We’re honored to share that Happy Ground has been selected as a 2024 Women Empowerment Award recipient by the Bayer Foundation, in recognition of our work in regenerative agriculture and climate tech.

The award was presented in June 2024 in Berlin, where our co-founder, Moh Suthasiny, represented Thailand and joined an inspiring global cohort of women leaders across Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America—each building high-impact solutions in agriculture and health.

This recognition celebrates our mission to scale nature-based, community-led solutions that not only improve farmer livelihoods and climate resilience, but also address urgent public health issues—such as PM2.5 air pollution caused by agricultural burning.

From Field Innovation to Global Recognition

At Happy Ground, we’re focused on turning a critical agricultural challenge into a climate opportunity: how to repurpose biomass that would otherwise be burned.

Every year, millions of tonnes of crop residues are openly burned across Thailand and the region—releasing harmful PM2.5 particulates that contribute to respiratory illnesses, school closures, and greenhouse gas emissions. Our work focuses on identifying which types of biomass have the highest PM2.5 reduction potential, and redirecting those residues into regenerative, high-value uses such as biochar.

We work with farmers, researchers, and supply chain partners to build systems that:

• Incentivize the collection and reuse of crop residues

• Apply biochar to soil to improve fertility and water retention

• Use data to measure the impact on yield, emissions, and air quality

• Enable corporates to trace and report climate action at the farm level

“Receiving this award helped me discover a global support system I never knew existed—powerful women across the Global South, all working on health and agriculture challenges with real heart and purpose,” said Moh. “Being part of this network reminds me that while our contexts may differ, our commitment to climate justice is shared.”

What This Means for the Future

As part of the Women Empowerment Award, Happy Ground will take part in a 6-month Bayer Foundation accelerator designed to scale social impact. Through this program, we’ll gain:

• Access to strategic mentorship and technical guidance

• Funding opportunities for expansion and pilot projects

• A global peer network of women-led ventures solving systemic challenges

• Pathways to explore collaboration with Bayer Foundation’s broader ecosystem

This support will help us accelerate our work in mapping biomass, identifying which agricultural residues have the highest impact on air quality, and scaling regenerative solutions that are not only climate-smart but also health-driven.

Grounded in Community, Scaling with Purpose

Happy Ground was built with smallholder farmers at the center—from sugarcane and rice to coconut and cassava. While our tools (like biochar) remain the same, our focus is clear: we are biomass-agnostic, but health-prioritized. The question we ask in every region is: Which biomass, if repurposed instead of burned, will deliver the greatest benefit for people and planet?

This award gives us more than recognition—it gives us reach. Through the Bayer Foundation’s support, we’re joining forces with other innovators across the world to design scalable models that put public health, farmer income, and climate impact at the core of regenerative agriculture.