Using biogas improves living conditions and helps to mitigate the effects of climate change. Biogas is a clean and renewable cooking fuel. Bio-slurry produced by a biogas digester is an excellent fertilizer, and can save and provide families with extra income
Africa is known for its high rates of premature deaths due to indoor air pollution caused by cooking on firewood or charcoal. Air pollution has been called the ‘silent killer’. This problem is severe in rural Uganda where women spend on average more than three hours per day in the kitchen to cook and clean pots and stoves. Besides, cooking on firewood contributes to fast deforestation.
Cooking on biogas is an ideal solution. Biogas is a clean and renewable cooking fuel. In Uganda biogas is also used for lighting in areas without access to electricity. A biodigester at home also produces bio-slurry which is used to fertilize crops. Domestic biogas also is solution to methane
emissions from cow and pig manure left decomposing in open pits.
The Uganda Biogas Programme is implemented by Biogas Solutions Uganda Ltd (BSUL). The programme was initiated by Hivos, under the umbrella of the Africa Biogas Partnership Programme, a partnership between the Dutch government, Hivos and SNV (Netherlands Development Organization). Hivos and SNV founded BSUL which has become a strong organization to implement the programme. In 2021 Hivos handed over carbon project development and certification in East Africa to BSUL in collaboration with Africa Bioenergy Programs Ltd based in Kenya. FairClimateFund has adopted this project to sell Gold Standard VERs in 2022.
Domestic biodigesters provide a way for individual households with livestock to reduce their dependence on polluting firewood and charcoal. Cooking on biogas means health benefits for the whole family, in particular for women and children. In addition, women no longer have to fetch wood; cooking is easier and faster, preventing black soot deposits in the house. Furthermore, In Uganda chemical fertilizers are very expensive. Leftover slurry from the biogas process is an excellent organic fertilizer that can be applied to improve crop yields.
Selling more vegetables and food crops provides families with extra income. The use of bio-slurry improves soil health and recycle nutrients which helps farmers to improve yields and makes soil more resilient against climate change. It is often used to grow vegetables and other food crops close to home, hence improves nutrition by home consumption, while in many cases selling part of the food crops generates income controlled by women.
1. No poverty
2. Zero hunger
