re:char's Vision of Creating Shipping Container Factories

As people become more mindful of their impact on the environment, more people are now thinking up innovative ways of reducing waste. A couple examples of this are reusing shipping containers and transforming them into houses or simply to fit someones business needs.

Currently, a humanitarian and entrepreneur are both in the process of transforming shipping containers into ready to go kilns. These kilns would allow farmers in third world countries to convert their farm waste and reuse it as biochar.

(biocharcoal): is a form of charcoal made from heating biomass such as rice husks and farm manure in the absence of oxygen. Utilizing Biochar may improve soil fertility and sequester carbon. In addition, biochar’s oil and gas byproducts can be used as biofuels.

re:char has a vision of creating factories out of shipping containers, without compromising the “shipping” aspect of the container. They wish to create factories, and ship them all across the world. By transforming shipping containers into ready to go factories, this would greatly improve the standards of living for people all across the world.

The target markets for these kilns are farmers that tend to a 1-2 acre plot of land. Third world farmers on average yield 3-6 hundred dollars a year by selling their crops in the marketplace. Each of these kilns cost around 25-35 dollars to create, and farmers could have the option to pay for the kilns over time. The biggest expense farmers face is fertilizer, by spending that money on a kiln; farmers would have a way to continuously convert waste into fertilizer.

The world needs innovative solutions that increase the efficiency of both food production and energy. re:char may be on its way of accomplishing just that. The Gates Foundation has given a grant to re:char to help make their vision a possibility.