Cameroon biochar trial - pictures
The pictures presented here offer a snap-shot of our activities in Cameroon. They can be distributed freely, but please do credit us. We have an extensive library with many more photos of the biochar experiment. If you wish to obtain any dealing with a specific topic, please do not hesitate to contact us.
You can also consult a previous set of pictures here , which contains images of biochar raw materials and production, and of slash-and-burn farming.
Go back to the DATA PAGE or to the SUMMARY REPORT on the biochar field trials in Cameroon.
| Char, plots and participants | ||
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Caption: Bags of biochar being prepared for distribution. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none | Caption: A farmer shows a bag of biochar, representing a quantity for one sub-plot. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none | Caption: A group of farmers is briefed on how to implement the introduction of biochar into the soil. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none |
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Caption: Farmers introduce biochar into the soil. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none | Caption: Farmers introduce biochar into the soil. . Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none | Caption: Farmers introduce biochar into the soil. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none |
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Caption: Farmers introduce biochar into the soil. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none | Caption: Farmers being briefed on how to introduce the inputs into the soil. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none | Caption: A plot into which the different quantities of char have been introduced. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none |
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Caption: A biochar test plot ready to receive maize seeds. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none | Caption: Farmers discuss some aspects of the plot design. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none | Caption: A demonstration plot that attracted many interested farmers. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none |
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Caption: Most of the participants in this biochar field trial are women. Here: Unity & Progress, in the village of Kake Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none | Caption: Signboard of the Young Farmers Association in the village of Ediki. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none | Caption: Focus Farmers, a participating group in the village of Kake. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none |
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Caption: Ambitious Ladies, a farmers group consisting of women only. Biochar Fund's Laurens Rademakers is proud to pose with them. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none | Caption: Happy Mothers, a participating group in the village of Kendem. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none
| Caption: Children of the village of Kendem. Are they future farmers? Will they suffer the effects of climate change? Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none
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Caption: A workshop on biochar and climate change in the village of Kendem. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none
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| Planting, growing, harvesting | ||
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Caption: Planting maize on biochar test plots. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none | Caption: Planting maize on biochar test plots. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none | Caption: A good emergence of the maize plants. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none |
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Caption: A good emergence of the maize plants. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none | Caption: A good emergence of the maize plants. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none | Caption: Maize plants in their 6+ leaf stage. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none
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Caption: Key Farmers Cameroon's coordinator, Etchi Daniel-Jones, shows healthy looking maize in a test plot. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none | Caption: Extension worker Florence Fon shows healthy looking maize in a test plot. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none | Caption: A biochar plot with maize in its 12+ leaf stage. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none |
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Caption: A plot with maize in its 12+ leaf stage. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none | Caption: Father and son work together in their experimental biochar plot. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none | Caption: A group makes observations on weed growth in their test plot. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none |
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Caption: Thinning and weeding the biochar test plot. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none | Caption: A group weeds its plot. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none | Caption: A group weeds its plot. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none |
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Caption: Collecting weeds for analysis. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none | Caption: Collecting weeds for analysis. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none | Caption: Collecting weeds for analysis. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none |
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Caption: Maize ready to be harvested, Malende. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none
| Caption: Key Farmers Cameroon's coordinator at a plot in Ediki, in which the difference between char and non-char maize was exceptionally big. In this case, the plants on the control (left lower corner) were barely in thir 8th leaf stage, whereas the plants on the char-plots (right, upper corner), were already tasseling. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none
| Caption: Biochar Fund's Laurens Rademakers at a plot in Ediki, in which the difference between char and non-char maize was exceptionally big. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none
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| Biochar and 'black magic' | ||
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Caption: Many farmers have a problem with theft. They use traditional, ritual techniques to protect their crops. Here a janus-faced puppet that received some Juju magic, overseeing the biochar plot. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none | Caption: A farmer shows the traditional way to protect crops. A combination of secret words and gestures is supposed to the trick. In this biochar plot, the magic was very effective. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none | Caption: When the crop has been harvested successfully, the magic is taken out of the field. Farmers thank the spirits for protecting their biochar plot. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none
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Caption: When the crop has been harvested successfully, the magic is taken out of the field. Biochar Fund's Laurens Rademakers thanks the spirits for protecting this biochar plot. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none
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| Roots, maize, measurements | ||
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Caption: A farmer in Malende shows the difference between the roots of a maize plant grown in biochar (left) and the roots of the same plant grown in bare soil. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none | Caption: Farmers in Teke show the difference between the roots of a maize plant grown in biochar (left) and the roots of the same plant grown in bare soil. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none | Caption: A farmer in Kumba shows the difference between the roots of a maize plant grown in biochar (right) and the roots of the same plant grown in bare soil. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none |
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| Caption: Farmers in Mile One show the difference between the roots of a maize plant grown in biochar (right) and the roots of the same plant grown in bare soil. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none | Caption: A farmer in Mile One shows the difference between the roots of a maize plant grown in biochar (left) and the roots of the same plant grown in bare soil. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none | Caption: A farmer in Barombi Kang shows the difference between the roots of a maize plant grown in biochar (left) and the roots of the same plant grown in bare soil. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none |
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| Caption: Farmers in Kake show the difference between the roots of a maize plant grown in biochar (left) and the roots of the same plant grown in bare soil. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none | Caption: After the harvest, farmers uproot the plants so that their different parts can be collected, dried and analysed. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none | Caption: After the harvest, farmers uproot the plants so that their different parts can be collected, dried and analysed. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none |
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Caption: The difference between maize-roots from plants grown in biochar (above) and those grown in bare soil. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none | Caption: After the harvest, farmers uproot the plants so that their different parts can be collected, dried and analysed. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none | Caption: Key Farmers Cameroon's coordinator Etchi Daniel-Jones makes some field observations. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none |
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Caption: Farmers make basic field observations. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none
| Caption: In many control plots, the maize plants yield either very small or no corn whatsoever. Soil infertility is the likely cause of this situation, because when biochar is used, the crop is rather successful on the same soil. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none | Caption: Whereas maize on the control yields poorly, with biochar it often yields two cobs on one plant. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none
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Caption: ...and even three cobs. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none | Caption: A farmer in Malende carries a bag of biochar maize to the collection point. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none | Caption: Very healthy maize obtained with the use of biochar. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none |
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Caption: A farmer shows some maize grown in her group's experimental plot. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none | Caption: A farmer shows a maize cob harvested from her group's biochar plot. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none | Caption: A farmer proudly shows a big maize cob harvested from her group's biochar plot. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none |
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Caption: A group of farmers shows its harvest from the biochar plot. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none
| Caption: Maize is dried the traditional way, in a dedicated drying room or in a kitchen in which women cook on fire wood. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none
| Caption: Key Farmers Cameroon's coordinator, Etchi Daniel-Jones, shows some maize that will be prepared for analysis. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none
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Caption: Maize being prepared for drying. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none
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| Logistics, trekking, transport | ||
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Caption: The logistics of this biochar experiment are challenging, as most of the roads in the South-West Region are untarred. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none
| Caption: Old four-wheel drive vehicles have their fair share of problems. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none
| Caption: Working in the brousse requires some dedication - Biochar Fund's Laurens Rademakers pushing a stuck vehicle at night, on the road from Kendem to Bamenda. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none |
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Caption: During the rainy season roads become unpassable. Ordinary Cameroonians do a lot of pushing. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none | Caption: Some of the biochar test plots are located at the dense forest frontier. Here Key Farmers Cameroon's coordinator, Etchi Daniel-Jones, near the village of Kendem. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none | Caption: Some of the biochar test plots are located at the dense forest frontier. Here Biochar Fund's Laurens Rademakers near the village of Kendem. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none |
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Caption: Some of the biochar test plots are located at the forest frontier. Trekking is part of the job. Credit: Laurens Rademakers, Etchi Daniel-Jones Usage restrictions: none | ||