Vivent Carbon operates smallholder biochar programmes across India and Africa — converting rice husks, crop residues, and woody biomass into stable biochar through low-cost pyrolysis kilns, generating credits with >1,000-year permanence while boosting soil fertility and crop yields.
Biochar is a highly stable form of charcoal produced by heating biomass — crop residues, wood waste, rice husks, corn cobs — in a low-oxygen environment through a process called pyrolysis. Rather than the carbon in organic material returning to the atmosphere as CO₂ when it naturally decomposes, pyrolysis locks it into a stable aromatic structure that persists in soil for hundreds to thousands of years.
Biochar is one of very few carbon removal pathways that simultaneously delivers durable carbon sequestration and immediate agronomic benefit. When applied to degraded soils, biochar improves water retention, increases cation exchange capacity (the soil's ability to hold nutrients), and stimulates beneficial microbial communities — resulting in measurable yield increases of 15–30% in the first year of application.
Vivent Carbon operates community-scale biochar programmes using simple, low-cost Kon-Tiki kilns and small gasification units that can be built and maintained by farmers themselves. We partner with smallholders who have access to agricultural residues that would otherwise be open-burned — a major source of black carbon and air pollution in rural India and Africa.
During pyrolysis, the cellulose and lignin in biomass are converted into highly condensed aromatic carbon rings — fused polycyclic aromatic structures — that are extremely resistant to microbial decomposition and oxidation.
Independent radiocarbon studies on ancient charcoals — including charred soils from pre-Columbian Amazon civilisations (Terra Preta) — confirm carbon residence times of 500–5,000 years in tropical soils. This makes biochar one of the most durable land-based carbon pathways available.
Vivent measures biochar permanence using the H:Corg ratio method — the internationally validated proxy for mean residence time under EBC and Puro.earth standards. All batches are laboratory analysed before credit issuance.
A farmer-operated, community-scale process designed for rural smallholders with minimal capital requirements.
Farmers collect post-harvest residues — rice husks, corn cobs, sugarcane bagasse, and pruning waste — that would otherwise be open-burned or left to decompose.
Vivent supplies or funds construction of Kon-Tiki flame-curtain kilns. Farmers trained in safe operation, temperature management, and quenching to produce consistent, high-stability biochar.
Biomass pyrolysed at 350–700°C in low-oxygen conditions. Each Kon-Tiki batch processes 200–800 kg feedstock yielding 60–220 kg of stable, verified biochar per firing.
Representative samples from each batch sent to accredited labs for elemental analysis. H:Corg ratio must be ≤0.4 to qualify for Puro.earth Class 2 or higher certification.
Certified biochar applied at 2–5 t/ha on participating farm plots, worked into the top 15cm of soil. Detailed application records maintained per plot for MRV and audit purposes.
Digital production logbooks, GPS-tagged kiln locations, and lab certificates assembled per production cycle. IoT sensors track soil carbon outcomes across biochar-treated plots.
Annual audit by Puro.earth-approved verifier reviews production records, lab reports, and site visits. Credits issued on rolling monthly basis after each verified batch cycle.
Farmers receive ≥65% of credit sales via mobile banking within 30 days of settlement. Crop yield benefits compound the economic advantage every growing season.
Biochar's soil benefits accrue every harvest season — unlike most carbon solutions, it earns its keep agronomically.
Biochar increases soil CEC by 15–40%, improving nutrient retention and reducing fertiliser washout. Farmers report 15–30% yield increases in the first full growing season after application.
The porous structure of biochar holds water equivalent to 2–4× its own weight, significantly improving drought resilience in sandy or degraded soils common in dry-season farming.
Biochar's porous matrix creates habitat for beneficial soil microorganisms — arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, nitrogen-fixing bacteria — that further improve plant nutrition and soil structure.
Diverting crop residues from open-field burning — a major source of PM2.5 and black carbon — directly improves respiratory health in farming communities across India and Africa.
Farmers earn from both carbon credits (avg $240–$480/year per 1ha application) and measurably higher crop yields — two independent revenue streams from a single farm practice.
Studies show biochar reduces soil nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions by 20–50% by reducing denitrification activity — important given N₂O's 265× warming potential versus CO₂.
Feedstock availability, climate, and market access vary by region — Vivent tailors technology choices to local conditions.
Our flagship biochar programme processes rice husks and cotton-stalks from 2,400 smallholder farms across 8 districts. Kon-Tiki kilns manufactured by local blacksmiths using Vivent's design specification. Puro.earth verified since 2023.
Coffee and tea farm prunings and maize cobs from the Mount Elgon and Kisii highlands converted to biochar using TLUD gasifiers. USAID co-funded pilot. Scaling to 800 farms in 2026.
Feasibility study underway for palm kernel shell and sago waste biochar in partnership with smallholder palm cooperatives. Planned launch Q1 2027. Target: 3,000 farm families, 15,000 tonnes biochar annually.
Vivent's Rajasthan biochar pilot enrolled 800 cotton and groundnut farmers across the Barmer and Jaisalmer districts in 2024. Using 240 Kon-Tiki kilns manufactured by local blacksmiths, the programme processed 4,200 tonnes of crop residues — primarily cotton stalks and groundnut shells — that would have been open-burned, producing 1,250 tonnes of stable biochar.
Biochar applied at 3 t/ha across 420 ha of participating farms. First-season monitoring shows an average 22% increase in cotton yield and 31% reduction in irrigation frequency on biochar-treated plots versus controls. The programme generated 18,200 tCO₂e in verified durable removal credits, earning farmers an average ₹18,400 ($219) in additional carbon income in Year 1.
Biochar credits from Vivent are among the most durable carbon removals available — verified by Puro.earth and Verra, sourced from farmers who need the income.