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2026 KCP Application
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ClimEtSan-OnTheGround
Org Type
For Profit
Year Founded
2022
Project
Company
Financials
Customers & Partnerships
Primary Project Category:
Secondary Project Category:
Carbon Sinks (Natural & Engineered)
Energy
Finance
Social & Cultural Pathways
Transport and Mobility
Name of Project:
Year Project Originated:
Project Summary / Description:
Our project, "Triple Impact," deploys an integrated, community-focused circular economy system, using robust appropriate technology in Ethiopia to permanently remove carbon dioxide, drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and build climate resilience in vulnerable communities. The core innovation is a closed-loop model that connects biochar-producing pyrolysis cookstoves, container-based eco-sanitation dry toilets, and biochar-fertilizer production. Our climate impact comes from the conversion of sustainable sourced biomass and organic waste into high-quality biochar through pyrolysis cookstoves. This stable form of carbon is then processed into biochar-enhanced compost using waste from dry toilets together with other organic waste. By hot composting this mixture is turned into a safe and nutrient-rich fertilizer and applied to agricultural soils, where it sequesters carbon for centuries while restoring soil fertility, yields and climate-resilience of smallholder agriculture. The system is actively removing and reducing emissions. Building on a 5-year research foundation and a successful 2022-2024 pilot with the German Development Cooperation (GIZ), we have already established a local stove workshop and sold over 200 clean,biochar-producing cookstoves, validating the technology and market demand. We are now ready for transformative scale. Our measurable impact is threefold: 1. Carbon Removal: By 2029, we aim to sequester over 20,000 tons of CO₂ as biochar-compost in soils. 2. Emission Reduction: The system will avoid an estimated 40,000 tons of CO₂e by halting deforestation (via 60% less household fuelwood use) and preventing methane from organic waste and pit latrines. 3. Beyond Carbon Benefits: We will produce 50,000 tons of biochar-fertilizer to restore over 2,600 hectares of degraded land, improve health for tens of thousands by eliminating indoor smoke, and creating more than 4000 local green jobs within the next 10 years. The scalability of this model is its key strength. Designed for decentralized, community-focused implementation, the current bottleneck is the enabling infrastructure. Support from the Keeling Curve Prize would be catalytic, providing essential funding to build a scaled stove production facility together with an improved biochar-fertilizer production plant. This will allow us to scale from hundreds to tens of thousands of stoves, replicating a proven blueprint across Ethiopia and further countries of the Global South. Winning the Keeling Curve Prize would provide more than the vital $50,000 award; it would offer global recognition at a critical juncture. This support would directly accelerate our next milestone: building the infrastructure needed to achieve climate-relevant impact, improving the lives of thousands and bending the emissions curve in Ethiopia and beyond.
Country or Countries of Operation:
United States
Afghanistan
Albania
Algeria
Andorra
Angola
Anguilla
Antigua & Barbuda
Argentina
Armenia
Aruba
Australia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Bahamas
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Barbados
Belarus
Belgium
Belize
Benin
Bermuda
Bhutan
Bolivia
Bosnia & Herzegovina
Botswana
Brazil
British Virgin Islands
Brunei
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cambodia
Cameroon
Canada
Cape Verde
Cayman Islands
Central African Republic
Chad
Chile
China
Colombia
Comoros
Congo
Cook Islands
Costa Rica
Cote D Ivoire
Croatia
Cruise Ship
Cuba
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Democratic Republic of Congo
Denmark
Djibouti
Dominica
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Estonia
Ethiopia
Falkland Islands
Faroe Islands
Fiji
Finland
France
French Polynesia
French West Indies
Gabon
Gambia
Georgia
Germany
Ghana
Gibraltar
Greece
Greenland
Grenada
Guam
Guatemala
Guernsey
Guinea
Guinea Bissau
Guinea-Bissau
Guyana
Haiti
Honduras
Hong Kong
Hungary
Iceland
India
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Ireland
Isle of Man
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Jersey
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kiribati
Kosovo
Kuwait
Kyrgyz Republic
Kyrgyzstan
Laos
Latvia
Lebanon
Lesotho
Liberia
Libya
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Macau
Macedonia
Madagascar
Malawi
Malaysia
Maldives
Mali
Malta
Marshall Islands
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mexico
Micronesia
Moldova
Monaco
Mongolia
Montenegro
Montserrat
Morocco
Mozambique
Myanmar
Namibia
Nauru
Nepal
Netherlands
Netherlands Antilles
New Caledonia
New Zealand
Nicaragua
Niger
Nigeria
North Korea
North Macedonia
Norway
Oman
Pakistan
Palau
Palestine
Panama
Papua New Guinea
Paraguay
Peru
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Puerto Rico
Qatar
Reunion
Romania
Russia
Rwanda
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Samoa
San Marino
Sao Tome and Principe
Satellite
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Serbia
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Singapore
Slovakia
Slovenia
Solomon Islands
Somalia
South Africa
South Korea
South Sudan
Spain
Sri Lanka
St Kitts; Nevis
St Vincent
Sudan
Suriname
Swaziland
Sweden
Switzerland
Syria
Taiwan
Tajikistan
Tanzania
Thailand
Timor L'Este
Togo
Tonga
Trinidad & Tobago
Tunisia
Turkey
Turkmenistan
Tuvalu
Uganda
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom
Uruguay
Uzbekistan
Vanuatu
Venezuela
Vietnam
Virgin Islands (US)
Yemen
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Regions of Operations:
Caribbean
Central Africa
Central America
Central Asia
Eastern Africa
East Asia
Eastern Europe
Middle East
North Africa
North America
Northern Europe
Oceania
Other Countries
South America
South Asia
Southeast Asia
Southern Africa
Southern Europe
West Africa
Western Europe
How Project Affects Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions:
['Reduces GHGs (e.g., projects that reduce sources of GHGs, such as through efficiency or other changes in consumption)', 'Removes/stores GHGs (e.g., projects that capture, sequester, or otherwise enhance the "sinks" that accumulate and store GHGs)']
Best Estimate of GHG Avoidance/Reduction of This Project (Tonnes CO2 Equivalent/Year):
Sustainable Development Goals:
No poverty
Zero hunger
Health and wellbeing
Quality education
Gender equality
Clean water and sanitation
Affordable and clean energy
Decent work and economic growth
Industry innovation and infrastructure
Reduced inequalities
Sustainable cities and communities
Responsible consumption and production
Climate action
Life below water
Life on land
Peace and justice
Partnerships for the goals
Impact on Underrepresented Groups:
Our "Triple Impact" system is designed for and by Ethiopia's most climate-vulnerable communities, with benefits targeting three key groups: women and children in low-income households, slum residents, and smallholder farmers. For Women and Children: Our clean pyrolysis cookstoves replace cooking on open fires. By providing smokeless kitchens, we tackle a leading cause of premature death in Ethiopia, drastically reducing respiratory and eye diseases for the women who cook and the children who live alongside them. In a country, with 138 Million people, from which more than 90% cook on open fire, our target group is huge. For Slum Residents: We provide affordable, container-based eco-sanitation as a service.. This intervention directly addresses a critical lack of access to improved sanitation for tens of millions of Ethiopians, reducing waterborne diseases like cholera and typhoid, which are a major threat to child mortality in these communities. For Smallholder Farmers: Our locally produced biochar-fertilizer is a powerful tool for climate adaptation. It restores soil fertility, increases yields while replacing expensive imported fertilizers, and significantly increases soil water-holding capacity. This builds resilience against droughts and erratic rains, directly protecting farmers' livelihoods and food security in a changing climate. A Community-based Model: To ensure long-term ownership and relevance, our model is deeply localized. We will establish an Ethiopian subsidiary where >95% of employees will be Ethiopians, with priority hiring from the vulnerable communities we serve. This creates dignified green jobs and embeds the project within the local social and economic fabric, ensuring solutions are co-created and sustainable.
Sub-Categories:
Renewables
Nature-based
Agriculture
Methane
Plastics
Built Environment
Energy Efficiency
Restoration
Biodiversity
Energy storage
Rural
Urban
Circular Economy
Oceans
Forests
Waste
Carbon Removal
Electric Transportation
Cooling Solutions
Technology
Advocacy
Biomass
Conservation
Clean Cooking
Environmental justice
Research or Economic Modeling
Measurement, Reporting & Validation
Communications
Website:
http://www.climetsan-ontheground.com/about
Mission Statement:
Our mission is to ensure that the communities most affected by climate change have the tools to thrive will creating a positive impact on climate change. We provide access to clean cooking, safe sanitation, and fertilizer for organic and climate-smart agriculture — turning fundamental needs into engines for climate action, environmental restoration and economic empowerment.
Link: Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/climetsan/
Link: LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/climetsan-ontheground
Greatest Current Funding Need:
Sources of Past Funding:
Individual donations
Foundation grants
Corporate contributions
Government grants
Membership fees
Events and fundraisers
Earned income
Corporate partnerships
Bequests and planned giving
In-kind donations
Impact investing
Crowdfunding
Endowments
Bootstrapped
Equity
Debt
Carbon offsets or credits
Other