Slash for Cash project aims to 'heal the land'

Slash for Cash team member Matene Maraki says he is excited for the startup to reach more communities and make a difference. From left, Thabiso Mashaba and Mr Maraki show the different tools that will be used to make activated biochar and briquettes in a small-scale production.

Imagine exchanging slash for cold hard cash. Slash for Cash is a local and upcoming eco-startup that aims to encourage people to bring in slash and turn it into products that can “heal the land”.

“It’s an opportunity for community members to not only help clean the environment, but also earn their living through slash,” startup team lead Thabiso Mashaba said.

“Whether it be people working in this startup as it grows or the public bringing in the slash, everyone gets a chance to learn new skills and improve their lives. It’s a win for all and that’s the plan.”

As someone living in Tolaga Bay, Mr Mashaba has seen the devastating impacts of slash on the East Coast.

This year’s Startup Weekend — held last month at impact house Taiki e! — gave him the opportunity to develop an idea and have a team to help take it to the next step.

Mr Mashaba said the idea was to use the slash to create products such as activated biochar and briquettes.

“Stuff like activated biochar when mixed with soil helps increase its fertility and also makes it less prone to erosion.

“For small-scale production, first you take the slash and chip it into small pieces. Then put it in a metal bucket that has several holes in it and place it on top of bricks and burn it.

“When you see the burning has reached a point that the smoke is gone and it’s just the flames, put a lid on top of the bucket and cover the bottom with soil. This will help carbonise it.”

Mr Mashaba says the process of carbonisation helps in removing the oxygen and leaves the carbon inside the bucket which then becomes charcoal.

In the next stage, the charcoal will be crushed until it’s reduced to a fine powder and then mixed with animal or human urine to make activated biochar.

For briquettes, the finely powdered charcoal will be mixed with a small quantity of corn flour to solidify it and give some shape.

“These can be sold to consumers for cooking barbecues and heating up homes. The best thing about it is that it’s smokeless and odourless and perfectly safe — which means that you can barbecue indoors when it’s raining.”

So what is the difference between the slash and burn method versus producing activated biochar and briquettes?

Mr Mashaba explains that the production of the latter products emits far less smoke than simply burning the crops .

“This is because activated biochar is produced in an enclosed space at high temperatures making it safer and healthier for everyone who lives in the vicinity and breathes the same air.”

The entrepreneur says the idea of making activated biochar is not a new concept.

“Organic farmers all over the world have used it in their farms for better productivity. When I was in Africa, I used to train other farmers with this process for better yield. We especially did it with agricultural wastes such as maize stocks.

“Also it’s important to activate the charcoals with animal or human urine because it makes the soil take in more nutrition along with the required pathogens.”

Originally from Botswana, Mr Mashaba arrived in Aotearoa in March through an initiative called Edmund Hillary Fellowship.

“It’s a New Zealand government initiative that encourages entrepreneurs, investors, and startup teams to use the country as a base camp for promoting all kinds of innovation and incubating global impact ventures,” he said.

Although the entrepreneur was scheduled to arrive in the country in 2020. The Covid-19 pandemic delayed his travel until this year.

Prior to his arrival in Gisborne, Mr Mashaba worked as what he describes as a “grassroots ecosystem builder and trainer”.

He is the co-founder of a global social enterprise These Hands, which aims to foster local innovation and support entrepreneurship in rural communities of the developing world. The enterprise is based in Botswana.

“I train people in rural and indigenous communities, and also people in refugee camps,” he said.

His desire to help the public at grassroots levels has also helped him join forces with MIT D-lab in America and create the current design process that is now being implemented.

“This process allows people to explore their own livelihood challenges, explore resources around them, and come up with simple technology solutions.”

Mr Mashaba says while Slash for Cash is an independent project, the concept is a spinoff idea from his current work.

“But it’s going to have a different ownership and my team is going to help me out to grow this further.”

The idea has recently found support with Wairoa mayor Craig Little, who has offered one hectare of his own farm to allow the startup to provide its proof of concept before setting off for production.

Mr Little said: “It’s quite cool to know what they are up to. All they have to do now is come and see the council and then we have to come up with a decision as to how we go about it.

“It’s really exciting as our goal is to do anything that can help the slash situation — so good on them.”

Mr Mashaba says if all goes to plan they would be looking to bring in machinery to do it on a large scale.

“What we need now is the support of the community, the landowners, and especially the forestry companies who are having a hard time dealing with this situation. We are also open to potential funders for this project — and happy to get all the help that’s given.”

Contact Thabiso Mashaba at

Thabisoblak@these-hands.org