Hosted by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Arukah was invited to participate in a regional workshop to share insights on our approach to carbon markets as a scalable source of climate financing in agriculture - enabled by digital tracking, as well as our biochar plans across the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS).

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We are grateful for a rich set of discussions and next step partnerships, and look forward to contributing at scale to the post-processing traceability of agriculture supply chains across our region.

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In our presentation, we shared the immediate and measurable impact of our project design across decarbonisation, food security and poverty alleviation. And in a vibrant post-presentation discussion some key items were discussed that are both barriers in scaling biochar in the GMS, as well as scalable business opportunities -

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First, there are limited regional lab testing capabilities, despite the deep technical expertise in our region.

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Second, biochar fertiliser standards and know how are currently not widespread beyond specific markets, but member countries in the GMS have so far been very open and willing to share.

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Finally, Arukah shared our approach of absorbing upfront costs at the high risk phase of the project to partner with groups that are new to this space, as long as they are open to our inclusive business model featuring a 50% gross carbon revenue share to farmers. While buyer-focused project design and high frequency digitalised MRV can unlock more purchasing to our region - the entry barriers of minimum scale and upfront costs remain significant. We discussed our approach, and also continue to welcome new partners - please do reach out if this is an area of interest!