Cooking with gas from cow dung
Our climate project in Bagepalli, India
Small biogas plants, Bagepalli, India
In many rural households in India, cooking is done over simple open fireplaces in the home. This requires large amounts of wood and causes toxic smoke leading to respiratory diseases and eye infections particularly among women and children.
This project promotes small biogas plants for private households. They produce biogas from cow dung and other forms of organic household waste. This reduces smoke as well as the amount of time spent on collecting firewood. This time can now be spent on education and other forms of work for women and children. In addition, the project eliminates the need to burn wood, therefore reducing carbon emissions. As such, the project can finance itself through climate action and families are required to become involved themselves when the system is installed. Eighteen thousand such plants have already been built, each with a capacity of two metres cubed.
Contribution to the UN sustainable development goals (SDGs)
No poverty
Households save time and money that they used to spend on fuel, fertilizer and cooking.
Zero Hunger
Healthier soils by using residues from biogas production as natural fertilizers.
Good Health and Well-Being
Reduction of health risks due to improved indoor air quality, and healthier diet.
Quality Education
Capacity building in the local communities for the use and maintenance of the biogas plants.
Gender Equality
Empowerment, improved social and economic status for women.
Climate Action
Families save wood and protect the local forests as a carbon sink; they also avoid methane emissions.
Life on Land
Healthier soils by using residues from biogas production as natural fertilizers; protection of local biodiversity.
How do biogas projects help fight global warming?
In biogas facilities, biomass ferments into biogas in sealed digesters. Biomass may consist of organic waste or dung from cows or other animals. In countries such as India and Vietnam, families use gas generated from small biogas facilities for cooking, thereby avoiding the use of wood or charcoal.
Additional greenhouse gas reduction is achieved from the fact that the biomass used does not rot in the open air, which would release methane (CH4).