Climate Curve

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Project Summary / Description:

An operational project in the Nakivale Refugee Settlement that integrates biochar-based clean water filtration, local biochar production, and independently audited carbon removal. The initiative supplies safe drinking water, regenerates degraded soils, and generates direct income for refugee-led teams through ISO 14064–verified carbon removals.

How Project Affects Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions:

['Removes/stores GHGs (e.g., projects that capture, sequester, or otherwise enhance the "sinks" that accumulate and store GHGs)']

Impact on Underrepresented Groups:

This project empowers some of the most underrepresented groups in the climate movement: refugees, women, youth, and climate-vulnerable communities within the Nakivale Refugee Settlement.

Refugee-led teams are trained and employed as operators of biochar kilns, water filtration systems, and monitoring processes, placing displaced people at the centre of climate-critical infrastructure rather than as passive beneficiaries. These roles provide paid technical work, transferable skills, and direct participation in independently audited carbon-removal markets—an opportunity rarely accessible to displaced populations.

Women and young people benefit directly from reliable access to clean drinking water, reducing the health burden and time spent collecting or treating water, which disproportionately affects them. Reduced waterborne disease and improved nutrition from biochar-enhanced agricultural yields further support school attendance and long-term opportunity for children.

Youth engagement is reinforced through visible, local pathways into technical, environmental, and operational roles tied to global climate outcomes. Within the organisation, leadership, training, and daily operations intentionally prioritise local participation, ensuring decision-making, skills, and economic benefit remain embedded within the community.

The project demonstrates that climate-vulnerable communities can be trusted operators and contributors to high-integrity climate solutions.