TRIVANI FOUNDATION UPDATE           

December 17, 2008            

Trivani Supports Biogas Digesters as an Appropriate Technology
That Benefits Rural Nepalese in Several Ways

More than 80% of Nepalese live in rural areas. Development of the entire country depends upon the improvement of living standards and quality of life of the rural population. Thus, any technology that leads toward easing the live of the rural population is of great relevance to the overall well-being of the country. Rural technology, or appropriate technology, plays a vital role in the rural development of Nepal.

A biogas digester is one appropriate technology that can benefit rural Nepalese people in several ways. Biogas plants ease burdened lives by reducing the work load of everyday family life—the need for constant wood-gathering is eliminated. Biogas digesters also provide fuel for gas stoves—replacing wood burning stoves with clean, traceless, gas burning stoves. Carcinogenic fumes produced by in-house fires are the source of several respiratory diseases, including cancer. Therefore, by incorporating biogas plants, families who were once at risk, now enjoy a healthier, cleaner environment. Biogas plants allow for an enviro-friendly way of disposing of both human and animal waste. Biogas digesters also benefit the environment by reducing deforestation and providing a substitute for chemical-free composting.

As millions of households in Nepal use fuel wood, cattle-dung cakes, and agricultural residue for cooking, and kerosene for lighting a sustainable alternative is viable. Demand for fuel wood substantially exceeds the rate of re-growth, leading to degradation of the land and damage to vital watersheds. Cooking indoors over open fires and lighting with kerosene gives dangerous exposure to air pollutants (carbon monoxide, particulates, and unburned hydrocarbons) and a high risk of fire, particularly for women and young children who spend much of their time indoors. Biogas plants replace nearly all use of fuel wood, making cooking easier, cleaner and safer. In addition, women and girls have the drudgery of collecting fuel wood, which typically takes three hours each day. Freed from this task, women may use the extra time for income generation, farm work, and education. This saving of unsustainable fuel wood use also reduces carbon dioxide emissions and provides economic benefits through the trade of carbon credits. The provision of toilets improves sanitation and the effluent from the biogas plant is valuable organic compost, improving soil quality.

How Biogas Digesters Work:
Biogas systems take organic material such as manure into an airtight tank, where bacteria break down the material and release biogas. The biogas can be burned as a fuel and the remaining material can be used as fertilizer. The digester is built in a pit in the ground, near to the house. The body of the digester is an underground cylindrical tank, built from bricks and mortar. A hemispherical dome, which acts as a gas holder, is fixed on top of the tank. The inlet to the digester is a small cylindrical cement tank with a hand-operated rotator (see photo), used to mix the cow dung and crop residue with water, which is fed into the digester through a pipe. Most digesters are equipped with a second inlet pipe that connects to a toilet. The manure and toilet waste are decomposed anaerobically (without oxygen) by bacteria in the digester and produce biogas, which is a mixture of mainly methane and carbon dioxide. The gas is piped to the kitchen inside the house, where it is used for cooking on specially-designed burners, and for lighting as well. The gas pressure pushes digested effluent (which is now sanitary) out from the base of the digester into a reservoir tank, from where it is collected and used as fertilizer.

The unbeatable combination of cow dung and simple technology has made Jit Narayan Chaudhary a happy farmer. In the four months since he installed his biogas plant, he has seen his household running costs fall dramatically. He is saving the Rs 60 that he used to spend each day on firewood for his family´s cooking needs. The residual slurry from his biogas digester is far superior to the urea and potassium fertilizer he used to buy for nearly Rs 10,000 each year. Jagita, his wife, is smiling too. She no longer has to spend hours collecting firewood, then more hours struggling with cooking over a smoking, temperamental fire followed by the tedious task of cleaning the wood ash and smoke residue from the inside of her neat and tidy home.

Strengthened Communities
The biogas program in Nepal strengthens communities, as everyone gets involved in the construction of both community-based and home-based biogas digesters. They all have a sense of ownership that generates sustainability and success of the initiative. In addition, households that have the biogas digesters are able to engage in teaching community members about health and conservation issues.

Trivani´s Role
With the generous monetary contribution of the Leslie DeeAnn Mower Foundation, Trivani Foundation has been able to provide the grateful villagers of Okhalepani, Nepal, with four biogas digesters. Happily, this is just the beginning. Trivani plans to partner with Choice-Nepal to facilitate the installation of 10,000 plants in an isolated region known as Madi valley between the years of 2009-2011! We are excited for this opportunity!

Visit the Trivani Foundation websiteo read more about this and other projects.