About Miyabi Charcoal

I was working in disaster response following the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in northern Japan, when California was having its own disaster: drought. My family's tap water tasted of chloramine - like a swimming pool - because reservoirs had fallen to such low levels requiring more additives to kill pathogens. My mother and brother refused to use plastic bottles or plastic cartridges and we could not afford a fancy filtration system. Plus, reverse osmosis wastes water that California could not afford. I brought an old technology - bamboo carbonized at high heat - home for the holidays after village elders recommended it to me. After a few minutes submerged in our tap water, bamboo charcoal changed our tap water from swimming pool to clean, refreshing water. Soon, our friends and neighbors asked me to bring them some miracle bamboo charcoal from Japan and then encouraged me to make it available to everyone. A sustainable (bamboo grows like a weed!), affordable, plastic-free solution for tap water. Miyabi - named after my friend in Japan who purchased my first inventory - was born!Read their story