Biochar Basics + My Journey from Smoky Pits to Clean Kilns
Hi, I’m Jodie — a 27-year-old regenerative farmer working a small family hill farm in the heart of the Bannau Brycheiniog, Wales. With my border collie Chip never far from my side, I make biochar by hand, using windfall wood, traditional skills, and tools I’ve either built or restored myself.
What began with a shovel and a smoky hole in the ground has grown into a fully fledged small business with a homemade kiln and a mission: to enrich soil, close waste loops, and help gardeners, growers, and land-lovers across the UK reconnect with the earth.
What is Biochar?
Biochar is a carbon-rich material produced by heating organic matter (such as wood, crop residues, or manure) in a low-oxygen environment, a process known as pyrolysis. It is used to improve soil health, enhance carbon sequestration, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Used for thousands of years (most famously in the Amazon’s terra preta), biochar is now being rediscovered as a low-tech, high-impact solution to regenerate soil and capture carbon from the atmosphere.
My Biochar Journey: From Ground Pit to Handmade Kiln
I didn’t start with fancy equipment. I started with a hole in the ground, literally. I dug a trench, filled it with windfall branches from our farm, and set it alight. The goal? Burn hot and fast, then quench it at the right moment to preserve the porous structure before it turned to ash.
Pit Burn (The Beginning) Pros: Simple, low cost, accessible to anyone. Cons: Smoke-heavy, inconsistent results, and more carbon lost to the atmosphere than I liked.
The Chicken Feeder Method (pictured) Next came an upside-down metal chicken feeder turned mini retort. It was smoky, a bit chaotic, but I loved it. The results were better, less smoke, more control, and the thrill of making something useful from scrap.
The Kiln (Where We Are Now) After months of experimentation, I built a purpose-designed kiln using 100% recycled metal. It’s fuelled with purpose, clean-burning, efficient, and made to last. This is where the real magic happens. We produce small-batch biochar that’s air-dried, charged with collected rainwater and wood vinegar, and hand-packed right here on the farm.
It might not be glamorous, but it's resourceful, reliable, and gets the job done beautifully.