As a child, Rohit Nagargoje, co-founder of MASH Makes, spent many summers on his grandfather’s farm in Marathwada. He remembers the mango trees, the shaded fields, the fruit, the stillness. Those early visits left an imprint—but so did the slow transformation of the land over the years.

“I vividly recall it being very different from what it is today,” he says today, standing again on the same soil.

The mango trees are gone. So are the grapes. Today, the land barely supports soybean—one of the few crops still viable in a region increasingly pushed to its climatic limits.

This isn’t a unique story. Much of India's Marathwada region has become a climate hotspot. Droughts are now twice as frequent as they were two decades ago. In some areas, the water table has dropped by nearly 4 metres in a single year. Crop yields for soybean and chickpea have declined by 20–30%, and over 3,000 farmers have died by suicide in the past five years alone.

For Rohit, these changes were personal. And they became a driving force behind the founding of MASH Makes.

From personal connection to scalable climate solution

MASH Makes is a climate technology company working to solve two interconnected problems: the degradation of soil and the rise of atmospheric carbon. A core part of that work is producing biochar—a carbon-rich soil additive made by heating agricultural residues (like cashew shells) without oxygen, through a process called pyrolysis.

When applied to soil, biochar:

• Improves fertility and water retention
• Reduces the need for fertiliser
• Boosts drought resilience
• Locks away carbon for hundreds of years

“Our biochar is now helping farmers in these regions get more from less,” Rohit explains. “Even a one-time application can continue delivering results year after year.”

MASH Makes has conducted over 30 biochar field trials across India and similar semi-arid regions. In some soybean plots, farmers saw up to 110% yield increases. Even under drought stress, average gains of 20–30% were recorded. Biochar also reduced the need for irrigation and improved overall soil health—both critical in areas like Marathwada.

And unlike short-term fixes, biochar stays in the soil. It continues to function as a carbon sink, sequestering 2.5–3 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent per tonne applied. MASH’s carbon removal claims are verified by the European Biochar Certificate (EBC) and C-Sink Registry, and the company was also recognised as a Top 20 finalist in the XPRIZE Carbon Removal competition.

Built to scale — from Beed to the world

While the story begins in Beed, the ambition is global. MASH Makes is already operating at commercial scale, using modular, containerised pyrolysis units to process local biomass into biochar and renewable fuel.

This decentralised model is designed for scalability:

• Deployed near biomass sources, reducing transport needs
• Flexible based on feedstock availability
• Supports both rural livelihoods and global decarbonisation

MASH is now expanding operations throughout India and soon into other biomass-rich regions, with the goal of reaching gigaton-scale carbon removal by 2040.

“We’ve moved beyond trialling a concept. We’re delivering commercial impact,” Rohit says. “And we’re scaling it for real, measurable climate and agricultural benefits.”

Looking forward

For Rohit, every visit to the farm is a reminder of what’s been lost, and what can still be restored.

“It’s changed,” he says. “But we’re not helpless. With the right tools, we can help farmers adapt, rebuild their soils, and become part of the climate solution.”

MASH Makes is now actively partnering with:

• Farmer organisations and co-ops
• NGOs and agri-distributors
• Carbon credit marketplaces and sustainability teams

Whether it’s a trial plot in Marathwada or a commercial project elsewhere, the goal is the same: restore degraded soils, remove carbon, create renewable fuel, and regenerate land-based systems at scale.

📩 Want to get involved?

👉 Contact us at info@mashmakes.com to explore how we can work together.

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