Why biogas?
Through our Fairtrade biogas project, households in rural India get access to a 100% sustainable and clean way of cooking. Cooking on biogas is better for health, climate and environment and saves households time and money.
Benefits of the project
Health
- Clean and safe cooking prevents inhalation of harmful smoke and burns
- Less physical strain because no more wood has to be collected for cooking
Climate and environment
- Reduced greenhouse gas emissions by switching to 100% renewable energy
- Reduced use of wood prevents deforestation
Social
- Women can spend more time on family and education
- Women are less exposed to forms of harassment while collecting wood
Economic
- By saving time opportunities for women to generate more income
- Reduced expenditure on fuel and fertilizers
- Local employment through operation of biogas installations
Since 2009, our partners FairClimateFund and ADATS have been working together to supply biogas installations to 12,000 farming families in the Chickballapur district of Karnataka province. Want to learn more? Download the full project factfile.
Project impact
203,000
tonnes of CO2 reduced
12,000
biogas installations used
436,000
trees saved
In detail
In India, a large part of the rural population (800 million people) still cooks on an open fire. Burning biomass makes an important contribution to greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation and air pollution. But cooking on an open fire not only has adverse effects on the climate, also on people’s health. In India, more than a million people die every year from inhaling harmful fumes from cooking.
Since 2009, our partners FairClimateFund and ADATS have been working together to supply biogas installations to 12,000 farming families in the Chickballapur district of Karnataka province. Organic waste (mainly cow droppings) is converted in an underground bio-digester into methane gas for cooking. About 2 cows are needed to provide an average household with sufficient gas for cooking on a daily basis. This clean way of cooking replaces the traditional way of cooking on an open fire.
When cooking with biogas, there is no smoke development, as when cooking on an open fire. This 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 and it prevents black soot deposits in the house. On average, women save eight hours a week by using biogas. This time can be spent on family, household or economic activities.
Moreover, the bio slurry is a very good and free alternative to fertilizers. Various studies have shown that bioslurry has a very positive effect on agricultural productivity.
