soils each year. When this impact is scaled out as a global agricultural practice, the significance is self-explanatory. Healthier soils, healthier plants, healthier planet. Where does biochar come from? The process of making biochar is regenerative as well! Biochar is made by heating organic matter (e.g., wood, rice husks, nut shells) to high temperatures in low oxygen environments. When oxygen and carbon mix at high temperatures, combustion occurs and carbon leaves in the form of black smoke. When oxygen is scarce, however, the carbon remains in the form of charcoal. Due to these high temperatures, the many liquids and gases trapped inside the original material vaporizes out, leaving cavernous pores behind that vary in size from micro to macro. In fact, one gram of some biochars has the same amount of surface area as an entire basketball court, microscopically resembling a sponge. Beyond holding water in these pores, the walls also have a natural chemical property that grabs and holds nutrients that can later be given to a root or a microbe. Easy access to water for bugs and roots stimulates the natural soil ecosystems, making a name like biochar (short for biological charcoal) seem very fitting. At a fundamental level, humans exist thanks to 6 inches of topsoil and the fact that it rains. When that soil can no longer produce or that rain no longer stays in reach of roots, our ability to live becomes strained. With regenerative agriculture practices, like biochar, we can heal our earth, feed our people, and sustain into the future peacefully.