Kanha Shanti Vanam hosts landmark training model for biochar production, income generation, and ecological revival
In the presence of farmers, environmental experts, and grassroots volunteers, Shri Nitin Gadkari formally inaugurated a new Biochar Centre of Excellence at Kanha Shanti Vanam, the global headquarters of the Heartfulness Institute located near Hyderabad. The initiative has been developed in partnership with PayPal, and its stated purpose is to train village-based entrepreneurs in sustainable farming and rural enterprise using biochar techniques.
Shri Gadkari addressed the gathering with a message focused on agricultural reform and inclusive rural growth. “Our farmer communities need tools and platforms that work for their soil, their weather, and their village economy. This collaboration is about practical knowledge. Biochar is not just a product. It is a way to rethink farming so that we don’t damage the land while trying to grow from it,” he said.
The centre is the result of long-term planning between Heartfulness trainers and PayPal’s social innovation team. The program is aimed at training rural youth and women in how to set up and operate small biochar production units. The focus is on enabling them to convert local crop residue into usable biochar and deliver it to nearby farms. Biochar, a byproduct of biomass pyrolysis, is known to improve soil fertility and water retention while also reducing the carbon footprint of farming.
Shri Kamesh Patel, also known as Daaji, welcomed the minister and guests to Kanha Shanti Vanam and explained the evolution of the project. “We have worked with scientists and farmers on the ground. What started as an internal experiment in restoring dry land has now become something we can share. Biochar changed our plantations here. It can do the same for fields in every district if training is done well,” he said.
The training curriculum at the new facility is entirely hands-on. Trainees walk through the biochar process using field-scale demonstration pits and work with instructors to apply the resulting material to test plots. The goal is to teach participants how soil quality, crop yield, and water usage respond to biochar in real conditions. It also covers how to market biochar locally, including cost, volume, and transport models that have already worked at the pilot stage in Telangana.
The centre’s programs will run year-round and are structured in cohorts. Instructors come from agro-forestry backgrounds and include members of the Heartfulness ‘Forests by Heartfulness’ (FBH) unit. The facility is connected to FBH’s larger reforestation program, which is working toward planting 30 million trees using native species by 2030.
Shri Nath Parameshwaran, Senior Director at PayPal India, was present for the launch and spoke about the company’s role. “Our contribution is to support the infrastructure and ensure the program is scaled beyond one centre. The Heartfulness team has the process. Our role is to bring in our skilling networks, tech partners, and make sure rural youth have access to real economic outcomes through this,” he said.
Farmers from Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat who participated in early trials of biochar shared their experiences at the event. One cotton farmer, who applied the method in the previous season, reported a 27% increase in yield and noted that water usage had decreased due to the improved soil structure. Another participant from Gujarat highlighted fewer pest issues and better early germination rates.
The broader impact of the initiative includes reducing the harmful practice of stubble burning. India produces over 600 million tons of farm residue each year, of which nearly 160 million tons are currently burned. Biochar production offers a clear alternative by converting this biomass into a high-value input that can stay in the soil for centuries.
Kanha Shanti Vanam has already used this process across 200 acres of land that was previously uncultivable. The enriched plots now host medicinal gardens, native flowering trees, and herbal plantations. Birds and reptiles that disappeared decades ago have returned, and the area has begun to attract botany students from agricultural colleges in South India.
This centre is one of the few in the country where science and community come together on the same soil. There are no virtual classrooms or online lectures. Everything is physical, direct, and run by experienced trainers who have already built and used the systems themselves.
The organisers stated that 40 new rural entrepreneurs would be trained in the first cohort, with plans to scale that number to over 500 per year through regional partnerships. Scholarships for women and tribal entrepreneurs are being finalized, and several self-help groups from Andhra Pradesh have already signed up.
The Centre of Excellence is expected to serve as a template for replication. Talks are underway with institutions in Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, and Tamil Nadu to establish similar facilities. Heartfulness has also opened discussions with agriculture extension officers in three states to integrate biochar modules into state-run rural skilling programs.
As the day ended, village leaders walked away with sample biochar packs and field notes. Many expressed the same hope: to take this knowledge back to their gram sabhas and build something that benefits their communities.
This centre is not a pilot. It is a working example of what can happen when vision, policy, and grassroots networks meet at the same ground level.
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