The annual output of water caltrop is nearly 4,000 tons in Guantian District of Tainan City and accounts for 70% of the country. There were about 500 tons’ waste caltrop shells left in Guantian after the Caltrops sell out. The waste caltrop shells became an environmental issue.“No one can stand it!“said Zheng-xian Li, Director of Guantian Black Gold Community Cooperatives in Tainan City. The water caltrop shells are agricultural waste and cannot be disposed of by the Cleaning Team. They will stink after piling up on the roadside and pollute the air when burning. They need 1 to 2 years to decompose naturally and have been a big issue in Guantian.

In 2015, the mayor of Guantian District, Neng-tong Yan. He worked in the Environmental Protection Bureau of Tainan City Government with knowledge and experience in resources regeneration. He once saw a demonstration of burning rice husk charcoal to boil corns in a community course. This inspired him an idea that burning the waste caltrop shells to boil caltrops. Therefore, he approached Professor Hong-ping Lin from Chemistry Department of National Cheng Kung University who specialized in the Porous Materials field to solve the technical problems.

Mobilized 10 Communities’Elders, Recycled Water Caltrop Shells into Biochar

Mr. Yan invited the neighbors and Community Development Association for several Public Meetings to generate public concepts, and find a group of people who wants to solve the problem of waste caltrop shells. In September 2016, he established“Guantian Black Gold Community Cooperatives”by NT$400,000 stock shares and the money subscribed by the communities in Guantian. In addition, he established the“Trapa Shell Bio-charcoal Living Workshop”in the used Guantian Forestation Office which idled for years as the production factory. By the leading of Mr. Yan and Professor Lin, people of the communities together develop the water caltrop biochar.

Through much detailed research, and tested the size, numbers, and arrangement of the drilling holes on the iron barrel. In December 2017, Mr. Lin finally made a piece of equipment with highly efficient and energy-saving for charcoal making. The equipment takes only 40 minutes to make the charcoal without extra heating. The oven which burns the biochar not only boils water caltrops but also stir fry dishes or bakes pizza at Trap Shell Bio-charcoal Living Workshop.

Next, the cooperative started taking orders. 10 communities in Guantian District worked together, calling the elders to recycle the caltrop shells. Then sun-drying till the wet measurement into 13 degrees then selling to Trapa Shell Bio-charcoal Living Workshop. In this way, Guantian solved the agricultural waste problem and became the first place where researching and large production of water caltrop biochar in Taiwan. The income also brings opportunities to the disadvantaged.

A Multi-function Product for Air, Water, and Soil Improvement

Mr. Zheng-xian Li told, although Guantian Water Caltrop Biochar is not the first made biochar, however, the quality is in the leading place. It meets the environmental regulations and passes Heavy Mental and Dioxin tests. It also meets international standards such as European Biochar Certification(EBC) and International Biochar Initiative(IBI) as the first biochar.

Biochar is slightly alkaline, the common kinds are wood, bamboo, and rice husk. The tissue is formed by countless microscopic pores, the surface area in each gram of the water caltrop biochar can cover half basketball court. The Biochar pores can absorb odor and formaldehyde, adjust air humidity, and filter polluted water, etc. For the soil, it can neutralize the acidic, increase water retention and aeration, and adsorb soil nutrients. To simplify, the biochar works in purifying the air, water quality and improving the soil. Therefore, we try to promote it from agriculture to daily application.

In the beginning, the water caltrop biochar was sold to the communities as a soil medium for moisturizing and preserving fertilizer. The recycling price of was NT$4 per kilogram; However, it needs much manpower in recycling, exposure, carbonization, and packing. Resulting in the production cost was high from NT$350 to $400 per kilogram. But the normal biochar on the market only priced NT$20 to $30 per kilogram, the better one was NT$50.“We were happy that the Water Caltrop Biochar been produced, but it cannot be commercialized on the market.”, said Mr. Zheng-xian Li.

Create“Guantian Black Gold”Brand, Launch A Sustainable Company for Marketing

Mr. Li was a student of Professor Hong-ping Lin and majored in Material Science and Environment. He joined the Cooperatives in 2017 with prior marketing experience. He knew Guantian Water Caltrop Biochar has to find more useful ways to reduce the production costs and create a marketing brand for sustainable operation.

For promoting the Water Caltrop Biochar, the Cooperative first created a public welfare brand image and life application value. It donated over 1,300 water caltrop biochar absorbing packs to the Rehabus Services in Pingtung and Tainan for purifying the air on the buses. At least 300 buses were benefited from them. Six months later, the cooperative recycled those packs and spread the biochar to water caltrop fields to purify the water quality, replacing Lime used before. Since Guantian farmers by turns to cultivate water caltrop and rice in one field. Therefore, the water caltrop biochar first purifies the water quality and then backing to the soil for cultivating the rice. It forms a utilize process from the air, water to soil, and creates economic value in business.“Through the multiple usages to share the production costs, the water caltrop biochar became an affordable product and step to the circular economy. Therefore, we started launching ‘Guantian Black Gold’ brand”, said Mr. Li.

Mr. Li launched‘FanC Recycling international LTD.’in charge of product application, development, and marketing.“The Cooperative is the biochar factory, FancC Recycling international LTD. is in charge of brand and business model developing. They are upstream to downstream relationship.“ Mr. Li explained.

The birth of the Water Caltrop Biochar not only disposed of the agricultural waste but also created circular economy value. Chang-yang Li, Project Manager of the Cooperative, said that in 2020, Guantian Black Gold Team recycled 18 tons of water caltrop shells and made them into 3 tons of water caltrop biochar. This means there were about 200 tons of waste caltrop shells been disposed of and became useful biochar! The water caltrop biochar now is used to make cooling towels and masks by other companies. It was even selected by the ITRI team as air purifiers material.

Local Resources Link Up, Create A Circular Economy

The Cooperative gradually becomes a team from industries, governments, academics, and the communities due to Guantian Black Gold. As the best model of the local circular economy. The District Office plays a resource linkage since external resources who want to enter Guantian Market usually approach the public sector. Due to the Cooperative solve the environmental problem, so the communities become very active. The working opportunities not only revitalize the elder population but attract the young generation to return hometowns.

The academic resource, such as Chemistry Department of National Cheng Kung University for researching the technology, and University Social Responsibility(USR) MBA Team of Kun-Shan University of Science and Technology, they are unavailable resources for the rural village. FanC Recycling international LTD. operates the biochar brand flexibly and innovatively.“I think it is a trend that public sector cooperates with NPO and private corporations, and the workers from different units will working together in one place”, Mr. Li said.

The black and dark golds gradually light up Guantian. Due to mobilized the elders to produce water caltrop biochar, Guantian transformed regional agricultural products and increases values. The elders are healthier since they have works to do and gain accomplishment to enjoy an ageless life. Therefore, Guantian was recognized the 2018“Senior Friendly City Excellence Award-Ageless Award”by the Ministry of Health and Welfare. In 2020, Guantian won“Taiwan Town Brand Award-Gold Metal”stood out from 19 towns of Taiwan. Mr. Neng-tong Yan was also awarded the“Urban Brand Young Local Contribution Award”for his excellent efforts in promoting the Biochar.

So far, the main Cooperative income comes from biochar production and smallholder products such as Water Caltrop Biochar Rice. The annual income is nearly one million dollars. In addition to have more community workers for recycling and exposure, the Cooperative creates more job opportunities and invites unemployed elders to work by applying Multi-Employment Promotion Program (MEPP) from the Ministry of Labor (MOL). The cooperative donates 50% of the surplus to Guantian Charity Group every year, an organization formed by Guantian District Office to improve public facilities or people in need. When the streetlights light up which were donated by the Cooperative, they remind people in Guantian that water caltrop shells are no longer waste but actual Gold in Guantian.

▲Business Model

▲A Circular Economy made by the black-shining Water Caltrop Biochar lights up Guantian.

▲The tourist factory opened in the last half-year of 2020 brings more exposure to Guantian Black Gold. (Pictures Provide: Guantian Black Gold Community Cooperatives)

Case story: Multi-Employment Promotion Program

Interviewee: Tainan Guantian Black Gold Community Cooperatives

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. 

Please attribute this article to “Workforce Development Agency, Ministry of Labor.”