Living for the past 20+ years in the forest on the San Juan Ridge as a shepherd. Becoming a biochar advocate and founding board member inspired after reading Terra Preta by Kathleen Draper, and her following book Burn. Tabor has been educating biochar by demonstrating at workshops across multiple Californian counties and invites you to please join the movement, make more biochar!
A permaculture designer with 30 years experience in ecological landscaping in Northern California including work in Marin, Sonoma, Napa, Sacramento, and Nevada counties. He is an active speaker and presenter teaching about soil health, adaptive grazing, permaculture, and biochar. Tom has been active in helping bring biochar demonstrations and workshops to his local community. These workshops have focused on removing non-native invasive plants, using both open pit and kiln burning to turn the plant material into charcoal, and then inoculating with a variety of materials. Tom is also a member of the Oak Tree Park & Recreation District Board.
Devoted his business to generating biochar to assist eco restorative functions and aid in its conservation. Ken is on a mission to educate and inform those unaware of biochar’s magical properties. His primary business is all about raising bugs to generate frass for inoculation blends to work in tandem with biochar. Before becoming a board member and original founder of the Coalition, he conducted 20+ Seminars in 3 states, showing others how to make and use biochar for each and everyone’s unique situation! If you would like to learn more about inoculating biochar, please visit KOFrass.com
A current business owner who operates a full day preschool enrichment program and a nature-based summer camp. Through continually self-education while teaching young children science, there was the discovery of biochar. With an educational background in natural sciences, he was drawn to many of the countless uses for the ancient biochar. From the science of the production to the benefits it provides the natural environment, biochar gradually grew beyond an interest. He was ultimately hooked and connected to K Organics through the implications of biochar in gardening, focusing on microbial life development and its agricultural propagation.
Since John’s first introduction to biochar almost a decade ago, he has been able to be a part many burns hosted by veteran char producers. As of last year, through his business Discovery Schoolhouse, he owns and operates two “Ring of Fire” kilns. Using these kilns, he was able to host and present at two full day burn events in 2022.
As a supportive board member of the Biochar Coalition, John is excited to be able to use his educational platform to host events, spread awareness, and produce biochar. In addition to having preestablish community connections, being on the east coast will help keep a cross-continental mentality for the Biochar Coalition, while adding to the growth, networking, and evolution of the organization.
Ari aka Chari, is a world traveler and has called the San Juan Ridge in Northern California her home base for the past 8 years. She became a biochar enthusiast, educator and advocate after reading the book “Terra Preta” by Kathleen Draper which dramatically changed her life. Ever since, has been making literal tons of biochar and educating people about the many benefits of biochar by doing hands on live biochar making workshops in her community, and around Northern California. She started her micro business Biocharma in hopes to bring awareness of the benefits biochar has to the world. Ari is also a biochar activist working to connect organizations, NGO’s, and local/state governments to cooperate & collaborate together in implementing biochar as a major part of the solution for sustainable agriculture, food security, environmental cleanup, and climate change. To learn more visit biocharma.com
An avid educator in his community on the production of Biochar. Preston began his journey at Butte College being a student and learning from Stephen Feher. Acting to further progress biochar he opened a unique defensible space management company incorporating biochar into hazard fuel reduction contracts. Preston met Ken Scherer and then educated him on how to produce biochar utilizing the Kelpie Wilson Kiln. Preston was a catalyst to the formation of this group and since that time Preston is now employed with CN Utility Consulting and is always advocating land owners on the benefits of producing biochar on their landscapes. Preston has performed a multitude of public outreach activities for Butte County California, and for the Navajo tribe in New Mexico. His induction into the biochar coalition was only natural and he looks forward to assisting the groups mission.