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CHARdays 2015

worldwide from 18th to 21st June 2015

The Ithaka Institute launches a global charring event for the biochar community (i.e. farmers, gardeners, industries, companies, academics) to showcase their char making talents and demonstrate to the world the carbon impact our growing community can have on climate change. Our goal is to calculate how much biochar we are all able to create over this short period and then provide a rough estimate of the CO2 we will sequester once the biochar has been added to the soil or building materials or other long term use biochar products.

The biochar event will be held between two symbolic days in June:

June 18th is Live Earth Day, a day of global climate activism which will be broadcast across all major media platforms and supported by a yearlong campaign in partnership with the world's leading brands, NGOs and non-profits. The initiative hopes to “bring together a billion voices to shine a global spotlight on the nations convening at the Climate Conference in Paris this year and deliver a single message to all leaders”. 

The 21st of June is the solstice, also referred to as midsummer in the Northern hemisphere.  Many cultures have a long history of bonfires being held during midsummer festivals. On midsummer in Berlin this year symbols of failed policy will be charred in a large Kon-Tiki kiln at the fallen Berlin wall just in front of the German Parliament. 

To increase the impact we would like to encourage the biochar community to host your own educational Char event at some point during June 18th - 21st where you can teach your neigbors, friends and family the art and craft of making biochar.

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Biochar can be made at every place in the world, use a shovel a make a hole in the ground (120 cm diameter and 60 cm deep) and start a flame curtain kiln like in a Kon-Tiki (see here).

If you are interested in participating in this global biochar event, to fire up your Kon-Tiki, your TLUD or your industrial pyrolysis equipment, and to sign with a pound or a ton of biochar, let us know and help us spread the word.  Ithaka’s Maddie Brown, brown@ithaka-institute.org, will be consolidating all of the information received and publish life in the Biochar Journal.  Please send Maddie the following details: charmakers name, country, feedstock, and volume of biochar produced.  We’d also like to know what technique was used and what the end use for the biochar is.

We’d love to share any pictures of your charring events via social media. Prizes (in the form of zero footprint CHARtificates!) may be given for best pictures, biggest crowd, most unusual feedstock or end use and more!

Let’s show the world what a small community of dedicated char masters can do! 

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World CHARday in Berlin in front of the German Parliament:

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comments

  • Frank Strie and the 'Biochar for Tasmania Network' team ,
    24.05.2015 15:00

    CHARdays 2015

    Count us in!!, dear Kathleen, Hans-Peter and Paul and Maddie Brown! The fact that it is winter soon down here under Down Under in Tasmania - the perfect Biochar making season has come. We have by now 8 KON-TIKI-TAS open burn deep cone kilns in 3 versions and 2 sizes ready to operate in Tasmania , this is just THE OPPOERTUNITY to become part of the world wide CHARdays 2015 events. Enough time to prepare for and to organize a series of events. Yes, let's see what is possible. Cheers Frank

  • Dale Hendricks,
    26.05.2015 14:43

    We'll do it!!

    Several friends and neighbors have been asking about my biochar works- and it seems I'm always doing them 1++++ hours away- so this invite is a perfect excuse to offer one at home- and I'm going to "pass the hat" for the biochar journal too!!!! 1834 Flint Hill Road Landenberg, Pa 19350 USA

  • Neil Ian P. Lumanlan,
    27.05.2015 03:17

    Biochar in the Philippines

    Lets do a Char-B-Que with neighbors! I'll tell everyone here in the Philippines! Cheers! Neil Ian P. Lumanlan University of Santo Tomas Espana, Manila

  • Thomas Schäffer,
    27.05.2015 22:02

    We will be there

    Let's redefine the word CHARity as doing good things with char.

  • Dave Lantz,
    29.05.2015 07:44

    CHARdays 2015

    I will join in, here in Sunny California. Burn in my three kilns and invite some friends over.

  • Dave Lantz,
    30.05.2015 00:24

    CHARdays 2015

    I will join in, here in Sunny California. Burn in my three kilns and invite some friends over.

  • luca,
    02.06.2015 20:23

    RA Biochar garden kilns from Thailand

    Wonderful initiative! Thanks to Ithaka/ biochar journal we have developed in South Thailand a small version of the KonTiki with some additional features for the garden/home user. view the story on our website: www.ra-biochar.com best wishes to all biochar fans! Luca

  • Charmaster Dolph Cooke,
    17.06.2015 22:58

    Biochar Project Australia Massive charday 19th of June 2015

    Hello Just found out about this so its super short notice for us but no worries. I have rallied the troops and we will do an all day marathon using the Moxham design. It can be found here http://biocharproject.org/moxham Where do we send the Pictures ? Charmaster Dolph Cooke Spreading the word Biochar

  • kathleen draper,
    17.06.2015 23:08

    CHARdays photos

    Hi Dolph - Thanks so much for joining the fun! Pictures and volume info can be sent to Brown@ithaka-institute.org or draper@ithaka-institut.org. (yes there is no 'e' at the end of institute on my address - it's not a typo - just the german version!). We'll be posting on social media and hope to write up an article about how it goes and who joined the party! Cheers Kathleen

  • Erich J. Knight,
    18.06.2015 18:11

    Sequestering Your Family Carbon Foot Prints;

    Your contribution toward reversing climate change; One 5 gallon bucket of Biochar, (about 15 Lbs), is equivalent to 52.5 pounds of sequestered CO2 Which is the CO2 emitted by 3 gallons of gasoline. Calculate your own household foot print; http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/ind_calculator.html My household CO2 emissions of 20,000 pounds per year, (1/2 US Average), requires 63 Conservation Burns per year to be carbon neutral. Home Made, Low Tech, Clean Biochar; Japanese Cone Kiln; http://www.greenyourhead.com/2013/04/ez-biochar-the-japanese-cone-kiln.html Moxham’s Ring Kiln; http://biocharproject.org/charmasters-log/big-biochar-bash/ Can & Can Retort; http://holon.se/folke/carbon/simplechar/simplechar.shtml JRO; TLUD / Retort hybrid http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kg95KYrH8PI BioChar Producing BBQ Grill http://www.chipenergy.com/ The Conservation Campfire Burn, (Tom Reed Method); The simplest method requiring no special equipment. Stack dry brush & sticks 4-6 feet high, set a nest of tinder at the top, On a windless day, Top light the pile, As the pile burns down ash will start to show on the surfaces of sticks. Quickly spray off this ash with short blasts from your garden hose, walk around the pile doing this as the ash forms during the burn. The flame front protects the char that forms from further gasification into CO, CH4 & H2, so the char does not turn to ash. Once down to a pile of coals rake out flat for a final full quenching. By volume, About 10% of the original pile remains as Biochar, or about 6 five gallon buckets, (90 Lbs of Biochar), So, about 63 Conservation Burns per year for me to be Carbon Neutral.

  • Robert Wayne Gillett,
    20.06.2015 18:52

    Summer Solstice Charring event

    My event in Southern Maryland is open to everyone and will contribute about 30 gallons of biochar chunks to the tally. https://www.facebook.com/events/1743788825848227/

  • Art Donnelly,
    21.06.2015 07:40

    Firing one up for CharDays!

    Just got back from Costa Rica, where I saw biochar going into the ground on farms all around the country. I'll be charring bamboo tomorrow here in Oregon, in the brand new EB2 biochar/ cook-stove proto-type! Looking forward to seeing everyone's pictures!

  • Rob Lavoie,
    21.06.2015 22:38

    We Joined in Last Night (June 20, 2015)

    Had company over and fired up the TLUD MWOTO stove that was built in Malawi during a training mission with Action International, Children of the Nations, and Garden's Gate Malawi. Three orphans (over 20 years old) were trained with a life skill of building TLUD MWOTO stoves designed by Dr. Paul Anderson. One burn generates about .5 kgs of char. So count this amount in also.

  • Hans-Peter Schmidt,
    21.06.2015 23:11

    Nepal sends its CHARday data

    74 farmers in 11 villages produced 31400 liters of biochar quenched with cow urine ! Site No of farmers Actively involved farmers Volume (lit) Quinched with water or urine Feedstock used Ilam 15 2 2200 Urine Tea and bromm grass sticks Udaypur 10 1 1000 Water Broom grass and animal feed branches left over Bara 10 2 2000 Urine and water Maize stalk Lamjung 11 3 1900 Urine and water Animal feed branches left over Bandipur 11 1 1300 Urine and water Animal feed branches left over Ratanpur 26 21 5800 Mostly urine Eupatorim plants Dhading 13 9 3300 Urine and water Eupatorim plants Dhungkharka 17 8 3400 both urine and water Animal feed branches left over (Oak tree branches) Mithinkot 18 10 4100 both urine and water Eupatorim plants Nayagaon 20 10 3000 both urine and water Eupatorim plants Dolakha 13 7 3400 mostly water Animal feed branches left over Total 164 74 31400

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