{
  "id": 13026532,
  "title": "Khayelitsha brothers turn invasive hyacinth into biochar business",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/09/khayelitsha-brothers-turn-invasive-hyacinth-into-biochar-business",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-10-09T04:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "GroundUp",
    "slug": "groundup",
    "url": "https://groundup.org.za/article/khayelitsha-biochar-entrepreneurs-hope-for-farm-breakthrough/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Two brothers from Khayelitsha turned invasive hyacinth growing in their wetland into a biochar business, aiming to help farmers. Siyanda and Akhona Sopangisa harvest hyacinth from Blowy wetland daily, turning it into biochar. The process includes drying, burning in a kiln, mixing with cow dung, and waiting for it to dry. Char2Cool, a German non-profit, taught them the technique. One kilogram of biochar costs R80 in Mowbray but only R20 in Khayelitsha, due to local demand. Their plan is to sell in bulk to farmers, hire locals for production, and create a community center with market days and live music. They also run the Masilime Sonke Gardening Project, which has established 46 home gardens at Sinako High School, providing employment and fresh produce for residents. The City of Cape Town aims to keep the wetland clean and encourages community involvement in maintaining it.",
  "summary": "Siyanda and Akhona Sopangisa hope to sell biochar to farmers",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}