Biogas

In addition to helping prevent desertification, biogas projects in schools provide many benefits to the school, including energy for cooking and fertilizer for gardening.  But they also provide many opportunities for students to learn about organic gardening, and environmentally responsbile energy use.  Projects are currently underway in three secondary schools, and we hope to expand to more schools in the future.

The project was implemented in stages:

• Stage 1: Raising awareness to school administration, teachers and students on the outcome of continued use of firewood and charcoal as a source of energy

• Stage 2: Giving information on other possible sources of energy, describing each source of energy based on advantages and disadvantages

• Stage 3: Facilitating selection of the best option for source of energy

• Stage 4: Funds mobilization, hiring an experienced contractor and building a 65M3 biogas digesters to each school

• Stage 5: Teaching the student appropriate use of the toilets by avoiding use of soap or detergents in the toilets

• Stage 6: Teaching the cooks and students how to use the biogas for cooking

• Stage 7: Teaching the students how to practice organic farming and start school gardens

• Stage 8: Teaching the students how to use the slurry in the gardens in order to produce enough vegetables for consumption in the schools

Note: Construction of one 65 cubic meter biogas digester costs about US$13,500.