MPRLP UPDATE SERIES NO. 11 BIOGAS
Making biogas work for poor communities Lack of access to energy resources means that the majority of people in rural India are forced to use cow dung cakes and wood gathered from forests as fuel for cooking. But burning these smoky fuels in poorly ventilated houses causes serious lung and eye diseases, and simply collecting enough firewood to cook food for the family wastes enormous amounts of time - time that poor people could better use to pull themselves out of poverty by earning more income or tending to their crops. MPRLP is therefore using funds from other government schemes and programmes to help villagers in Madhya Pradesh build their own biogas plants. This simple technology catches the methane produced from decomposing cow dung and provides gas for cooking, along with a nutrientrich slurry that makes an excellent fertilizer for crops.
So what's new about biogas? Biogas isn't a new technology. What is new is the process by which MPRLP is generating 'buy-in' from communities to ensure that the systems work long term and to develop innovations that really benefit the people using them. MPRLP's role is largely one of facilitator and training provider and is based on our strong links with communities. Seventy per cent of the cost of each plant (Rs. 16,000 to 17,000 for a twocubic-metre, family-sized plant) is
Cooking with gas is safer than using wood or dung, which both produce harmful emissions. Photo: Š MPRLP/A M Faruqui
subsidised by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, New Delhi, and the Government of Madhya Pradesh's Agriculture Department. The remaining 30% is covered by the villagers themselves via a loan from the Gram Kosh.
Who can take part? To ensure long-term sustainability, the project is promoting the technology only to villagers with enough cattle to feed a biogas plant in areas where plenty of water is available. Since 2008, when the biogas project began, MPRLP has helped to construct over 5000 family-sized biogas plants in over 800 villages.
MPRLP's biogas plantbuilding process Building community engagement For biogas use to take hold in the long term, people need more than just the biogas plants. They need to understand all the benefits the systems bring and
How does biogas technology work? The biogas mixture consists mostly of methane and carbon dioxide. To make it, cattle dung and other organic materials are combined with water and fed into a chamber, where the mixture is broken down by bacteria without any oxygen being present (anaerobically). The bacteria produce a methane-rich gas mix, which can be siphoned off and burned as a clean source of energy for cooking.
"What is new is the process by which MPRLP is generating 'buy-in' from communities"
MADHYA PRADESH RURAL LIVELIHOODS PROJECT
how to build and maintain them themselves. MPRLP therefore began by training its staff to understand the use and production of biogas. This was followed by village-level meetings to inform the communities about the advantages of biogas and the resources required for setting up production plants. Simultaneously, the project began teaching local masons how to build the biogas plants.
The benefits of biogas
Training for sustainability The project is taking care to train users in the operation and maintenance of biogas plants. It is also teaching them exactly how to use biogas to provide light and for cooking – a challenge, as people have to change their cooking habits. To keep the systems running, the project also teaches local Livelihood Promoters how to repair the biogas plants, and gives them custom-made tool kits for maintenance work. The project has so far trained around 300 masons, 150 Livelihood Promoters and 5000 women users.
Involves a small one-off cost to families – who will no longer have to buy fuel. Does not cause the health problems associated with traditional fuels. Benefits the environment by greatly reducing the amount of wood collected from local forests. Provides users (mostly women and children) with more free time for income earning or educational activities as they don't need to collect wood. Produces a high-quality, ammonium-rich manure (slurry) for use on crops, which means families can use less fertilizer. Is climate friendly, as methane (a greenhouse gas which would otherwise be released into the atmosphere) is trapped and used.
The way forward
Monthly monitoring and reporting on the functioning of biogas plants. Improved composting of slurry for use as a fertilizer. Linking the project to the carbon market. Promoting the use of agricultural residue as well as dung.
MPRLP innovation Working closely with communities also allowed MPRLP to identify and address people's concerns. As a result, new designs were produced that made it easier to store and collect slurry. And a cover was added to the outlet tank to make it impossible for people or animals to fall in.
Overcoming the challenges Building initial demand Installation of the first few biogas plants by MPRLP was a major challenge because previously, biogas plants in the region had been badly constructed and maintained. However, after observing the functioning of the new plants and the use of biogas by the beneficiaries, there was a huge rise in demand, which is continuing to increase. As a result, clusters of biogas plants (often in eight or ten villages) are appearing.
A woman carries cattle dung to the biogas plant inlet (the square tank on the left), where it will be mixed with water. The gas is syphoned off through the pipe coming out of the dome. Photo: © MPRLP/A M Faruqui
"A challenge, as people have to change their cooking habits"
Contact Telephone: +91-(0)755-2766812, 814, 815 Fax: +91-(0)755-2766818 Email: mprlp@mprlp.in Website: www.mprlp.in MPRLP is funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID). This publication does not necessarily represent the views of the Department for International Development.