542 Clean Energy
Biogas powers rural life
In Nepal, most people live in remote villages
scattered across high mountains, foothills,
and deep valleys. The combination of
poverty and rugged terrain make it nearly
impossible for the government to provide
electricity throughout the country.
Because it is an
agricultural nation, most
households in Nepal
have cattle. In the early
1990s the government of
Nepal discovered that
they could use cattle
dung mixed with water
to make biogas, providing
energy for people in rural areas to
have heat, light, and cooking fuel for very little money. With support from the
governments of Germany and Holland, they established the Biogas Support
Program (BSP).
The goal of this program is to provide a biogas system to as many
homes in Nepal as possible. BSP designed a biogas system that was low-
cost, efficient, and easy to use and maintain. BSP workers did outreach and
education to teach rural people about the uses and benefits of biogas. They
also started a microcredit program to help families pay the costs of the
biogas systems.
In the first 2 years, 6000 biogas systems were installed. The program
was so effective that over the next 10 years, 100,000 more systems were
installed. By the year 2010, the government hopes to have installed 200,000
biogas systems.
Families all over rural Nepal now use biogas for cooking, heating, and
light. By using biogas, each house saves 4 tons of firewood and 32 liters of
kerosene per year. Each biogas plant also produces 5 tons of fertilizer per
year, which farmers use to improve their crop yield. Thanks to biogas, many
families in Nepal are now healthier, warmer, and less dependent on fuels that
pollute and damage the environment.
A Community Guide to Environmental Health 2012