Location: SRI LANKA
Momentum built quickly around Biochar for Agricultural Resilience in Sri Lanka, driven by farmers who were looking for practical, affordable ways to protect their crops from worsening climate pressures. Silver Bullet Biochar stepped into that moment with a simple but powerful proposition: agricultural waste could become a resource capable of restoring soil health, strengthening harvests, and reducing the need for costly chemical inputs. Their workshops drew in farmer leaders from diverse regions, each eager to understand how biochar’s porous, carbon-rich structure could help them hold water in the soil, improve fertility, and break the cycle of open burning.
“When people saw the material up close, curiosity turned into determination,” the team explained. Hands-on demonstrations in Sinhala and Tamil created a shared learning space that reached more than 1,600 farmer leaders and inspired thousands more through community knowledge-sharing.
The Impact of the Seed Grant
The Pollination Project grant powered this transformation from early training into widespread agricultural engagement. Funding made it possible to create tailored animated learning tools, travel to remote communities, purchase workshop equipment, and collaborate with DevPro and the Lanka Organic Agriculture Movement.
The grant also allowed the team to redesign their entire educational approach based on farmers’ realities: limited smartphone access meant that in-person learning would have the greatest impact. That shift proved essential. During one of the harshest drought years in recent memory, participants reported roughly 20% fewer crop losses in biochar-treated plots. Many also described lower reliance on chemical fertilisers, reduced costs, and improved soil structure. As one farmer shared,
“This wasn’t theory. We could see the difference during the drought.” The combination of practical demonstrations and farmer-led dissemination resulted in over 5,000 community members adopting biochar practices, strengthening rural climate resilience in a deeply tangible way.
The Future
The project now moves into an ambitious new chapter shaped by rising demand across farming communities and growing institutional support. Local councils have requested expanded programming, including biochar food gardens in schools and curriculum integration for hands-on environmental learning. A new partnership with the University of Ruhuna is set to deepen scientific research into soil regeneration, carbon sequestration, and long-term agronomic outcomes. Silver Bullet Biochar is also preparing a centralized production program to distribute high-quality biochar free of charge, paired with monitoring tools to track climate and livelihood benefits.
“The energy around this work keeps expanding,” the team noted. With strong partnerships, scientific guidance, and continued community leadership, the initiative is poised to scale regenerative agriculture and shape a more resilient future for Sri Lanka’s farmers.
Our aim is to democratise understanding of and access to biochar- a truly holistic silver bullet solution- for coffee farmers and beyond.
Jacob Webb
Jacob Webb’s commitment to soil health began with a childhood spark: watching his aunt tend a lively worm café and compost “factory.” That early curiosity grew into a conviction that healthy soil underpins resilient food systems. Motivated by the accelerating impacts of environmental collapse, he pursued an MSc in Ecological Economics, focusing on agricultural solutions that restore ecosystems rather than deplete them. His academic path led him into sustainability consulting, where he supported the UK government in evaluating biochar initiatives for soil improvement and carbon removal.
After several years in consulting, Jacob travelled, taught, and volunteered across Nicaragua, Cambodia, and Sri Lanka. The people he met and the communities he lived in reshaped his sense of purpose, reminding him that meaningful environmental change is rooted in connection and shared effort. During four formative months in Sri Lanka, he saw how urgently smallholder farmers needed reliable, practical tools to protect their soils and livelihoods. The experience pushed him to step forward as an advocate for biochar—someone willing to combine scientific understanding, community engagement, and modern educational resources to expand access to climate-smart farming.
Today, as director of Biochar for Agricultural Resilience in Sri Lanka, Jacob is building a movement dedicated to stronger soils, lower emissions, and healthier harvests. He describes this work as the foundation of a much larger vision: “This project is only the beginning. I want to help put biochar into every soil in Sri Lanka.”
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