My thoughts on the NPR article "How A Biofuel Dream Called Jatropha Came Crashing Down"

So I was recently shown this article by a good friend of mine! Now, this is an incredibly important read by everyone pretty much, especially those interested in biofuels.

But this isn't completely damning of Jatropha, as the article explicitly states. All it states is that there was significant hype about Jatropha (much of which was unfounded-which is true), and several of the methods tried (mainly replacing Jatropha as a food crop and growing it sans fertilizers and adequate rain) failed. One of the prominent "myths" busted was that Jatropha does not need many nutrients to grow. While not false per se, Jatropha certainly needs an adequate amount of nutrition and water in order to achieve yields that are useful economically. That's why promoting Jatropha to farmers as a "you don't have to do anything it'll make money" kind of solution is very bad-not only because it'll fail and hurt the farmers, but also because that will seriously hinder future attempts to introduce Jatropha in different fashions in the future (along with ruining trust between foreigners and locals-on the Project Jatropha site, and in other blog posts, we've talked about the trust issue).

While it certainly is important to distinguish the hype from fact regarding Jatropha, the article itself states that there are alternative methods for growing Jatropha that should not be ruled out-such as small scale hedges among poor farmers (which is what Project Jatropha advocates). In addition, the article mentions that further research about Jatropha is needed to determine its future viability (of which the article claims it has, although more research is definitely needed).

All in all, important information. It may not be the news people want to hear, but it must be heard nonetheless.

Link: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/08/22/159391553/how-a-biofuel-dream-called-jatropha-came-crashing-down

Sincerely,
Adarsha

An update from Bala from Pondicherry

Hello readers of this blog, and random people of the internet!

If you all recall, last summer, when Apoorva and I were in India, we went to the neighboring state of Tamil Nadu, and visited Pondicherry. The reason was that earlier that year, we had been in contact with a man named Bala, who graduated as an engineer many years ago in India. After he graduated from college, he decided that instead of going abroad and working there, his talents would be more needed back in his home town of Pondicherry. Earlier, Bala had been trying to work with rural school children in a village 30 minutes away from Pondicherry by providing them with rural gardens and the like. However, he had some logistical issues, including funding. He contacted us back in 2010, and in the summer of 2012 we had enacted our plans. We went to Pondicherry and together, we purchased various young fruit saplings and helped plant them-with the help of a group of international volunteers from around the world (who Bala had managed to round up a while earlier)-in a local school. Afterwards, we contacted Labland Biotechs to see if they could give Bala some agronomic training regarding Jatropha.

Just a few days ago, we received some photos from Bala-the ones in this blog post are of him receiving agronomic training from Labland Biotechs. Over the course of 6 days, Bala witnessed and learned a good deal. At Labland Biotechs, Bala got to see various Jatropha plots on farms and in larger facilities, learning the various methods and needs of Jatropha. In addition, Bala got to see and practice firsthand the biofuel extraction and biodiesel conversion processes. Tissue culturing, seed harvest, seed processing, storage, and byproduct management were among the other things that Labland Biotechs showed Bala.

If you have any questions or comments/constructive criticism, feel free to post in the comments section or shoot me an email if you so desire! The next blog post will be about Project Jatropha's Phase IV, and how it has been initiated-pictures included!

~Adarsha

Why Sirona Intercrops Jatropha in Haiti

Dear Subbanna, this is Michelle's response to your question:

Why Sirona Intercrops Jatropha in Haiti...

In Haiti, food land is precious. The majority of Haiti is covered in small mountains, meaning that the precious plains should be protected for food cultivation. Sirona Cares takes a strong stand against plantation model jatropha farming in Haiti for this reason. Monoculture farming is not the norm in Haiti. You find banana trees, pumpkins, beans, many different crops in the field of the small farmer. Unfortunately you also find exhausted soil. While one might think that farmers are working with us to intercrop Jatropha to gain financially, that is not their primary motivation. The reason that our tree planting costs are so incredibly low (.10 cents a tree) is that the farmers use their land and labor to forward the project. Sirona pays for the nursery set-up, tools, and management. Intercropping Jatropha does several things that the farmers need aside from the additional income potential. Jatropha plants put nitrates back into the soil, reviving it for food production. Jatropha protects topsoil from erosion helping the farmer mitigate against soil loss during the rainy season, and the by-products of the seed pressing process are, not only the oil, but a nitrate rich fertilizer and the key ingredient for a clean-burning charcoal substitute. Haiti is almost completely deforested at this time. Topsoil erosion is occurring at an alarming rate, and natural watersheds are deteriorating rapidly. Farmers see this and are searching for affordable solutions. Sirona Cares is giving them an option by providing free seedlings from our nurseries for the farmers to take to their land. We educate on safe intercropping that will result in no reduction of food production, and this model helps the farmers succeed in growing healthy Jatropha because they tend it with their crops. Jatropha seed production is directly related to care (water/fertilizer) that the plants receive.

In the initial rush internationally to capitalize on Jatropha farming for Jatropha oil, the plantation model was used the most. Not surprisingly the economics of that model frequently failed. Land purchase, loss of food crops, displacement of people, and field maintenance costs all create issues with the plantation model that are avoided by putting these trees in the hands of farmers in Haiti to intercrop. They also plant on hillsides to stop the erosion of soil and mudslides that are occurring due to deforestation. I returned from Haiti yesterday after meeting with leaders of 32 different farming organizations who are all excited to participate in this program.... And when we bring our press this summer and show them the oil, well, it will be a very exciting day. Only then will they see the vision that we have for Haiti. We build sustainable communities by placing the power to create, use and sell alternative energy in the hands of the worlds poor, and we have made our model with them rather than for them. We are always open to comments and suggestions, and I thank you for your question.

Michelle Lacourciere

Director, Sirona Cares Foundation.

Project Jatropha in a Labland Biotechs Program

Dear followers of Project Jatropha,

Apoorva and I are currently in a program in Labland Biotechs where we are learning the various agronomic practices of Jatropha cultivation and the details of the extraction and conversion of Jatropha oil into biodiesel. Currently, it is day 3 of our course. On the first day, we learned about the selection criterion that is used to determine the seeds that Labland Biotechs germinates in order to sell as seedlings. The process involved softening the seed coats with a dilute hydrochloric acid solution in order to speed up germination. In addition, Apoorva and I created a batch of artificial soil that the seeds were planted in. The soil was a mixture of sand, red dirt, manure, and coconut husks, designed to supply plenty of water and nutrients to the seeds after they sprout. Yesterday and today, Apoorva and I will be converting both regular, edible vegetable oils and Jatropha oil into biodiesel on both a commercial and laboratory scale. While both processes are similar, the conversion of Jatropha oil is more complex since it is inedible. The Jatropha biodiesel that Apoorva and I are making will be given to us so we can run it in our vehicles. Labland Biotechs has been running a Chevy Tavera on a 10% Jatropha biofuel blend for a year; the biodiesel blend gets on average 4-5 more kilometers per liter than straight diesel. In addition, Labland Biotechs plans to increase the amount of biodiesel in the blend yearly by 10% and see the effects of the biodiesel on the engine and the vehicle's performance.

Sincerely,
Adarsha

An update and analysis of the project site

Dear followers of Project Jatropha,

I am pleased to report that the seedlings from the Phase I farmers are growing very well. The farmers have been growing the seedlings as a hedge crop, in bunds (which are small plots), on wasteland, or with tobacco (intercropping). We also noted that the plants that had been irrigated were significantly larger than those that had just been rain-fed. In fact, the tallest irrigated plants were around 4 feet tall and were bearing several clumps of fruit whereas the tallest rain-fed plants were only 2-3 feet tall and had no flowers, let alone fruits. In addition, the plants that had been fertilized with manure were larger than those that had not been fertilized. Both of these cases illustrate that although Jatropha curcas can survive and grow in harsh conditions without irrigation and fertilizers, the use of both cultivation methods greatly increases the plant's growth. Mr. Abignan Gurukar, a Research Officer at Labland Biotechs, told us that a good supply of water is essential for the first year of the seedlings' lives if the farmers wish to maximize the plants' producitivity. For Jatropha curcas to be grown by these small farmers on an economically viable scale, it is necessary to cultivate the plants, especially in the beginning of their lives when they need the most care. Only then can Project Jatropha truly be able to offer poverty alleviation for the farmers in our project.

Sincerely,
Adarsha