In Odisha’s farming regions, large amounts of crop residue accumulate after each harvest. With few alternatives available, farmers often burn this material or leave it to decompose, releasing CO2, methane, and heavy smoke. These practices reduce soil organic matter, weaken water‑holding capacity, and contribute to declining yields and unhealthy air in nearby villages. As weather patterns become less predictable, these pressures grow more severe. By turning agricultural waste into biochar and returning it to the soil, the project shifts this dynamic. The carbon becomes locked into a stable form, while the soil gains structure, nutrients, and moisture retention. Over time, fields become more productive and more resilient to droughts and intense rainfall. At the same time, the reduction in open burning improves air quality and supports healthier rural communities.
This is India’s first VCS‑registered biochar initiative and brings climate action directly to the fields of 5,000 smallholder farmers in Odisha. Rather than treating crop residues as waste, the project enables farmers to convert them into stable carbon. After each harvest, materials such as rice straw, maize cobs, bamboo and tree prunings are dried on the farm and processed in steel‑shield soil pits, using flame‑curtain pyrolysis: a method that produces clean, high‑quality biochar without relying on external energy sources. Once cooled, the biochar is mixed with manure and incorporated deep into the soil, improving fertility while storing carbon for centuries. Because everything happens on the farmers’ own land, from sourcing to production to application, no transport is involved, keeping project emissions exceptionally low. The project removes over 110,000 tonnes of CO2 per year, amounting to more than 770,000 tonnes across the first multi‑year project cycle. A trained network of field officers, technicians and agricultural specialists supports every farmer, providing hands‑on training, quality checks and continuous monitoring to ensure consistent performance and traceability.
ORCA supports this initiative by selling the high‑quality removal credits it generates. All carbon accounting is independently monitored and certified under the Verified Carbon Standard. The project has also been awarded the ICVCM Core Carbon Principles (CCP) label, which confirms that it meets leading international expectations for integrity, additionality, permanence, and robust social and environmental safeguards. By choosing these carbon credits, you directly support permanent carbon removal while enabling thousands of farmers in India to adopt cleaner, safer and more resilient agricultural practices.
