Programme Activity fully funded and in progress
Title:	Community Biogas for Income Generation
Location:	3 communities in Kapilbastu and Nuwakot Districts, Nepal
Duration:	1 year
Partner:	Biogas Sector Partnership Nepal (BSP-Nepal)

Country Context:

In Nepal, 77% of the population live on less than $2 a day and fewer than 50% of households have access to electricity. Without access to energy potential for income generation is limited, particularly in areas such as food production with requires energy for processing and storage.

Biogas - appropriate technology for remote areas:

More than one third of people in Nepal live at least two hours walk from the nearest all-season road, making the cost of diesel and other fuels prohibitively expensive. Traditional fuels such as firewood and dung used for cooking and heating, result in smokey fumes which are a common cause of respiratory disease and eye problems. Biogas is an extremely appropriate technology in Nepal - simple to build and extremely easy to maintain with no specialist skills needed. It enables communities to turn animal manure, latrine waste and kitchen waste into clean, safe gas for cooking, heating and lighting. The slurry output from the biogas plant is an excellent fertiliser with nutrients in a form more easily taken up by plants - increasing yields and reducing costs for vegetable farmers.

Programme Summary:

This project will use biogas for small diary agro-processing. Cows provide the fuel to process simple dairy products, which can, in turn, be sold for longer as the durability of the product is enhanced. Excess biogas is channelled to houses for clean and cost-efficient cooking and lighting. This intervention pilots this model in three communities in Nepal, positively impacting local standards of living, opening up income generating possibilities and improving health.

Renewable World Partner Support:

Our partner, BSP-Nepal (Biogas Sector Partnership Nepal) is a well respected expert on biogas implementation at household and institutional level across Nepal and nothern India. The organisation has expert technical knowledge of how to get this sensitive technology to work across different environmental and social contexts in Nepal but has, until now, struggled to evidence a direct link to poverty alleviation in terms of the MDG's and, in particular, to establish long-term financial sustainability. Renewable World's work with BSP-N aims to develop the productive use of biogas in remote areas, linking provision of this technology to income streams which then finance the use of biogas for essential domestic uses, such as heat and cooking.

Implementation:

•Enterprise development mobilisation to select appropriate community members willing and able to work with BSP to develop micro-enterprises using the biogas energy.

•Training to enhance entrepreneurial, business management and financial skills.

•Formation of a biogas users committe, consisting of representative members of the community to manage and operate the plant, and collect user fees which will form a maintenance and community development fund.

•Installation of two 35 M³ and one 50 M³ community level biogas plants

•Training on the operation and maintenance of the system and slurry management

Impact:

•Reduced dependancy on fuelwood and fossil fuels - 140 Tons CO₂ saved annually.

•Access to clean, sustainable, affordable energy (432 KWh per day) for agricultural processing and household use.

•Reduced levels od indoor air pollution

•Opportunities for local income generation through selling of milk and slurry and within the pasteurisation plant.

•35 Tons of slurry produced per year leading to improved agricultural yields and reduced use of harmful fertilizers.

•Improved sanitation.