Biogas technology impacting rural lives

Millions of people in Africa live without electricity. Women and young girls have to spend hours on foot searching for wood so they can build a fire for cooking. To improve the living conditions of these people EFTA will assist with the development of biogas systems to provide the rural families with cheap energy for cooking and lighting.

The development of biogas technology, if managed properly and effectively, could have a radical improvement on the economic lives of rural inhabitants. Cow dung provides energy for house lighting and cooking as well repellents for mosquitoes and other harmful insects. Once processed in the biogas plant, cow dung can be used to feed other domesticated animals.

The gas is produced by the biogas plant is a cost-effective, clean and technically cheaper energy source that will provide one household with 6 hours of energy for cooking and 4 hours of lighting per day. The remainder of the fermented materials can in turn be used as high-quality fertilizer in their local farms. Additionally, the burning of biogas is much cleaner than wood. This prevents the development of harmful smoke from open fireplaces in the kitchens. The use of biogas has noticeably eased the lives of rural women and children who often bore the brunt of family responsibilities, for example, by collecting firewood.