Discover power of biochar during meeting in Puna

Discover how you can harness the power of biochar through programs offered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Representatives with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in partnership with ChangeMakers Hawaiʻi and Yummet Earth Solutions, will be at an informative meeting about biochar and its benefits from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. Jan. 22 at the ʻĀinaloa Long House, located at 616-303 ʻĀinaloa Boulevard, in ʻĀinaloa.

Biochar is black carbon produced from biomass sources such as wood chips, plant residues, manure or other agricultural waste products.

It is speculated to have been used as a soil supplement thousands of years ago in the Amazon River basin, where regions of fertile soil called “terra preta,” or “dark earth,” were created by indigenous people.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service says anthropologists hypothesize people of the region produced biochar to improve soil fertility and crop yields.

They would mix biochar with debris from cooking fires and kitchen waste into the soil, thought to result in the enrichment of organic carbon, other nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium as well as increasing the soil’s cation exchange capacity, which is a key indicator of soil fertility.

With time, it’s thought the practice converted the unfertile, red-colored soil of the region into the darker-colored soils capable of producing crop yields sufficient to feed the Amazon’s inhabitants.

U.S. Department of Agriculture representatives will explain biochar, how it supports land health and growth and its benefits for farmers and landowners.

“Come learn how biochar can support your land, crops and our shared environment,” the agency said in its meeting announcement.

Learn more about ChangeMakers Hawaiʻi by visiting the organization’s website and also find additional information about Yummet Earth Solutions online.