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[Mary Lehmann]

Dear May-

Your letter has aroused interest on this listserve, and I am adding  
some questions to the good questions already asked.

What made you purchase the farm where you did, and what is the  
history of the Buriti Doce farm?  In the state of Piaui you are far  
from the Amazon region where the terra preta was found.

What is "a mixture of caatinga and cerrado"?

What gave you the idea of making charcoal?  I gather making charcoal  
is a tradition in your region.  Is that what you call a less harming  
practice?  Could you translate "queimada de toco vivo".  The  
technique of cutting trees so that they will re-grow would be good to  
know, but it is not clear how this relates to "security measures".

Can you tell us about the program of the respected IBAMA agency.  Is  
this an effort of the Brazilian government to get farmers to switch  
to slash-and-char from slash-and-burn?  Do the farmers seem ready to  
make the change? Is your farm one of many farms in the program?

Would you and IBAMA be interested in the techniques that make use of  
the byproducts of charring such as methane and hydrogen or is the  
equipment judged too difficult to acquire?

When you were working with the indigenous people in the Amazon,  did  
you learn from them about any customs that may have some bearing on  
the tradition of adding so much carbon to the soil? Did you see the  
terra preta soil that resulted from this ancient tradition?

Thanks for any answers about biochar, which like the ancient terra  
preta, is of such interest as a means of removing CO2 from the air as  
well as adding to soil fertility.

Sincerely,

Mary Lehmann
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On May 12, 2008, at 6:41 AM, May Waddington wrote:

> My name is May Waddington, and I am a PHd antrhopologist. I have  
> worked in the amazon for many years with an indigenous tribe, and  
> in Northeast Brazil with traditional groups such as the babassu  
> women and andiroba women.
>
> Over the last 4 years I made a major turn on my life, leaving Rio  
> de Janeiro, purchasing 400 hectares of land in a region which is a  
> mixture of caatinga and cerrado,  the Buriti Doce farm. I am  
> employed at a small state college nearby.
>
> I have been running a series of agro-ecological experiments in this  
> land. In preparing to plant 10 hectares of bixa orellana  and  
> pineapple, we tested some slash and burn practices which are  
> considered less harming (queimada de toco vivo). This technique,  
> includes several security measures, selected trees are cut in a way  
> they will re-grow, and the most wood is saved for other uses. We  
> made 20 traditional ovens to produce charcoal in the area, which  
> burned for a week or so (see pictures - the wood is covered in  
> earth with an opening on each end of the caeira).
>
> The innovation was accompanied by the IBAMA (National environmental  
> agency) and was used to teach local farmers. It resulted in some  
> 1000 kg of charcoal, which I have been resisting to sell.
>
> I want to ask you if my charcoal can be used as Biochar. I would  
> also like to volunteer the farm as an experimental area for anyone  
> who may wish to study this production in this climate/soil conditions.
>
> As you must know, the State of Piauí is pioneering biodiesel  
> production, and there are major plants in the neighborhood.
>
> In case you show any interest, I can deliver written materials to  
> you. Please see pictures of the traditional charcoal making ovens.
>
>
> -- 
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