Organic Farming Academy

Outline

Funded by the project “Organics4Zim”, supported by the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), in collaboration with the Organic Farming Academy, we initiated a first-of-its-kind project for the production of biochar and CDR in Zimbabwe.
Using baobab husk as a waste product from processing baobab powder, biochar is produced with a locally made Kon-Tiki type kiln, mixed with compost and applied back into the soil by farmers in the region.

Project Partner

The Organic Farming Academy (OFA) is an NGO that supports small-scale farmers and wild collectors through training in certified and regenerative organic farming techniques to ensure that their crops meet the highest international standards. They actively promote knowledge transfer that is based on cooperation and empowerment. Their trainers have more than 14 years’ experience in training of impoverished small-scale farmers and wild collectors. The focus lies on training in innovative and ethical organic farming.

Project Details

The Baobab fruit, scientifically known as Adansonia digitata, holds cultural and nutritional significance in Zimbabwe. Commonly referred to as the "Baobab Tree" or "Tree of Life," this iconic African fruit is native to Zimbabwe and thrives in the country's arid regions. The fruit is recognized for its unique appearance, with a hard, coconut-like shell and a powdery pulp that contains essential nutrients and antioxidants.

Baobab fruits are harvested from the baobab tree once they are ripe. The fruit has a hard outer shell, and the inside contains pulp, seeds, and fibers.

To access the pulp and seeds inside the hard shell, the baobab fruit is cracked open. This can be done manually or using machinery designed for this purpose. In this process step, our feedstock accrues.

Biochar is produced right at the cracking facility, quenched with water, packaged, and stored, until it is redistributed to smallholder farmers in the region, for free.

OFA gives free trainings to the farmers, teaching them how to make compost including biochar. The compost is used for their next crops and the cycle is closed.

We track every single batch that is produced up to the final area where biochar is given to farmer clusters and ultimately put back into the soil.

Annual delivery of CO₂ tons:

750

Co-Benefits

  • creating jobs in an area with lack of economic opportunity
  • saving feedstock from being burnt, utilizing waste components of the baobab fruit circularly
  • free biochar for smallholder farmer, saving fertilizer cost and improving their soils to secure their livelihoods in an area that faces increasing droughts

Buy credits

Contact us if you're interested to buy CDR certificates of this or another project.