Suba Biochar Farmers Group, 2011 Report

Peter Ongele, August 2011

Dear All,
I would very much appreciate your response and comments on this report and to know any further information I should have included in the report. As I mentioned early in previous letter, we are to run organic farming seminar training from 22/8/20011 to 26/8/2011 to the farmers. I've got already experts to help me conduct the training. I kindly need to confirm the possibility of financial help to facilitate the training.
Thank you all for taking your time to consider and support to us.
Peter Onegle

See the attached
Visit With Paul Anderson

and please see the attached Suba Biochar Farmers Group Report.

Peter Ongele is working with the farmers in Sindo village, Suba district near Lake Victoria in Kenya. This is a depression of land that's about 20 km long, of sandy and old volcanic soils. These are deficient and marginal soils, and the farmers are testing blends of biochar plus manure as compared to un-amended soil in growing crops and resisting weeds. The farmers are dryland farming (no irrigation) using traditional farming techniques, and they are just barely subsisting. The attachments have the detail of the tests, but the first two years indicate that amending the soil with a combination of biochar and manure seems to boost crop yield and helps reduce Stringa weed.