Project updates & workshops
solar biochar oven design improvements, Water Guardians game, upcoming workshops
A quick note of some things in the pipeline, more details to come soon…
Solar Biochar Oven Version 2.0
Based on several months of heavy usage of the Solar Biochar Oven we have made upgrades to the design.
It’s now simpler to construct, has a 25% larger batch volume, and vulnerabilities of the electrical components to moisture, smoke, oils, and other deleterious substances have been mitigated.
I’m working on an updated graphical manual. The changes made in this iteration are substantive enough to jump from Version 1.4 to Version 2.0 (instead of Version 1.5). The updated manual will be posted soon and we’ll commence stress-testing Version 2.0 of the oven and report back results.
Water Guardians game
The Ecuador team has finished creating the Guardianes del Agua (Water Guardians) game and it looks fabulous!
The team printed off big copies of the game board to take to schools and parks in order to train teachers and docents how to use the game to teach children about ecology and conservation of water resources!
They are finishing up the English translation as well. We’re working on how to get game packs printed and shipped. Proceeds from sales are going to support the Ecuador teams’ water projects.
Upcoming Workshops
There are two workshops on Decentralized Water Treatment with Biochar coming up soon - one confirmed and one waiting to be confirmed.
The confirmed workshop will be March 7-8, 2026, at the Organic Growers School Conference in Mars Hill, NC. Besides biochar water treatment there are a ton of cool practical topics presented at the Conference so check out the full schedule.
The tentative, not-yet-confirmed workshop will be late February - early March at the Caribbean Agroforestry Institute in Puerto Rico. As soon as I have those details locked in I will post a notification here.
There will be more workshops to come this year but I wanted to post these since the timelines are fairly short.
Thanks to everyone for supporting our work! In 2026 I pledge to do a better job keeping this site up-to-date.
2025 was a rough and tumble year for us. In particular there were some significant family health challenges, financial stresses/shortfalls, and the demands (and joys!) associated with raising a wild 2-to-3-year-old!
We’re also scaling up our regenerative farm project and the panoply of activities associated with that have taken a ton of my time and energy in recent months. Water projects are set to come back strong in 2026 and I will be sure to highlight progress and milestones here.
Thank you! Be well and keep in touch…