Biochar is nothing new. The indigenous peoples of the South America discovered that by adding char from their fires, mixed with pottery shards and animal waste, they could create the most beautiful fertile soil from the poor acidic soils of the Amazon basin. Large areas of "Tera Preta" or black earth as it is called, are frequently discovered adjacent to long since abandoned and overgrown aztec and Inca settlements. Thousands of years later, these soils are among the best in the world, and are often mined and sold to farmers and gardners alike.

Our biochar is created by carbonising wood at high temperatures in the presence of little or no oxygen. The process creates a solid residue of porous elemental carbon which retains the open capillary of the wood used to create it. These capillaries act as a sponge, holding air, water and nutrients, and providing a home for beneficial bacteria and microorganisms critical to plant growth. The biochar is chemically inert, and will not rot. It can remain in the soil, providing a home for nutrients and bacteria for up to 10,000 years. Our biochar is produced exclusively using sustainable wood which as a result of their cell structure, form an exceptionally porous char and a perfect soil additive.

Raw biochar is an excellent soil additive. However if immediately added to the soil, it can take several seasons for the pores to absorb water and nutrients and become colonised by beneficial microbes. Enriched biochar has been already been pre loaded with nutrients and beneficial microbes, and can begin working from the moment it is added to the soil.

Our process of enrichment involves crafting a nutrient and microbe dense liquid.  Enriched biochar can be added to the soil at any time, particularly in spring, when the plants can immediately access the stored nutrients.

Biochar and climate change. At COP 27, biochar was included as one of the tools to tackle climate change. The process of pyrolysis captures and traps the carbon in the wood in a chemically inert form. It is sequestered into the soil, where it will remain for up to 10,000 years. It is the hope of the IBI that one billion tonnes of biochar can be sequestered into the soil within the next 50 years, removing 2.7 billion tonnes of atmospheric carbon dioxide.