The Climate Kiln oven converts agricultural waste into biochar, a natural soil enhancer that also keeps carbon out of the atmosphere.
Quick! How acidic is the dirt in your yard? Soil IQ knows. It’s a little solar powered sensor on a stick that assesses your plot, recommends what plants will grow best, and monitors them for you. If they need water or if the soil pH gets too low, you get a text. Think of it as the Internet of Growing Things.
Even niftier is that the Soil IQ has a humanitarian pedigree. It was born out of a project to build the Climate Kiln (above), a special oven created by US startup Re:char that cooks inedible biomass like plant husks at low oxygen levels into charcoalish stuff called biochar. Mixed into soil, it improves water retention and nutrient levels (and keeps fertilizer runoff out of groundwater and carbon out of the atmosphere).
Re:char has been selling Climate Kilns in Kenya since 2010. But before the ovens could make their way to Kenya’s version of Home Depot, the company had to prove that the biochar really worked. It needed something that could analyze earth cheaply and quickly—which led to the Soil IQ. Designed by Yves Béhar, the device (which will cost less than $100) is available for pre-order in the US. A cheaper version, of course, will be available in Kenya.
