The Ithaka Journal started in 2008 to accompany our reflections and projects about climate farming and ecosystem restoration. It witnessed the first articles about biochar field trials, the first biochar production in Europe, the development of the European Biochar Certificate, and the spawn of the Kon-Tiki. It coined the 55 uses of biochar, presented the first biochar buildings, designed carbon futures and the certification of the C-sink economy. The Ithaka Journal is an archive and a legacy and navigates more than ever into unknown territories. Global cooling, carbon cycling, nanocarbon materials, and coffee from Nepal. 

 

Our latest articles

The Plastic Hope

by HP Schmidt
The projected growth of the plastics industry would require the carbon from nearly half of today's crude oil production. This alone would make all climate targets unattainable. But there is another way. Instead of sourcing it from fossil sources, the necessary carbon can also be drawn down from the atmosphere. This...

How Climate Marketing Kills Biochar

by Hans-Peter Schmidt

by Hans-Peter Schmidt
Does it make a difference for the climate if I compensate my annual 10 tonnes of CO₂ emissions by purchasing 5 tonnes of biochar and applying them to one hectare of our vineyards? Or better yet, should I offset all 80 tonnes produced by the whole family — including the grandparents? That would amount to 40...

Put Polluting Industry Off-Earth

by Hans-Peter Schmidt
This one’s worth watching: Jeff Bezos, speaking on stage at a New York Times event, explains how pleased he is about the deregulation ushered in by the new U.S. administration—and how, despite all previous regulatory efforts, life on Earth today is better than in any prior era of human history.

55 Uses of Biochar

by Hans-Peter Schmidt
Initially only used in agriculture, the range of uses for biochar now covers a wide range of different fields, giving this plant-based raw material the chance to make the most of its positive properties. Wherever biochar is specifically used even for industrial purposes, the carbon taken from the atmosphere in the...

Kon-Tiki - the democratization of biochar production

by Hans-Peter Schmidt & Paul Taylor
A simple but ingenious invention finally allows each farmer and gardener, everywhere in the world, to produce for themselves a sufficient quantity of high quality biochar. With reasonable investment and some know-how of the charmaker’s craft, farmers can produce in one afternoon a cubic meter of high quality biochar....

The use of biochar as building material - cities as carbon sinks

by Hans-Peter Schmidt
Biochar, a highly porous material produced from plant waste, is mostly used in agriculture as a soil conditioner, in livestock farming as a feed supplement, and in metalworking as a reducing agent. It can also be used for cleaning "grey water", as an absorber in sports clothing, in batteries and many other uses (see...

Vines take up yeasts from soil and transport them through the vine to the stem and skins of grapes

by Karin Mandl, Julia Schieck, Karin Silhavy-Richter, Volker Schneider, Hans-Peter Schmidt, Alexander Prange
In a vineyard field experiment it was demonstrated that Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast can be adsorbed from the soil by the roots of Vitis vinifera subs. vinifera and transported via vine to the stems and surface of the grapes. To exclude any extrinsic yeast contamination, the ripening grapes were sterilized and...

Biochar as Building Material for Optimal Indoor Climate

by Hans-Peter Schmidt
The effect a wine cellar's climate has on the quality and complexity of a wine has up to now been greatly underestimated. Only now are we beginning to realise that decisive factors for a good wine are not just temperature, but also humidity. As a result, the Delinat Institute has developed a new form of plaster made...

The use of biochar in cattle farming

by Achim Gerlach & Hans-Peter Schmidt
90% of the biochar produced in Europe is used in livestock farming. Whether mixed with feed, added to litter or used in the treatment of slurry, the positive effect of biochar very quickly becomes apparent. The health - and consequently the well-being - of the livestock improve within just a short space of time. As...

Building earthquake resistant clay houses

by Gernot Minke & Hans-Peter Schmidt
Many thousands of clay houses crumbled during the recent earthquakes in Nepal. But that did not happen because of insufficient strength of the clay as a building material, but rather because basic construction rules were disregarded. Gernot Minke, an international expert on clay building, explains in this interview...

Biochar Paper – elevating biochar from novelty to ubiquity

by Kathleen Draper & Hans-Peter Schmidt
Pack your fruits and vegetables in a biochar box, double their shelf life then compost the boxes with the leftovers and make Terra Preta in your backyard. Biochar paper and cardboard might become the most influential invention to mitigate climate change while reducing organic residues sent to landfills.

Justus von Liebig and the Birth of Modern Biochar

by Kelpie Wilson
Biochar is one of the oldest soil amendments in the history of agriculture. However, with the advent of modern agro-chemistry, the agronomic value of biochar got rapidly into oblivion. Only lately, when biochar got into focus as climate mitigation strategy, it’s function as soil amendment and nutrient carrier was...

Biochar in poultry farming

by Henning Gerlach & Hans-Peter Schmidt
The poultry industry is struggling more and more with livestock disease. Often this can be traced back to microbial pathogens and ammonia in the litter. The addition of highly porous biochar can serve to reduce toxic ammonia pollution in the coops and regulate the moisture level of the litter. The biting coop odour...

Terra Preta - Model of a Cultural Technique

by Hans-Peter Schmidt
The secret of Terra Preta lies not solely in its use of biochar, but rather in a societal system that has internalized the importance of closed nutrient cycles in nature. Only by means of conscious recycling of all accumulating waste matter could the otherwise nutrient poor tropical soils allow for population...

Biochar - a key technology for the planet

by Hans-Peter Schmidt
The current imbalance in the world's carbon and nitrogen cycle is not just the main cause of climate change, but also a direct threat to ecosystems through eutrophication, desertification and a decline in biodiversity. Re-balancing through regularly recycling organic material with its carbon, nitrogen and phosphor...

Herbicides found in Human Urine

by Dirk Brändli & Sandra Reinacher
Glyphosate is the main active substance used in most commercial herbicides. It poisons not only plants, but also animals and humans. When testing for glyphosate contamination in an urban population, a German university found significant contamination in all urine samples with levels 5 to 20 times above the legal limit...

Biochar in European Viticulture: Results of the Season 2011

by Claudio Niggli & Hans-Peter Schmidt
In 2011, several new field-scale experiments with biochar in vineyards were set up by the Delinat Institute. In addition to the institute's own site in Valais (Switzerland), long-term field experiments were also undertaken in three representative vineyards in France, Spain and Italy. The primary aim was to investigate...

Nepal Climate Farming Fund

by Hans-Peter Schmidt &Bishnu Hari Pandit
One week after the earthquake in Nepal and thanks to the generous support of the European Biochar Community, the Nepali Climate Farming Fund was launched and has already brought relief to many Nepali biochar farmers that suffered the collapse or damage to their homes. In exchange for an advance of 5000 NRP (US$50) for...

Biochar Gardening - results 2011

by Hans-Peter Schmidt & Claudio Niggli
Over the last two years more than 200 hobby gardeners took part in a biochar trial coordinated by the Delinat Institute. Different sorts of vegetables were planted on two 10 m² garden plots, the one with compost only and the other with compost and biochar. The analysis of the results showed very interesting...

European Biochar Certificate

by Biochar Science Network
The introduction of the European Biochar Certificate is a milestone in the use of biochar in agriculture. Biochars produced under the certificate's guidelines fulfil all production criteria regarding the environment and climate protection. The product guarantee provided by the certificate covers the ecological supply...

Biochar in European Viticulture: Results of the Season 2011

by Claudio Niggli & Hans-Peter Schmidt
In 2011, several new field-scale experiments with biochar in vineyards were set up by the Delinat Institute. In addition to the institute's own site in Valais (Switzerland), long-term field experiments were also undertaken in three representative vineyards in France, Spain and Italy. The primary aim was to investigate...

Switzerland: the first European country to officially approve biochar

by Hans-Peter Schmidt
Switzerland has become the first country in Europe to officially approve the use of certified biochar in agriculture, with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture issuing its approval on 23 April 2013. In it, the Ithaka Institute is given responsibility for controlling biochar quality and the sustainability of its...

Terra Preta - Model of a Cultural Technique

by Hans-Peter Schmidt
The secret of Terra Preta lies not solely in its use of biochar, but rather in a societal system that has internalized the importance of closed nutrient cycles in nature. Only by means of conscious recycling of all accumulating waste matter could the otherwise nutrient poor tropical soils allow for population...

Treating liquid manure with biochar

by Hans-Peter Schmidt
One of our oldest preconceptions is that a cowshed inevitably stinks. But the pungent odour of liquid manure is first and foremost the sign of a microbial decomposition process that has gone out of control. That which stinks to high heaven is not only an offence to delicate citizens’ noses but above all a source of...

Biochar in viticulture - new results

by Hans-Peter Schmidt & Claudio Niggli
Viticulture is becoming the pioneering culture for biochar research. Biochar has been applied to many large-scale viticulture experiments across Europe this spring. After the first large-scale and long term experiments at the Delinat Institute in 2007-08, expectations are high. The latest results confirm these...