Yeah - charcoal was super important technology. Critical for metallurgy & blacksmithing before coal was discovered/abundant. I'm primarily interested in it for cooking - LPG isn't the most reliable but I have wood galore out here.

I was interested in bio char years ago & made a few retorts. It was very labour intensive. Charcoal is an amazing soil amendment - it has a huge surface area (very porous) and absorbs moisture & nutrients. It encourages microbial biodiversity in the soil & increases fertility. It doesn't really breakdown in the soil unlike wood. Search for 'tera preta' - super interesting.

nostr:npub1vm6mluqu4k7ewfjwtj47s4m3gmxlxugdjuh7fwnt9c2v83rznwwq5veyae showed me how to do it cheaply & quickly. You would have met him had you been to one of the recent Bitcoin meetups. 😉